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Old 03-16-2019, 06:28 AM   #1
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Default Lotus dishes first details on new sports car due next year

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Lotus dishes first details on new sports car due next year
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Sean Szymkowski March 15, 2019
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Lotus will grace the world with a new sports car in 2020, and the brand's CEO has spilled the first details about what we should expect from the as-yet unnamed car.

CEO Phil Popham, a former Jaguar-Land Rover and Sunseeker yacht executive, said the car will not usher in a new platform in an interview with told Autocar published Friday. The next Elise, Exige, and Evora have that honor. Instead, this sports car will ride on a heavily updated Lotus architecture that will focus on practicality and ergonomics. Most importantly, it will be the first new car from Lotus under Chinese owner Geely. A Toyota engine should also power the sports car as that partnership continues unchanged for now. Popham added it will drive like a Lotus and focus on lightweight materials.

Clive Chapman's 2018 Lotus Evora GT410 Sport
Clive Chapman's 2018 Lotus Evora GT410 Sport

Popham made it clear that Geely has high hopes (and likely expectations) as it sinks "billions" of dollars into the brand.

Geely's real influence on Lotus likely won't become clear until next decade when new models arrive on a new platform, and the CEO said the new sports car will be somewhat of stepping stone. He said there's this new sports car, then everything else will arrive on a new architecture that is just now under development. Popham said to not expect new cars based on it for about three or four years after work on the platform has been completed. He provided no timeframe for the architecture, but he suggested it may not be bonded aluminum if engineers find a better option.

Looking further into the future, Popham added he could see Lotus expanding into a number of segments. He used Porsche as a guiding example. The German luxury marque sells SUVs and a hatchback sedan now alongside its high-performance sports cars. SUVs are the most likely start for Lotus, though. A low-production electric hypercar has also been rumored. The company hasn't confirmed or denied such a car's existence so far.

Lotus 3-Eleven 430
Lotus 3-Eleven 430

Speaking of electrification, eventually all Lotus models will incorporate it. Popham admitted no decision has been made on what kind of system the cars will use, and the current focus is on renewing the brand's core sports cars first and foremost. Crucially, the CEO doesn't want to raise the price of entry much higher than current Lotus models.
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...-due-next-year
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Old 03-18-2019, 12:04 PM   #2
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on the same 'ol platform... so I guess that means it won't make it to the US?
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Old 03-18-2019, 12:15 PM   #3
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on the same 'ol platform... so I guess that means it won't make it to the US?
Why not? The Evora is currently for sale here. Not sure if by this they mean a crossover SUV based on the Evora platform or if they mean the Evora 430 that's coming to the US.
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Old 03-18-2019, 12:41 PM   #4
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Why not? The Evora is currently for sale here. Not sure if by this they mean a crossover SUV based on the Evora platform or if they mean the Evora 430 that's coming to the US.
It could, but they're suggesting that the next Evora will be on a new platform that's currently under development. I guess they could could re-use the existing evora platform for this new car and not have issues with bringing it to the states.

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the car will not usher in a new platform in an interview with told Autocar published Friday. The next Elise, Exige, and Evora have that honor.
I don't really follow the brand much, except knowing that the elise isn't here any longer.
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Old 04-26-2019, 07:01 AM   #5
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Default New 2020 Lotus sports car to be brand’s first electrified model

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The new unnamed Lotus sports car is set for launch in 2020, and our exclusive images preview how it could look

Lotus will launch an all-new sports car in 2020, its first new model for 12 years. It will also be the firm’s first vehicle to feature an electrified powertrain ahead of the all-electric Type 130 hypercar, which was confirmed at the 2019 Shanghai Motor Show.

Since the Evora was launched in 2008, Lotus’s model portfolio has been littered with special-edition versions of the Elise and Exige. The fresh sports car, which doesn’t have a name yet, will be based on an all-new platform rather than the firm’s trusted extruded-aluminium chassis. Our exclusive images show how it could look.


“We’re busy now investing in a pretty aggressive business plan that will deliver an all-new sports car next year,” Lotus CEO Phil Popham told Auto Express. “It’ll be shown towards the end of next year and go on sale some time after that. We are investing in new platforms as well.

“We’re all about producing cars for the driver,” he added. “Our first new car is an electric hypercar. Our next car is going to be an all-new sports car.”

Lotus sports car - rear photo (watermarked)

Popham indicated that while the Type 130 may be revealed ahead of the sports car, it may not actually go on sale until after it. And he acknowledged that the sports car would have a combustion engine, although Auto Express understands it will be electrified in some way.

“All-electric cars are part of our future,” he said. “The next new car, which is coming quite quickly, won’t be all electric – unlike the hypercar, which will. Beyond that, whatever cars we have will include BEV [pure-electric] derivatives. It’s not the only propulsion system we’re working on, but BEV will be part of it.”

He also suggested that Lotus could switch engine suppliers - perhaps utilising other powerplants from within Geely’s rapidly expanding line-up of brands. But he insisted that chassis and platforms would still be bespoke, or at least have significant Lotus input during development to ensure their suitability.

