Lotus reopens Hethel factory tours after £100-M upgrade

Lotus is once again opening its doors to the public after the British automotive brand upgraded its Hethel factory through a £100-million redevelopment project. The Norwich-based luxury carmaker will now be accepting tours in its Hethel facility starting April 4.

“Tours of the Hethel site were part of the Lotus story for many years and hugely popular. We get emails and calls every week with people asking about them but, with all the development work on-site, it was not appropriate to have the public here. With the Emira now in production, I’m delighted to announce that the time is right to relaunch the factory tours,” said Lotus Advanced Performance Director Simon Lane.

According to Lotus, guests who will sign up for the tour will be accompanied by an expert guide who will lead them through the factory. Here, they will learn of Lotus’ ongoing transformation and experience for themselves how all Lotus showrooms will look in the future.

In addition, guests will be taken to the older sections of the factory where, most recently, the Elise, Exige, and Evora were built, until they make their way into the all-new Emira hall. Here, they will see the new automated elements of the car’s production — a first for Lotus — as well as how much of the process remains hands-on.

The walking route will pass the dynamic test areas, including the famous 2.2-mile Hethel test track that has hosted some of the most famous names in the history of motorsport — Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ayrton Senna, and countless others.

The Hethel factory tours will run Monday to Thursday every week, with tour groups consisting of up to eight people. There will be two groups per day with the tours starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., with each lasting approximately two hours.

On selected days there is the option to upgrade to a Heritage Tour, which includes a visit to Classic Team Lotus. A separate business situated just across the road from the main Lotus facility, it’s run by Clive Chapman — the son of Lotus founder, Colin Chapman — and includes countless historic Lotus race cars.

The Lotus Factory Tour is priced at £95 per person and the Lotus Factory & Heritage Tour is priced at £140 per person.

Photos from Lotus

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