[SirLotus]

Lotus have appointed a dealer in Saudia Arabia and have made the following improvements, some of which I believe should have been included in the U.S. model. This country does have some very hot and humid areas, I know I live in one.

"Lotus has conducted extensive testing of the Elise SC, the Exige S and the
Exige Cup 260 in the Middle East and has made significant changes to these
models to cope with the high ambient temperatures and humidity, as well as
the high levels of atmospheric dust and sand. However, none of the purity of
driving experience or overall vehicle performance has been lost following the
adaption of these technical changes.""Mr. Michael J. Kimberley, CEO of Group Lotus plc, explains further about the specific changes to the Elise and Exige for the Saudi Arabian market, “We have spent two summers in the Gulf Region testing the Elise and Exige in this very hot, humid and dusty environment. I am very pleased with the package of region specific changes which include an uprated radiator, enhanced heat management package, heat reflective windscreen, dust filtration for the cockpit ventilation system and an optional auxiliary air-conditioning unit. We have also included exclusive cockpit insulation, boot insulation and leather clad gearknob and handbrake sleeve in the Touring Pack option to supplement the overall occupant comfort in this extreme climate. These changes add very little weight to the Elise and Exige so drivers will still be able to experience the renowned Lotus driving experience.”

 

[JnC]

Interesting find. I wonder how much could be retrofitted. My windshield has a badly patched rock chip. Might be worth tracking down the new windscreen.

 

[Green Ghost]

Heat reflective windscreen?... Sounds good. What’s the $$$$
Auxiliary A/C unit? …. They made it work…
Heat management package? ? ?

OK what are these and what’s the difference from US stuff?

 

[SirLotus]

Most of these things I have made work myself. What bothers me is that the British car industry died in this country because they did not build cars suitable for conditions in the U.S. Now, Lotus put the effort into Saudi Arabia, but would not do it for this country. They only have themself to blame.

 

[Thomasio]

Heat reflective windscreen probably means that it rejects IR better than standard glass... IIRC, that means more Fe in the glass.

 

[25psi_Elise_Killer]

How about a gold plated Lotus? Have seen a few other cars gold plated, but not a Lotus yet.

 

[knucklehead]

How about a gold plated Lotus? Have seen a few other cars gold plated, but not a Lotus yet.

:thwack:

 

[...m...]

...we could certainly use those modifications along the gulf coast and southwestern states - i wonder if that's from where the new lotussport triple-pass radiator and water-oil heat exchanger came?..

 

[Amarao]

I would've liked to see some kind of filter for the ventilation system on U.S. cars. Nothing like watching a giant moth flying near the front grill and seeing it pop out in the cabin a minute later.

 

[cain-it]

Arabian Elise

Hey Viper ...chill! rotfl Some of us Lotus Gulfys have been waiting over 10 years for Lotus cars to re-enter the region :coolnana:, don't put them off now .

Your posts & others from Lotus Talk have helped me a lot to make some mods to my MY 2005 Federal Elise for it's life here in Dubai. I'm really keen to see a GCC Specification car in the flesh to see what they did in detail. from reading the PR, they seemed to have done many of the mods that were posted on Lotus Talk.

These are the mods on my car :
All alloy 3 pass radiator (ProAlloy UK)
Insulated A/C ducting (foam & duct tape)
Insulated heater pipes above the footwell (hose pipe from DIY store)
Heater by-pass (full time - no need for heater here )
Carpet insulation - sides of cabin & floor pan
ECU change - A/C compressor stays on during wide open throttle and at a higher rev limit (Charlie X)

I'll see how this Summer goes with my BWR SC (which of course creates more heat ) and if required will consider the following additional mods :
Glass insulation (3M or V-Kool)
Boot/trunk insulation (Nimbus)
Alternator heat shield (Nimbus)
Exige style side intakes (Whoever makes extra wide ones Reverie ?)