“Our engines at the moment come from Toyota,” Popham said, “but we will have access to powertrains that exist within the group today and powertrains under development. But we’re not restricted to that. We’re very free to collaborate with and source from other manufacturers.

“What we won’t do, however, is just stick a badge on a group product. We can get access to platforms, engineering expertise and resource. But if we are to produce a car in a new segment, it’s got to be true to the DNA of Lotus. We’ve got to be involved right from the start of the engineering of any new platform.”

The Type 130 nomenclature points to other models already sitting in the firm’s timeline - because it leaves four ‘Types’ empty after the last Lotus to use the naming pattern, the ill-fated Type 125 Exos track day car. Lotus has long been linked to an SUV project and when asked if such a vehicle could feature in product plans, Popham refused to rule out the possibility.

“I wouldn’t discount anything,” he said. “We’re a premium brand, not a volume brand, with premium products, premium price, and a premium offering. But as for the segments we can go into, I wouldn’t discount anything from sedans, GTs and crossovers to SUVs.

“The key is that you’ve got to be able to produce a car that’s true to the DNA, that is for drivers. That means different things in different segments, of course – but nevertheless, it’s got to be a Lotus, it’s got to appeal and it’s got to make us money. If it can’t do those three things then we won’t go into the segment.”






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Old 04-26-2019, 10:12 AM   #6
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Gee it looks and sounds like what Toyota wants to do with a new MR car.
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Old 04-26-2019, 10:20 AM   #7
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Gee it looks and sounds like what Toyota wants to do with a new MR car.
Huh? Toyota doesn't have anything to do with Lotus development. Lotus just purchases parts from them (and many others). It looks like they're just going forward with the results of the 414E prototype they did many years ago https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a1...pt-auto-shows/
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Old 04-26-2019, 10:23 AM   #8
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The front end and the tail light really are gorgeous. Those wheels just don't do it for me though. I don't know what it is about them but I think they're ugly.
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Old 04-26-2019, 10:56 AM   #9
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Huh? Toyota doesn't have anything to do with Lotus development. Lotus just purchases parts from them (and many others). It looks like they're just going forward with the results of the 414E prototype they did many years ago https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a1...pt-auto-shows/
Yes. It was a missed opportunity for both.
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Old 04-26-2019, 11:27 AM   #10
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Looking further into the future, Popham added he could see Lotus expanding into a number of segments. He used Porsche as a guiding example. The German luxury marque sells SUVs and a hatchback sedan now alongside its high-performance sports cars. SUVs are the most likely start for Lotus...
This hurts my heart in ways and for reasons I can't put into words. I can't imagine Colin Chapman being cool with this admittedly hypothetical direction.
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Old 04-26-2019, 12:31 PM   #11
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Very meh for me. The rear tail light is pretty cool, but other than that there just isn't much that really stands out in that design. Pretty boring.
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Old 04-26-2019, 01:44 PM   #12
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This hurts my heart in ways and for reasons I can't put into words. I can't imagine Colin Chapman being cool with this admittedly hypothetical direction.
Colin Chapman can't fight CAFE.
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Old 04-26-2019, 03:57 PM   #13
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OTOH what if Lotus built a Lotus SUV?

Light, agile, tossable both on and offroad.


I'm thinking desert buggy articulation with a fully body.
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Old 04-26-2019, 04:04 PM   #14
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OTOH what if Lotus built a Lotus SUV?... I'm thinking desert buggy articulation with a fully body.
I mean, yes I'm interested in something like that. BUT. At the end of the day the company who bought Lotus was paying for name recognition and the heritage carried by that name. If the plan going forward (for companies like Lotus, Lambo, Porsche, etc) is to build CUV/SUV/trucks, then what's the point of carrying on with the "heritage"?

This whole SUV-world-domination thing is really a thorn in my balls...
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Old 04-26-2019, 04:09 PM   #15
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So far Geely doesn't seem to be buying brands for the badge, but rather the technology, and is continuing it. Not saying that'll continue, but they haven't done horrible things to Volvo yet. If anything, they've been much better than the companies that previously owned the badges they've picked up.

Manufacturers can't fight the ****ty SUV war, that's up to consumers. If they're going to survive they don't have a choice. Porsche did an OK job at this.
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Old 04-26-2019, 04:31 PM   #16
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Counterpoint.. SUVs aren't s***ty anymore. Most are unibody wagons with tall roofs that go, stop, ride, and handle better than sedans did in the 90s when we all started bitching about SUV sales growing.
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Old 04-26-2019, 09:49 PM   #17
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Counterpoint.. SUVs aren't s***ty anymore. Most are unibody wagons with tall roofs that go, stop, ride, and handle better than sedans did in the 90s when we all started bitching about SUV sales growing.
Compared to a light car even modern SUVs feel and handle like a bag of smashed ass. Sure they are better than they were, but you can only hide physics so much with electronic nannies.
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Old 04-26-2019, 10:13 PM   #18
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Counterpoint.. SUVs aren't s***ty anymore. Most are unibody wagons with tall roofs that go, stop, ride, and handle better than sedans did in the 90s when we all started bitching about SUV sales growing.
Not going to agree with 'most are' there, most of them are still pure garbage. There are some impressive exceptions though (again, the VAG Cayenne variants being the example here)
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Old 04-29-2019, 01:12 PM   #19
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So far Geely doesn't seem to be buying brands for the badge, but rather the technology, and is continuing it. Not saying that'll continue, but they haven't done horrible things to Volvo yet. If anything, they've been much better than the companies that previously owned the badges they've picked up.

