The perfect Christmas gift: Lotus Driving Academy announces 2023 dates

The perfect Christmas gift: Lotus Driving Academy announces 2023 dates

Lotus_Driving-Academy_2022.mp4

  • Online booking for next year’s Hethel track day experiences now available at https://experience.lotuscars.com
  • Revamped structure means four courses instead of three, creating extra customer choice
  • Option to include Hethel factory and Classic Team Lotus tours
  • Prices start at just £199
  • Hethel factory tours available to book through same link

 

Hethel, UK – 1 December 2022  Just in time for Christmas, one of the UK’s best-known track experience days – the Lotus Driving Academy (LDA) – has announced its diary for the first half of 2023. The chance to drive the thrilling Emira sports car on the iconic Lotus test track is the perfect festive gift for any petrolhead.

LDA sessions run on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday two weeks out of every four, using the iconic 2.2-mile circuit at Hethel, the home of Lotus since 1966. The booking platform is now live at https://experience.lotuscars.com and tours of the Hethel factory are available through the same link.

New for 2023 is a revamped structure, with the LDA now offering four distinct courses rather than three. All courses begin with a comprehensive safety briefing from the expert Academy instructors. Offering something for everyone, the four courses are as follows:

A Taste of Lotus – guests have a five-minute circuit familiarisation with an Academy instructor before sliding behind the Emira’s steering wheel themselves. They’re guided from the passenger seat by the instructor for 2 x 10-minute sessions on the full Hethel test track. This course is aimed at those who want to experience or gift the chance to drive a Lotus Emira in a truly iconic location.

Dynamic Emira – new for 2023, this half-day experience allows guests to compare both the Touring and Sports suspension set-ups of the Emira in a back-to-back comparison. The course includes 4 x 10-minute sessions on the south test track, with the instructor assisting guests to identify the vehicle characteristics previously discussed. Time between driving sessions is filled with a visit to the Chapman Production Centre, where the Emira is built, for a tour of the sub-assembly area to see how the car’s suspension is put together.

Introduction to Sports Cars – a full-day programme, guests will have 2 x 20 minutes of driving with a Academy instructor, understanding basic sports car control and the Emira’s different drive modes. That’s followed by a guided Hethel site tour, which includes access to the Chapman Production Centre where the Emira is built. Guests will also see other parts of the Lotus facility which have benefited from a £100million upgrade as part of the transformation of Lotus into a global performance car brand. The day is completed with a tour of Classic Team Lotus, just across the road from the main Lotus site, to see its unique collection of historic Lotus race cars.

Tailor-Made Advanced – with a 3-to-1 ratio of guests to instructors, this tailored course will help drivers achieve their personal goals through the use of skills training including slalom, oversteer and understeer activities. The course runs over a full day, allowing guests time to learn, practise and master their new skills. 

The LDA is delivered by Lotus Advanced Performance, the bespoke vehicle and experiential division of the business launched earlier this year. Stewart Croucher, Manager, Motorsport and Drive Programmes, Lotus, said: “Relaunching the Lotus Driving Academy earlier this year has been a great success with hundreds of happy customers thrilled to experience the amazing dynamics of the Emira sports car.”

He added: “Opening up the 2023 diary gives us the chance to restructure what we offer, adding one extra package for even greater choice. There is something for everyone, whether you’ve never driven a sports car before or you’re an experienced racer looking to improve your lap times. And we can now include the Hethel factory and Classic Team Lotus tours as the icing on the cake of a great day out.”

LDA prices are £199 for A Taste of Lotus; £450 for Dynamic Emira; £699 for Introduction to Sports Cars: and £960 for Tailor-Made Advanced. Book now at https://experience.lotuscars.com

This is just the start for the LDA. The Hethel courses are the first step of a three-year growth plan that will see the current USA Lotus experience centres – in Utah, Georgia and Arizona – become full LDA operations. The existing LDA in Italy, in Pavia, just south of Milan, will also relaunch with an Emira fleet. In addition, two all-new LDA teams will open in all-new locations. More details will follow closer to launch.

 

Ends

 

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact the Lotus Communications team:

Rob Borrett, Head of Media and Launch Programmes

rborrett@lotuscars.com

+44 (0) 7718 560789

 

Richard Yarrow, Head of News and Technology Communications

ryarrow@lotuscars.com

+44 (0) 7471 994525

 

Alastair Florance, PR Manager

aflorance@lotuscars.co.uk

+ 44 (0) 7802 918662

 

Diederik Reitsma, PR Manager, European Markets

diederik.reitsma@eu.lotuscars.com

+ 31 651 939 185

 

Samantha Thomas, PR Officer, Product Press and Digital Media

sthomas2@lotuscars.com

+44 (0) 7909 813785

 

The Lotus media site – https://media.lotuscars.com – contains news, images, specifications and full details of current models, as well as heritage cars and engineering technology.

For the latest news and information from the Lotus PR Team please follow:

https://twitter.com/LotusCarsPR

https://www.instagram.com/LotusCarsPR

 

For Lotus Cars social media please follow:

https://www.facebook.com/LotusCars

https://twitter.com/lotuscars

https://www.instagram.com/lotuscars

https://www.youtube.com/grouplotus

https://www.linkedin.com/company/group-lotus

 

About Lotus

Lotus Cars is based in Hethel, Norfolk, UK, and is the global HQ for sports car and hypercar manufacturing operations, Lotus Advanced Performance and the iconic 2.2-mile test track. Lotus Cars builds world-class high-performance cars, born out of legendary success on the racetrack including 13 FIA Formula 1 world titles and many other championship honours. In July 2021 Lotus unveiled the all-new Lotus Emira, its last petrol-powered sports car and best-of-breed, and in July 2019 it launched the Evija, the world’s first all-electric British hypercar. Customer deliveries of both cars will begin during 2022. In March 2022 Lotus revealed the Eletre, the world’s first all-electric hyper-SUV. Customer deliveries will begin in 2023. The Lotus Type 135, an all-electric sports car, is currently being designed and engineered at Hethel.

Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. It is internationally recognised for its long-standing contribution to ground-breaking engineering and innovative vehicle development. Its expertise extends beyond automotive; in August 2021 a Lotus Engineering-developed track bike helped Team GB’s cyclists win seven medals, including three golds, at the Tokyo Olympics. An international consultancy with offices around the world, Lotus Engineering is headquartered at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre on the University of Warwick’s Wellesbourne Campus in the UK.

Lotus Tech is an affiliate company of Group Lotus, established as part of the Vision80 strategy established in 2018. With operational assets across China, the UK and Europe, Lotus Tech is dedicated to delivering smart lifestyle battery electric vehicles (BEVs) such as the Eletre. Lotus Tech is focused on R&D in next-generation automobility technologies such as electrification, digitalisation and more. In addition to the Lotus Eletre, Lotus Tech plans to launch further BEV models including a sports sedan (Type 133) another SUV (Type 134) and more, as Vision80 reaches maturity in 2028.

Group Lotus is either the parent company of or affiliated with the above. In 2017, Geely Holding Group, one of the fastest growing automotive group in the world, acquired a 51% stake in Group Lotus. The other 49% is owned by Etika Automotive, a Malaysian conglomerate.