Lotus Driving Academy is relaunching, offering customers the chance to drive the all-new Lotus Emira. LDA sessions start on June 22 and will run on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday three weeks out of every four on the iconic 2.2-mile test track at Hethel, the home of Lotus since 1966.
Three LDA courses will be available:
- A Taste of Lotus – a 20-minute drive in an Emira on the full Hethel test track. Guided from the passenger seat by a highly experienced professional instructor, this course is aimed at those who want to experience or gift the chance to drive a Lotus Emira in a truly iconic location.
- Introduction to Sports Cars – a full-day program, guests will have 2 x 20 minutes of driving with a professional instructor on the test track, understanding basic sports car control, and the Emira’s different drive modes. That’s followed by a guided Hethel factory tour, which includes access to the Chapman Production Centre where the Emira is built. Guests will also see other parts of the Norfolk site 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 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, practice, and master their new skills.
Prices are £180 for A Taste of Lotus, £720 for Introduction to Sports Cars, and £960 for Tailor-Made Advanced. The booking platform is now live at https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/driving-academy
The relaunch at Hethel is the first step of a three-year growth plan that will see the current USA Lotus experience centers – 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 the launch.
The relaunch of the LDA is the second experiential activity to be started at Hethel in the last two months. The first is the Hethel factory tour, as detailed above, which can be booked separately at https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/factory-tours