Regards markets, if anything it's the opposite to your view. The North American market WAS Lotus' priority hence all the work they put in for the Elise entry in 2004. From what I've read over the years, they judged the Federal Specification about right - they have been no major failures or changes over the years and the cars perform well considering the North American regional diversity. The much smaller Gulf market took more work to devise a GCC compliant car, for a much smaller return due to our market size. Of course it would have been great if Lotus could have done a GCC spec. quicker - they've lost a lot of time when the market was really rolling.

When I'm next in Saudi, I'll try to see the GCC cars and post up some additional info. :wave:

 

[...m...]

...cain, the two cars in your avatar look like extremely well-suited colors for a bright sunlit climate, very nice...what sort of cooling modifications did you do to the series one elise?..

 

[cain-it]

Hi there ...m... thanks for the +VE coments on my cars.

My '98 S1 was bog-stock LHD European spec. and without A/C. Ran really well in Dubai, even in traffic, up to the point that it humanly got too hot to drive any car without AC (35 Degrees C +) .

Winter diving was a dream, but once the Summer kicked-in (up to 50 degrees C -eek-), the combination of outside tempreture & cabin heat soak got a bit sweaty...but everything kept working . For such a specialist car, Lotus is tougher than you think!

That's why I was always frustrated with Lotus Cars' slow intro into the Gulf :wallbang:. I'm sure with the Federal S2 as a base, it didn't need to take another 5 years to completed the extra modicatations of insulation/filters to make it suitable for the Gulf.

Having said that I know Lotus Cars did do Summer testing here (unlike most small scale manufacturers) so they had professionally recorded the data concerning heat etc and were not willing to launch in the Gulf until they had modified the car.

Hopefully the next ranges of Lotus cars will be suitable for global markets from day one :wave:

 

[Minnis]

I'll be in Dubai for the a few months later this year... so you are saying it's hot? I will need to grab one of these windscreens and bring it back to the states.

 

[mrcarcrazy]

i wondered about a leather shiftknob for those 110 degree days.

I'd take the windshield and shiftknob in a heartbeat.

 

[cain-it]

Right now we're in "winter" mode, ie 25 to 30C mid day, 15 to 20C at night. Just nice

...but, within the next few weeks it will warm-up. After about April it gets a bit tricky. June to Sept is a killer -eek-

 

[cemaykan]

i wonder if they will have other options in the middle east like road-side-bomb shield etc..

Lotus is a bit late entering the middle east, with oil prices so down, and everyday 10's of cars left at airports(dubai) I wouldn't be surprised if turns out to be a investment ~5 year late

 

[SirLotus]

Just tint the windshield with 3M Crystalline.....IT WORKS:crazyeyes

i wondered about a leather shiftknob for those 110 degree days.

I'd take the windshield and shiftknob in a heartbeat.

 

[...m...]

i wonder if they will have other options in the middle east like road-side-bomb shield etc..

...wow, really rolling out the stereotypes there - didn't i see a picture somewhere of a middle-eastern military elise with a machine gun mounted on its rollbar, for real?..

 

[mnsayer]

I dont think my insurance covers road side bombs anic: hahaha that was bad... lets just say im happy that my car wont explode from the "HEAT" after their mods :coolnana:

 

[cain-it]

Hey, hows life with your Exige 240 in Q8?

Is it working OK? Even in the Summer? With no active dealer, who's looking after it for you?

I've had my Federal Elise since July 08, but only really used it a lot in the past 5 Winter months, 3 of which is after the BWR SC was installed. Apart from an AC re-gas, I've done all work on the car myself. So far no issues at all - I'm really happy with it, espically since the SC & Stage II exhaust install

Insharla, it will be OK in the Summer months.... then I can think of some more mods... an intercooler upgrade looks interesting :evil:

Hope to do a few track days & a Lotus Diver Training course over the coming months :shift: (Dubai Autodrome have an ex Lotus Sport instructor working in their team)

:wave: