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New Lotus owners ditch ambitious five-year plan

This didn't take long. The new overlords at Lotus have reportedly scrapped the company's five-year plan. DRB-Hicom ditched the turnaround strategy, penned by ousted CEO Danny Bahar, because it believes the market viewed the plan as overly ambitious.
The new product plan will slim the number of new model lines from five to three, and Lotus will likely slash the number planned consultants in favor of relying more heavily on in-house talent. According to The Star, the move should help expedite product development and save cash at the same time.
Even so, nothing is written in stone as of yet. DRB-Hicom says the new plan will take up to a year to finalize. The company has dumped around $242 million into Lotus so far this year, and the struggling automaker may require another $121 million by 2013. Lotus all but stopped production earlier this year during a loan freeze, but the lights came back on in April. The company now produces around 44 vehicles per week.

Lotus announces four EVs and moves its technology division to China

Lotus took a big leap towards the mainstream with the announcement it's building four new EVs, and only one is a sports car. The others include a sedan and two SUVs. And on top of the new product announcements, the automaker revealed its Lotus Technology division is going to set up headquarters in Wuhan, China. With the Elise out of the picture and its pockets full of cash from Geely – parent company to Volvo, too – Lotus is moving forward with its ambitious expansion plans. It announced it will grow its line-up of models with four electric cars shown in the sketch above: an SUV called Type 132 internally and due out in 2022, a sedan marketed as a four-door coupe known as Type 133 and expected to go on sale in 2023, a second SUV referred to as the Type 134 that will make its debut in 2025, and a sports car currently dubbed Type 135 that we'll allegedly see in 2026. This isn't the first time Lotus has made wild claims about its future, but this time it might actually have the funds to pull it off. We knew that an SUV was in the pipeline, leaked patent images may have revealed its exterior design, but the sedan and the second high-riding model are new additions to the company's product roadmap. Lotus explained its so-called "premium lifestyle" vehicles (read: four-door models) will all ride on a new platform called Lotus Premium that's said to be highly modular. Its wheelbase can vary from about 114 to 122 inches, and it can take battery packs with a capacity of 92 to 120 kilowatt hours. It's also compatible with an 800-volt charging system, and Lotus claims vehicles built on the new architecture will be capable of reaching 60 mph from a stop in less than three seconds. As for the other news, while Lotus ostensibly remains based in Hethel, England, its historic home, the Lotus Technology subsidiary broke ground on a new facility in China in August 2021. Lotus explained it formed the division to develop batteries and energy management systems, electric motors, electric control systems and other EV components. Investing in Wuhan rather than in Hethel will certainly raise more than a few eyebrows. It's a move that brings Lotus closer to its parent company and some of its key investors, such as Nio, while pivoting it away from its historic home and its main markets.

2020 Lotus Evora GT Road Test | Don’t forget about Lotus

Slipping into the leather, carbon fiber-backed seats and turning on the engine is an event in the 2020 Lotus Evora GT. Stick the stubby, unmarked key in the ignition, turn two notches; press a button on the remote; push the clutch in, and hold the “Engine Start” button down. The tachometer springs to life, zinging up past 2,000 rpm before settling into an even, but emphatic idle. If everybody wasnÂ’t already staring at the little British sports car in the parking lot, they are now. Once the astoundingly complex, but charming start procedure is done, the fun begins. Lotus has sold only one other more powerful version of the Evora in the United States, that being the GT430. This GT is rocking a poked and prodded version of the Toyota 3.5-liter V6 engine found in all Evoras, but as in some other versions, an Edelbrock supercharger has been added to boost output. With the six-speed manual, its output is 416 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. Twist increases to 332 pound-feet with the six-speed automatic, but donÂ’t buy a Lotus with an automatic. Just donÂ’t do it.  The gear lever snicks into first with positive, notch-like action. LotusÂ’ analog gauges stare back, displaying the most important information in a legible size and font. ThereÂ’s a digital speedometer tucked into a little nook under the steering wheel's red center line, just the right height for a quick glance downward. Grippy leather covers the 9 and 3 positions on the wheel, while soft Alcantara contrasts with the leather on the top and flat bottom of the wheel. Lotus clearly knows that sweaty racetrack hands and Alcantara donÂ’t mix.  This clutch is heavy, is the first thought upon setting out on the road. It fits the car and makes the driver work a little to be smooth. Good. Driving a Lotus shouldnÂ’t be a walk in the park. The driving position is bang-on. Those manually-adjustable (and heated!) leather seats are mounted low, their bolsters large enough to be snug, but short enough to slip over getting in. The view forward doesnÂ’t leave much to be desired, but looking out the back is like looking through a mail slot. ThereÂ’s a tiny box of glass, but itÂ’s tinted, making it difficult to see whatever might be visible. Side mirrors it is, and those are plenty fine, even allowing a view of the wide rear hips.  At speed, racecar vibes abound instantly.