Since we’re on the subject of cars, exactly a year ago I picked up my 380 Cup from the dealership and since then I’ve done around 10,000KM on the car including four track days in Bahrain. Because Lotus isn’t very popular in Kuwait (or anywhere else really), I decided I’d do a writeup, a sort of a long term review of the car and the local dealership.

As some of you know I had another Lotus before this one. That one kept giving me random problems, but this Lotus has been pretty good so far. I’ve really only had two issues and both were minor:

– Front access panel would loosen up at high speed
– Hazard light button would get stuck sometimes

Both those issues were fixed easily under warranty. Speaking of which, my car’s warranty expires today since it’s just a 1-year warranty. This is the only Lotus I am aware of that has a 1-year warranty, I think the rest have 2 or 3 years but because mine is a special edition with only 60 built, it has just a 1-year. That really sucks but Lotus have the option to extend the warranty for another year for a fee. I’m currently waiting to hear from them how much that fee is, hopefully, it won’t be much.

I actually just got the car back from Bahrain this Sunday. I had kept the car in Bahrain for a bit more than 6 weeks so I could take part in open track days on the Bahrain International Circuit while saving money on having to keep shipping the car back and forth. I got three track days done and just brought back the car to Kuwait so I can get the oil changed and 10,000KM service done. My Lotus did not miss our horrible broken roads that’s for sure.

On the track, the car has been great. I pretty much drive it hard non-stop through the whole session and don’t run into any overheating issues or even brake pedal fade. After four track days, the brake pads are also still full and even the Michelin Cup 2 tires not that worn. Having a lightweight car definitely saves you a lot in consumables. On normal roads, day to day driving I find the car super fun to drive. My car is the European spec, not the GCC spec so it doesn’t have the secondary AC unit behind the seats which my previous Lotus had. I used to find that AC freezing cold 10 months out of the year and it was super annoying because you couldn’t turn off the secondary AC unit. With this Lotus, for 2 months of the year I drive it mostly at night, but then the rest of the year the AC is more than enough. I actually didn’t really face any major cooling issues during the summer, the AC cooled the car enough but I also always parked it in shaded parking. I’d imagine the car would take a long time to cool down if you parked it in the sun, but really I don’t miss the dual AC system of the GCC spec cars. If you’re wondering what the advantage of a Euro spec car is, basically because you have space behind the seats you can install a 4-way seat belt harness and bar. You can’t do that on GCC spec cars since that gap behind the seats is taken with the secondary AC unit.

Moneywise I haven’t really spent that much on the car. I paid around KD200 for the harness bar and 4-way seatbelt, I bought a new racing helmet and gloves, but that’s really it. Oh and I changed the oil back in December before sending the car to Bahrain and it cost me KD60 at the dealership. That isn’t too bad, double what I pay for my FJ, but also like a fifth of the cost of a Lamborghini oil change. So it’s reasonable in that sense. But I do have an issue with the dealer’s prices on parts. New brake pads at the dealer costs KD358, but the same OEM pads can be ordered online for KD100 and KD200 would get you some serious racing pads. I’m not to concerned about the price of the pads since I can just order them online when the time comes. But what I am concerned about is larger pieces like body panels. I’m worried if I crash on the race track how much the body panels and carbon fiber parts are going to cost and I’m too afraid to ask. I don’t think it’s the fault of the local dealer since the local dealer gets everything through Dubai. I think Lotus Dubai are the reason to blame on the high cost of parts.

Generally, though I’m really satisfied with Alghanim who are the local dealer’s. Everyone is just extremely friendly and helpful from the mechanics to the showroom manager up to the aftersales manager. I also love the fact that I’ve got the mechanics on Whatsapp and I just message them before I head over, it makes the service feel very personalized. My only gripes with the dealership are minor, the first being the fact I hate passing by the dealership and seeing dirty and dusty Lotuses parked outside. That cheapens the brand and there is no reason not to keep them nice and clean especially since they’re the test drive cars. The second issue I have is with their instagram account, it’s not very active, the stories they post are lame and their phones camera lens is always dirty. Again I feel it cheapens the brand. Not only that but whoever is running their instagram account doesn’t know their cars well and I’ve had to leave a comment more than once correcting them. Not only that but I setup an account for my car a few months ago (@380cup) and I get more likes and engagement than the dealers instagram account, so they’re clearly doing something wrong. I should probably work out some sort of deal with them where they hand over the account to me to manage in return I get like free service or something.

In the end, I’m really really happy with the car and I’m so glad I traded in my older Exige for this one. I still look back at the car after parking it and I still get excited every morning knowing I’ll be driving the Lotus to work. If you’re looking for a sports car you can track, I’d highly recommend the Lotus and the local Lotus dealership.

