Lotus sedan

[Martin]

What do you all think?

If Lotus made a sedan, would it kill the "auora" of Lotus or do you think they could become stronger like Porsche has done with their SUV?

[SpeedStar]

What about a lotus pickup? :eek:

[Esprit2]

What do you all think? If Lotus made a sedan, would it kill the "auora" of Lotus or do you think they could become stronger like Porsche has done with their SUV?

A sedan doesn't have to be a stone. Consider the Lotus Carlton/Omega. It was a conversion rather than a ground-up Lotus, but it was far from boring. The Elite/Eclat were 2-liter 4-cylinders for many reasons other than Lotus' main focus, but despite a lack of 300 hp, they were excellent handling cars that were entertaining on a twisting road. Similarly, the Cortina and Sunbeam-Talbot were not boring cars.

Or as a more recent yardstick for what Lotus might do with a sedan, consider the stillborn Emme 422t. BMW 3-series/ Volvo S40 in proportions, 4-doors, Lotus handling, Esprit 910S engine, 5-speed Tremec... and did I mention Lotus handling. I'd be interested. The gap for Lotus from a sportscar to a sport sedan is not as big as the gap Porsche jumped to an SUV... and Lotus has built 4-seaters before.

I've had 4 Europas and an Esprit. And when I need more seats, it felt very good to take the Eclat for a spin. When you drive a Lotus sports car regularly, most other cars pale by comparison. I look forward to having the option of a 4-seater that still feels like a Lotus in the corners. It would be a very good thing.

Regards,
Tim Engel
Lotus Owners Oftha North

[Martin]

Do you think the Lotus "Eagle" will come to fruition as that would be an awesome "practical" Lotus.

[Bill]

I think they should stick to making sports cars. There are plenty of people already making cool sedans and to compete might take too much money away from what's important - the next gen Esprit and Elise development.

- Bill

[Esprit2]

I think they should stick to making sports cars. There are plenty of people already making cool sedans and to compete might take too much money away from what's important - the next gen Esprit and Elise development. - Bill

I dunno.
Lotus has always struggled to pay the bills making two cars a year. Building a car with broader appeal that still doesn't embarrass it's heritage might stimulate more vigorous cash flow that would, in turn, pay for more development.

No matter how thristy you are, you need to use some of the water to prime the pump.

Regards,
Tim Engel
Lotus Owners Oftha North

[Kimbers]

Do you think the Lotus "Eagle" will come to fruition as that would be an awesome "practical" Lotus.

Martin

Read it and get very excited! (From Evo magazine this month)

New Lotuses on horizon
Eagle lands next year, followed by Esprit replacement





From the outside Lotus looks to be in a precarious position. Owner Proton is subject to a takeover bid, and while the Malaysian company's homeland state-of-the-art manufacturing plant has huge appeal for potential buyers, a small, specialist sports car maker with a dodgy financial past, based in rural Norfolk, could seem like unwanted baggage.

Lotus CEO Mike Kimberley (image) confesses that he isn't party to the machinations of the Proton takeover but he is adamant that whatever the outcome, Lotus has a future. In fact, he believes the company is now as strong as it has ever been – it has returned to profitability and plans to launch an all-new 2+2 at the London Motor Show in 2008 and the Esprit replacement a year later.

Debts cleared
Kimberley's optimism is founded on the fact that earlier this year the company's shareholders agreed to recapitalise Lotus, effectively writing off £60million of accumulated debt. 'It's allowed us to clear the decks, to start anew,' he explains, pointing out that if there hadn't been confidence in the company's future viability then such an action wouldn't have taken place.

Debt elimination, however, is only a means of clearing up past mistakes and, since his return to Lotus in May 2006, Kimberley has been 'busy' turning the company into a profitable entity. 'We've been through a period of painful right-sizing,' he says, 'and managed to bring down the break-even point from 6000 units to 3000 a year.

'Production is now tailored to demand – we're selling 65 cars a week and we're making 65 cars a week. We've eliminated the build-up of stock, particularly in the US where the situation was out of hand and unsustainable. There's a need to refocus Lotus on being a niche company, small enough that a 'can do' culture can flourish, as it did in Colin's (Chapman) day.'

