Lotus restarts factory tours after £100 million upgrade

Lotus has reopened its Hethel factory to the public following an extensive upgrade.

The Norfolk-based firm stopped tours in November 2017 when the £100 million improvements began, with workers preparing the factory for next-generation vehicles.

With all the work now completed, Lotus is restarting a new tour within the recently launched Lotus Advanced Performance division.

Simon Lane, director of Lotus Advanced Performance, said: “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.”

The tours will begin in the Retail Centre, where guests will learn about the transformation of the Lotus brand and get a first-hand look at the new dealership design.

A guide will then talk about the Lotus story while guests walk through older sections of the factory where the Elise, Exige and Evora were built until recently. They will then be taken to where the new Emira sports car is built.

The new automated elements of the car’s production will be shown – a technological first for Lotus – while also demonstrating how production is still hands-on.

A walking route will take in the 2.2-mile Hethel test track, where some iconic names such as Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna got behind the wheel.

Lotus says the tours will run from Monday to Thursday each week from April 4, with two tours per day lasting about two hours each. They will cost £95 per person, while an upgraded heritage tour, which also takes in the separate business of Classic Team Lotus, can be tagged on for an extra £45.