Back in January I swapped out my Lotus Exige S with the Exige 380 Cup, a lighter and more powerful version of the Exige that was more track focused. I still remember when I posted about my Exige S after getting it, I had linked to a Exige 380 Sport video and I remember thinking, damn I wish I had the 380 Sport instead. It was faster, more aggressive and looked slightly better. And now, I’ve got the 380 Cup which is an even more extreme version. Someone pinch me!

Anyway, here is a rundown of the car after doing around 4,500KM on it plus taken it to the Bahrain International Circuit for a track day.

The Good
I was hoping because the car was so stiff and rough, I wouldn’t drive it a lot so I could keep the mileage low, but that didn’t happen. I’ve been driving the car daily since I got it, racking up miles like I would in any normal daily driver. I don’t have sound isolating carpeting in the car, just floor mats, so I can see the aluminum car frame as well as hear alot of the road noise. And I love the sound of the road under my car even the sounds of little pebbles hitting the underside of the car. Just makes me feel more connected to the road.

I also still love climbing in and sitting inside the tiny cockpit, and I love how the car feels on the road. Road clearance isn’t that much of an issue and since I tend to spend most of my time driving from my home to the office using the Gulf Road, I don’t have problems with crappy roads.

Unlike my previous Exige this one has a manual gearbox and I do have mix feelings about it. Not the specific manual gearbox in this car which is incredible, but more on the idea if I prefer an automatic over a manual gearbox. Car guys are going to say manual is the way to go but personally, I’m 50/50 split on this. On the one side, the thing I like most about this car is the analog feel of it. There isn’t much technology in this car, the interior is very simple and so the manual gearbox works really well with the overall feel of the car. I like the metal clunks the gearbox makes when I shift gears, I like trying to match my revs or practicing my heel and toe skills when slowing down. But, I also miss the convenience of an automatic gearbox especially when I get stuck in traffic.

The Bad
I haven’t really had any issue with the car other than the fact this past weekend while on the racetrack the hatch on the front of the car was coming loose whenever I hit 200km/h. Not fun and I had to keep coming back into the pits to push the hatch back down. You can actually see it happening in the video above, if you look at the left corner where the black carbon fiber hatch meets the blue bodywork at the 3:12 minute mark, you’ll see the front hatch lift up.

The Ugly
The only other issue I’ve had isn’t really an issue for me, but more for the cops. The car exhaust has a valve, in normal driving the car is quiet, too quiet which I don’t like. So I usually have the car in sport mode which opens up the exhaust valve. The problem then is the car becomes too loud, like I’d be driving 40km/h but from the sound of it you’d think I was doing 140km/h. It attracts tooo much attention from the cops and since I get stopped for no reason anyway, this doesn’t make life any easier. Oh and I’ve definitely been traumatized by the cops! This weekend while I was on the racetrack, I swear at some points I was worried I was gonna get pulled over or get caught by a speed camera. I’m convinced its some sort of PTSD.

Mods
There isn’t much in terms of modifications I can do to this car since Lotus already upgraded everything in it that can be upgraded. The sound system is really shit but I’m not going to upgrade it since I did that with my last Exige and the sound wasn’t that much of an improvement since the speakers that fit are pretty small. So the only upgrade I did was install a harness bar along with a 4-point racing harness for the driver’s seat. I can still use my regular seatbelt for day to day driving but for track driving, I can now use the 4-point belt instead. The advantage of the 4-point system is that it allows you to become one with the car. Once you tighten it up you can’t move anymore, you’re just glued to your seat which allows you to feel the car a lot more.

Plan B
Before I got the 380 Cup I did consider other cars. The most obvious car was the Porsche 911. They’re hot, super practical and really easy to drive. I’d love a 911 GT3 or GT3RS, and I think a black Targa is one of the most beautiful cars out there. But, the problem with Porsches is that everyone has one. They just aren’t special anymore, it’s like owning a Rolex. On track days they’re the most popular cars on track and I wouldn’t want to spend so much money and not feel special. Other cars I considered were second hand Ferrari 430’s and 458’s, as well as second-hand McLarens. My dream car right now is the baby McLaren, the 540c, but even second hand they cost around 50K. Then you’ve got the maintenance costs associated with Ferrari’s and McLarens, I don’t want to worry about that shit when I buy a car. With the 380 Cup on the other hand, because the car is so rare (1/60) it’s instantly special. On the track this past weekend it must have been the most photographed car even though there were McLarens, Ferraris, Lambos and Porsches. I like that.

