Lotus Hethel Driving Academy

Fantastic experience: Lotus 7 club track day at Hethel, brilliant weather and a brilliant day on a great circuit. It's fast, complicated and a real car tester.

Fantastic experience: Top day. Great factory tour, very knowledgeable Classic team lotus tour and fantastic instructed driving on the test track. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic experience at the tailor made advanced driving day. Tuition was engaging & interesting, the driving dynamics exercises were fantastic & an education, & the laps were exhilarating. The Emira is done car! The LDA folks take good care & not a bad lunch too.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic day at Lotus Driving Academy. Our host and instructor were both excellent. Lots of invaluable learning picked up from the day. Highly recommend.

Negative experience: I´d booked pre Covid. During Covid I had to cancel my booking due to travel restrictions. We were not able to find a new appointment in the near future that time. Unfortunately the voucher had expired during that time. No refund possible. I´ve lost >2000€. Never again!!!

Fantastic experience: Introduction to Sports Cars - a brilliant, brilliant day. The morning spent with Nick at Classic Team Lotus, then a tour of the factory seeing the Emiras being built. Nick’s knowledge and delivery style made for a fantastic and insightful morning. After an excellent lunch, the afternoon was spent with Dave learning to drive the Emira around the full test track. Amazing cars and tuition. Martin Donnelly was brilliant too. The whole day expertly run by Sheena. Everyone involved made special effort to ensure my sixteen year old son had an “insane day”, so thank you so much for that. I’d encourage anyone to do this, or any other of the experiences available; you won’t be disappointed.

Fantastic experience: Had a great day at the test track on the driving experience. The team were friendly and helpful with taking the car round the track as fast as possible. Free tea, coffee and biscuits were a bonus. The best track experience iv ever had

Fantastic experience: Great fun

Fantastic experience: Had a fantastic morning doing the Taste of Lotus experience, taking the Emira round the full test track. The staff were fantastic hosts, patient and insightful instructors on-track - and my fellow participants were great company in between the drives. Definitely working out how I can come back for a longer session in the hopefully not too distant future.

Fantastic experience: We had a great time driving the Emira. The weather was awful all day but the instructors gave you the confidence to trust the car in the conditions and allowed you to use the performance of the car (which not all driving experience days allow!). Nick, Sheena and the rest of the team went above and beyond (thank you again). If you're a fan of Lotus, you need to get booked in and drive the Emira!

Negative experience: The worst driving experience i have ever done. Poor organisation for the whole day. Every one in the team just seemed to be going through the motions. Would not recommend. Poor value for money. As a 50 year plus fan of Lotus i was very sad to see such lack of customer care.

Fantastic experience: great day of Tailor made advanced skills - many thank Martin, Rob, Shelly and Sally

Fantastic experience: A Taste of Lotus driving experience was a really good experience. All staff were incredibly attentive & informative making the day very pleasurable. The drives in the Emira were first class under the excellent instruction of Martin Donnelly. I’ll be back.

Fantastic experience: Went to try a new Emira, came away not only impressed with the car but a fantastic day out. The team were so nice. Nick with his almost encyclopaedic knowledge but most importantly his enthusiasm made the factory tour one of the most engaging I have been to. The hosts and the instructors were warm and super friendly. Being a slow driver, I have been to other track experience days where the instructors were annoyed at me. Not so with Rob and Martin. They were patient, encouraging and confidence inspiring. Made me drive faster than I would believe! Well worth the money. Go do it if you are on the fence about it!!

Fantastic experience: The Introduction to Sports Cars day was a fantastic experience. Run by a really friendly bunch, you get to learn a lot about the rich history of Lotus, and the construction and handling of the Lotus Emira. The track instructors have amazing credentials and are skilled teachers, giving you just enough feedback for you to improve quickly, without overwhelming you. I will be looking to return. The flapjacks caused quite a stir, make sure you try one.

Fantastic experience: Great hosts fantastic experience in the past Elise cup and exige but still better this time in the new emira will hopefully be going again

Fantastic experience: Went on the factory tour. Really interesting to see how the cars have been developed and see how they are assembled. Majority of production is by human hand. If you're into cars I'd thoroughly recommend!

Fantastic experience: A truly amazing day. I have been before with the Elise, but the new Emira is in another world. The team were fantastic and made it a really fantastic day. Tuition from Dave and Katie was perfect and their guidance will make you a better driver. If you love Lotus then get it booked today!!

Fantastic experience: Get to experience the new Emira here at June and tour the factory and Classic Team Lotus as well. Great people, great cars, and a great place made it an unforgettable experience.

Fantastic experience: Amazing experience. Great hosts and instructors. And the emira is an amazing drive

Fantastic experience: Had a wonderful time trying out the new Emira on track at the introduction to sports cars event. The LDA instructors are all current or former racers themselves and are really good at helping to build up confidence in drivers who are new to driving on track. In addition, the event included a tour of the new factory as well as the simply jaw dropping Classic Team Lotus collection of championship winning race cars. Finally, the hosts were super friendly and provided great hospitality throughout the entire day. Would highly recommend the Lotus Driving Academy to any petrolhead!

Fantastic experience: Exhilarating to drive the new Emira.

Fantastic experience: Brilliant experience. If you own or are thinking of owning a Lotus sports car then this is a must. Even the "Taste of Lotus" with the comparatively short drive is brilliant. If you don't own and aren't thinking of getting a Lotus it's still an excellent event.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic cars.

Fantastic experience: Great day with some fantastic instructors and team. Thanks.

Fantastic experience: Had the most amazing experience doing the full 4 day course, It was far better then I had anticipated and I have come away a much more confident and talented driver I can't wait to put my new skills to use on future track days. The team are extremely friendly and welcoming. This is by far the best upgrade for your money to smash those lap times.

Fantastic experience: A truly memorable experience for both myself and my partner who was gifted the "Scare Yourself Sensible" driving experience. We were unable to have a physical factory tour but were presented with a well in depth video tour from Guy. I participated in a guest demonstration lap with one of the amazing drivers there and I absolutely loved it and can hand on heart say that I can now appreciate the fascination and passion my partner has for Lotus and their cars. Would highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: The Holy grail

Fantastic experience: I just did the silver license course and I really liked the format – putting the pieces (hard braking, experiencing under and oversteer, slalom) in the morning and then putting the pieces of the jigsaw together in the afternoon. The quality of the instruction from former racing drivers was just superb. Mine was Austin Kinsella – so encouraging and effective. Felt very safe throughout even though I ended up driving an Elise way beyond what I have experienced before. Really good value too.

Fantastic experience: Awesome weekend spent with these guys. Great instructors. Great track

Fantastic experience: First class race track for cycling. Love it when we come here. Brilliantly organised and so kind of Lotus to lend out the track. Proper Italian coffee and snacks. Friendly bunch. What is not to like.

Fantastic experience: My father and sister competed in a car sprint. Very well run.

Fantastic experience: War ein toller Nachmittag mit einer tollen Betreuung und einer sehr informativen Fabriksführung. Kaffee, Tee immer heiß und gut, auch die Kekse. Danke das Team rund um Tom, besser geht es wirklich nicht. Ich kann die Lotus Driving Akademie nur empfehlen!

Fantastic experience: Much has already been written about the Lotus Driving Academy and when I sat down to write this review my aim was to be reserved about our experience. Despite this I am now about to become yet another person that only wants to gush uncontrollably with praise, thanks and admiration for Lotus and the team of professionals that work tirelessly to make the Lotus Driving Academy what it is today. So much for being reserved and staying in control! Whether you are looking for a quick half day experience or something more focused there are packages to suit everyone. In my case it was three full days of intensive driver training in the Bronze, Silver and Gold Level licences, starting in the Elise 220 Sport with 1:1 tuition while tackling multiple driving sessions, passing a wide array of on-track activities and enjoying demo laps at the end of each day with our allocated instructors. The end of day demos made you realise just how much scope there was to learn, yet every day each of us had clearly progressed by quite some margin. To underline this point I genuinely believe that if on day one I had seen how fast and controlled my driving on day three would be like in the mighty Exige V6 I don't think I would have believed it! Outside of the driving there was a fabulous range of food and drink available during lunch and the morning and afternoon breaks. We also enjoyed some time away from the track in the form of a guided Lotus factory tour to see how their high performance sports cars are individually hand crafted and what makes them so special. In addition to this we enjoyed a guided tour of Classic Team Lotus, which to this day is run by Colin Chapman’s son, Clive Chapman. As part of the tour we got up close to the cars (as in you could reach out and touch them) and heard some of the amazing stories and history behind the classic Lotus racing cars as driven by Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna and not forgetting Martin Donnelly (who is also a long term instructor at the Lotus Driving Academy). Guy from the Lotus Driving Academy conducted both of our tours and its fair to say that his relaxed and easy going approach coupled with his encyclopaedic knowledge of both current and classic Lotus was nothing short of amazing. As tempting as it is I’m not going to write about each day and what we did, but I must give special mention to the full team at the Lotus Driving Academy as they worked their socks off and nothing was too much trouble (thanks again guys). It feels like a bit of a cop-out, but believe me when I say that no amount of words can really sum up our three days at Lotus. It would be like trying to write about “that special sunset” you remember watching. Just like that sunset, the Lotus Driving Academy really has to be experienced first hand to be truly appreciated. If you Google the word ‘Academy’ you will find that means a place of study or training in a special field or a society or institution of distinguished scholars and artists or scientists that aims to promote and maintain standards in its particular field. Those of you following Lotus will have also noticed their new branding which includes the words ‘For The Drivers’. The Lotus Driving Academy brings these two elements together and blends them perfectly to deliver an experience that gives you a full and complete understanding in the application of performance driving and this is something which has seriously enhanced our skills behind the wheel both on and off the track. But there is something more than that, our time at the Lotus Driving Academy gave us three special days to meet some fantastic people and to enjoy a truly amazing experience that we will never forget. Thank you guys, its been emotional!

Fantastic experience: Did the bronze last year done silver this year excellent tuition from Martin Donnelly

Fantastic experience: Fantastic time@ Lotus Driving Academy - thx !!

Fantastic experience: To quote another company: "Just do it". If you have any doubt if this is worth your money - don't. Driving any Lotus is an experience on itself; driving it on track is a completely different experience again. Coaches even include ex-F1 drivers. Factory tour is great and we visited the new heritage building (which wasn't finished yet). Can't wait until next time.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic experience - I booked to do the Bronze part of the Lotus license and the driver coaching was excellent inc ex-F1 driver Martin Donnelly who takes you out for an incredible demonstration laps. Also includes great tours of the Lotus assembly plant and Classic Team Lotus, great value.

Fantastic experience: Last month I visited the Lotus Driving Academy for a day of personal coaching in an Elise. Simon Poole was the perfect host and the coaching by Martin Donnelly was informative and great fun. I wish I could go back every weekend -- maybe then I could nail down the Graham Hill corners. If you are thinking about a track day, just do it. These guys will ensure you have a good time while being safe.

Fantastic experience: We went for the bronze experience. This included 3 sessions of 20 Minutes in the Elise 220, a visit of the factory and the classic team lotus greatly commented by Guy. We had the chance to have Martin Donnelly as our instructor, he is great fun and full of stories. Overall a great day and all I want is to go back. Great experience, great people, great place.

Fantastic experience: Amazing! Had a great day on Elise driving experience and factory tour after