Lotus restarts factory tours following £100 million upgrade

With the Emira sports car now in production, Lotus fans can book tours of the historic Hethel facility – and the Classic Team Lotus site.

Lotus Hethel Factory Tours

The historic Lotus Hethel production facility in Norfolk will reopen for public tours next month. 

Factory visits were suspended by Lotus in November 2017, but start again from Monday 4 April. 

It follows a £100 million investment at the Hethel site, including a state-of-art factory to build the new Lotus Emira sports car. 

A glimpse of Lotus history

Lotus Hethel Factory Tours

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 Emira will be the final petrol-powered sports car to be made by Lotus, before the company embarks on a fully electric future

Before seeing where the latest model is being made, visitors will be guided through the older sections of the Hethel factory.

A chance to see the famous Hethel test track, used in the development of countless Lotus vehicles, is also included.

Visits to Classic Team Lotus

Lotus Hethel Factory Tours

Tours will be offered from Monday to Thursday each week, with each visit lasting around two hours. Groups will be limited to eight guests, and Lotus notes that no photography is allowed within the factory. 

On selected days, enthusiasts can upgrade to an optional Heritage Tour. This includes a visit to Classic Team Lotus, which looks after numerous historic Lotus racing cars. 

Tickets for the Lotus Factory Tour are £95 per person, with the combined Factory Tour and Heritage Tour at £140 per person. Each guest will receive a specially designed lanyard and pin badge as a memento.

Bookings can be made now through the Lotus Cars website.

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John Redfern
John Redfern
U.S. Editor with a love of all things Americana. Woodgrain-clad station wagons and ridiculous muscle cars a speciality.

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