So yeah, I still really love the car, I love the brand and the online Lotus community. I love the way my car looks and I love it even more with the roof off. I love the sounds it makes, the un-practicality of it, and I love watching my friends try to climb in and out of the car. Do I wish I had a McLaren 540c? For sure but I also wish I had a Ferrari F40, a Porsche 918, a Lancia Delta HF Integrale, my old Datsun 240z, a BMW E30 M3, a Golf GTI MK1 etc.. I’m a car guy so I’m always going to want more.

It’s been a month since I bought the Lotus, and in this month I managed to drive just over 3000KM and even shipped it to Bahrain to race it on their GP circuit. When I first got the car I was in love with it but after this weekends trip to Bahrain, I’m now even more in love with it if thats somehow even possible.

So far modification wise, I’ve done two things to the car, the first was to swap out the shitty stock radio with a much better one that has bluetooth at least. The second thing I did was to get front paint protection from ProTech. So the whole front of the car till the windshield is now protected with an invisible film. I wouldn’t usually do this but because its such a low car and I’m driving it daily, I figured it would be worth getting the protection for the long run. I also ordered some better speakers and I should be installing those myself sometime this week. I don’t think I’ll be doing any other modifications after I get the sound system up to spec, I’ll possibly get window tinting but thats about it.

I’ve been driving the car daily since I got it, it’s now my main daily drive while the FJ has become my going to Shuwaikh or going to chalet car. Although the Lotus suspension is pretty stiff, its not uncomfortable at all and I don’t even have issues with the front and bottom of the car scraping on speed bumps even though the car is super low. I did nearly have an issue after shopping at Allsaints, their bag was too big to fit in my trunk. But, after a bit of origami work, I managed to shrink the bag enough to close the trunk lid. So yeah I definitely won’t be picking up people from the airport in the Lotus, not unless they’re traveling with just their wallet and phone.

Sorry about the terrible angle, will fix it next time

When I took the car to track day in Bahrain, thats where I fell in love with the car even more. Racing on the track in the Lotus was a ridiculous amount of fun. It’s extremely well balanced on turns, has minimal body roll, lots of power and as expected, incredible handling. The steering wheel isn’t powered so on the track it was providing me with so much feedback that there is no way I would now want to go back to a car with powered steering for track use. I did the full track day at the Bahrain International Circuit which was from 4PM to 11PM at night and the car handled it like a champ. The sessions were divided between cars and motorbikes, 30 minutes cars, 30 minutes bikes. Over the course of the 30 minute session I never faced any issues like overheating or brakes starting to fade. If it wasn’t for the 30 minute session limit, I could keep going on and on and on.

Photo courtesy of Bahrain International Circuit

The only thing that actually would prevent me from going on and on is the size of the fuel tank, it’s tiny (43l). After every two sessions I had to drive to the gas station down the street from the race track and fill up my tank full again. I filled up like 4 times that afternoon. Other than that I didn’t really have any main issues. I need a new set of tires and thats gonna set me back like KD450 which sucks. I actually need to work out some kind of deal with Pirelli since I’m going to be visiting them quite often.

I also had two issues with the car which I’m guessing are related to my hard driving on the track. The first issue was that my car wouldn’t lock by remote because it kept thinking my rear hood was open even though it wasn’t. The second issue was with my AC blower knob, when I’d switch it to blower speed 3, the AC would shut off but would work fine on speed 1 and 2. So after the car came back from Bahrain yesterday, I dropped it off at the dealer and they just messaged me awhile ago telling me they fixed both issues and to go in and pick up the car.

I’m loving their service so far and they’re not giving me extra special treatment because I’m Mark. A friend of mine also bought a Lotus a couple of weeks ago and the first thing he told me was how much he loved their service. They really are great, I whatsapp the brand manager for example all the time with the most mundane things, and he hasn’t blocked me yet! (Thank you Waleed)

So would I recommend the Lotus? YES, for sure. Before I bought the car I was torn between it, the BMW M2 and the Porsche Cayman GT4 but now after spending a month with that car I know I made the right choice. A friend of mine just bought a Lotus as well and I have another friend who’s considering the Exige 380 Cup in the beautiful baby blue color (like in the video above). You need to get in and drive a Lotus to understand what all the fuss is about. I already told the Lotus dealer they should hook me up with free brake pads and tires for every referral I send their way but I think they think I’m kidding. I’m not. Like with all brands I love, I tend to promote them like I own them and it’s no different with Lotus, I’ve been promoting the hell out of them.

For those of you who’re interested in tracking your car in Bahrain, stay tuned for a separate post on how you could do that as well.