In March this year Kimberley presented the main Lotus board with a five-year strategic plan, the first time that the company has applied such a discipline. Kimberley insists that 'you have to have a long-term vision and then stick to it'. One part of his plan has had to be dropped already, though – a Lotus-tuned version of the Proton Satria has been put on hold because of the uncertainty over who will buy the Malaysian company.

New 2+2
Kimberley is clearly passionate about Lotus's forthcoming models, starting with Project Eagle, a 2+2 designed to sit between the Elise/Exige/Europa and the new Esprit, and due to debut at next year's London motor show, on sale early in 2009. Teasingly he grants me a quick glance at pictures of the Eagle, which appears to be a mid-engined coupe with (very) occasional rear seating. Think Bertone-bodied Dino 308GT4 with a modern Lotus twist and you won't be too wide of the mark. Price is likely to be sub-£50K.
Unlike the Europa, the Eagle isn't based on an Elise platform but it will use a bonded aluminium tub and glassfibre composite body. Kimberley won't confirm where the engine's coming from, but doesn't argue with the logic of our guess at a Toyota unit, most likely a 3.2-litre V6 with about 300bhp.

Aston engine?
Kimberley is less helpful regarding the power source for the next- generation Esprit, set for launch in late 2009, other than to say that he's very excited about the deal Lotus has sealed with 'a very well respected prestige car maker'. There's been much speculation that the engine will be a BMW unit, but given the relationship Lotus has with Aston Martin – it designed and set up the alloy chassis and suspension of the Vanquish – and the desire to be 'niche' and 'exclusive', an Aston V8 would fit the bill equally well.

When we interviewed Kimberley in 2006, he had just reviewed progress with the Esprit and decided that it wasn't extreme enough. It seems that the car's dynamics are now much sharper, 'more Lotus', as befitting Hethel's flagship £70,000 supercar.

Lotus Engineering
While all this has been going on at Lotus Cars, Lotus Engineering has been restructured and ultimately will be run as a separate outfit. It already has several Chinese-market projects on the go as well as half a dozen in the expanding Indian market, including a joint venture with an un-named Indian car-maker. Such is its confidence that Engineering has been able to poach Paul Newsome from Jaguar as MD.

[WayneB]

In England when I was a kid , I remember when the Lotus Cortina was released and it was a huge success , all the racing drivers and go faster guys either had one or wanted one(but couldnt afford it).

Ditto with the Lotus Carlton/Lotus Omega, a Lotus version of a modern saloon would be a great idea IMO (especially a BMW M5 killer):)

[Martin]

Kimbers...excellent info, thanks.

Wayne: the problem with making an m5 killer is that the m5 is so damn good that it may be a futile path to travel. Not to say I wouldn't love to see it, I just wouldn't want Lotus to hurt themselves financially anymore than they have.

[WayneB]

Kimbers...excellent info, thanks.

Wayne: the problem with making an m5 killer is that the m5 is so damn good that it may be a futile path to travel. Not to say I wouldn't love to see it, I just wouldn't want Lotus to hurt themselves financially anymore than they have.

Well the way I see it is that most of us own Esprits because we dont want a Porsche 911 for one reason or another, so a Lotus version of an M5 type car will always find a buyer (2nd car to an Esprit owner with a family?)

Lotus obviously would have to collabarate with another manufacturer, one that is crying out for a better "performance image" like Hyundai, Daewoo or dare I say it Proton!:D

(Cue Tony Kimberley):p

[Kimbers]

Another problem is the market for this kind of car is dieing on it's feet. Honda have taken the view that a type R accord, for example, is no longer viable due to the lack of a market. Whereas 8 years ago it was a best seller!

Hot hatchbacks is still a hugely viable product though. I'd love to see another Lotus Sunbeam style vehicle!!

[Martin]

Look at all these "run of the mill" sedans coming out in todays market. Having 300hp is practically normal here in the states. So yeah, trying to market a "performance" sedan is being redundant.

[espritonhres]

I think a sedan would be cool, but to keep with the lotus modo(dont know how to spell that) it would be difficult to create a sedan that has comfort and size in the lightweight department so it can compete. What a task, im getting tired just thinking about ways to do it.