Manufacturers can't fight the ****ty SUV war, that's up to consumers. If they're going to survive they don't have a choice. Porsche did an OK job at this.
I get the supply and demand side of it, can't argue with the economics at play. Porsche stayed in business by building SUVs, sure. But they also poured a healthy measure of water to their brand portfolio in the process. SUVs might sell well in the general populace, but for enthusiast-customers like me, they are a turn off and literally steer me away from a given brand (I'm looking at you Ford...).

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Not going to agree with 'most are' there, most of them are still pure garbage. There are some impressive exceptions though (again, the VAG Cayenne variants being the example here)
I remember when the Cayanne Turbo first came out. 500 some odd horsepower and a 0-60 time slower than my bone stock 5-speed WRX. They've since added launch control, which does make it faster in a straight line than my car, but I'd love to see a Cayanne owner follow me DOWN a twisty road and drive their car like a "Porsche."
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Old 04-29-2019, 01:32 PM   #20
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Platform development and sharing has given us ridiculously good cars and in the process SUV/CUV that perform at levels once occupied by similarly sized cars a decade ago. Stiff refined chassis and tire technology has greatly benefitted the utility class. Excess weight riding high over the wheels will never be a recipe for great handling, but considering this huge flaw, they are damn impressive.

Let’s just say a Macan is better at driving hard than an Evora is at being a daily driver. Have you tried getting into and being inside one of those? Then actually rowing gears and seeing out? It’s abysmal.
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Old 04-29-2019, 04:43 PM   #21
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Let’s just say a Macan is better at driving hard than an Evora is at being a daily driver. Have you tried getting into and being inside one of those? Then actually rowing gears and seeing out? It’s abysmal.
I don't disagree with the steady march of technology and how it has tamed the once rough and wild SUV/truck.

But.

I like cars. Trucks are for farmers and SUVs are, well, minivans for those with vanity issues...

I like fast, small cars with lots of involvement from the driver and an overabundance of feedback. On the other hand, I like utility and practicality (but not at the expense of the former). I'm not a gymnast so I also need a decent aperture to shove my flesh through. That said, I also am ok putting a little effort into ingress/egress.

The combination of needs above lead me to the WRX/STI.

As for the Macan… You can't even get a manual in it! This omission (from the once storied manufacturer of world-renowned sports cars, no less) automatically disqualifies it from my stable. We've got a '99 Forester auto for schlepping duties and the wife will always drive an auto, whatever she ends up in, so whatever I drive needs to be fun.

Maybe I'm a dying breed, the last of the purists you might say, but I have absolutely zero problem driving a stick every day in traffic, and that's with a surgically reconstructed left knee and a pretty recent sprain to my right knee.
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Old 04-29-2019, 05:04 PM   #22
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I like cars. Trucks are for farmers and SUVs are, well, minivans for those with vanity issues...

You can't even get a manual in it! This omission (from the once storied manufacturer of world-renowned sports cars, no less) automatically disqualifies it from my stable.
I drive a truck and I'm not a farmer. I like it. In fact I like it more than any of our other vehicles (Except the 07 Swapped Rex)

If crossovers fit in the SUV category, I like them too. For daily driving you are up high enough to get a good sight picture of traffic. And our RDX handles great with plenty of daily driver power. Whats not to like?

A couple of weeks ago I drove a Ferrari 458 Italia, A McClaren 570s and a Lambo Hurican 610-4 at a track day. No limits driving drifting and sliding around corners. I turned the fastest laps of the non-owners that day. And guess what? ALL AUTOMATICS! If you won't have a 458 because it's an auto... I'll take it off your hands any day.

I do like driving a stick on the street though.
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Old 04-29-2019, 06:07 PM   #23
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Not going to agree with 'most are' there, most of them are still pure garbage. There are some impressive exceptions though (again, the VAG Cayenne variants being the example here)
Alfa Stelvio.

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Old 04-29-2019, 07:50 PM   #24
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Let's just say a Macan is better at driving hard than an Evora is at being a daily driver. Have you tried getting into and being inside one of those? Then actually rowing gears and seeing out? It's abysmal.
Well, you're going to have a tough time selling me on this one. My previous vehicle was a Touareg Exec TDI (which I did love), but my current daily is.. exactly what you just described

It takes a bit of time to learn how to get in/out easily, and there isn't a "demure" way for anyone who wears a skirt/dress/kilt sort of outfit. I can easily get in/out holding a coffee in one hand and a backpack on my other shoulder though. Easier than climbing in/out of a caged car.

and I do daily it year-round in Chicago.


It's even got heated seats, heated mirrors, and a cup holder (though the latter is only available aftermarket)
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Old 04-30-2019, 01:09 AM   #25
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You are a hero’s champion.
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