2012 Ips 2+2 3.5l Auto Ardent Red on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lotus to move immediately forward with new variants rather than new models

It took 1.5 years, but a DRB-Hicom managing director told Malaysia's Business Times that the company has "cleaned up" the situation at Lotus from its finances to its marketing and image. The clean-up job we're most interested in, the product portfolio, will be demonstrated by financial investment in a three-year program of "variants based on existing products - variants with improved technology, improved performance."
You'll notice mention of the word "variants" three times but no mention of the phrase "new models." We knew that with the death of the five-new-model turnaround plan dreamed up by ex-Lotus CEO Dany Bahar DRB-Hicom said there'd only be three distinct lines - which is the current number - but during Lotus' trouble-plagued 2012 it sold just 80 cars all year, and for a tense spell it really wasn't clear if DRB-Hicom would commit to even keeping Lotus alive, much less investing in it.
It's not clear how much is being put into in the three-year program of offshoot models like the 345-horsepower Exige S Roadster (pictured), but it might be fair to say this is where Lotus' revival really begins, and does so with baby steps. Autocar reports that DRB-Hicom has already put 100 million pounds into the English carmaker, and as its issues were worked through Lotus has sold almost as many cars in the first five months of this year as it did all of last. That has not only convinced the Malaysian minders to throw more money its way, but the UK's business secretary has also approved a 10-million-pound investment into Lotus through the Regional Growth Facility program.

Lotus rolls out factory delivery program for Elise, Exige and Evora

"We are delighted to open our doors to customers so that they can collect their new car from us direct." - Jean-Marc Gales
Buying a Lotus sports car now comes with an added perk - you get a peek behind the curtain at the famous factory in Hethel, England.

2017 Renault Alpine still looks like a Lotus

Two years ago, an oddly modified Lotus Exige was photographed speeding around the Nurburgring. While that car looked British, at the time Renault's engineers were reportedly developing the suspension for the future Alpine sports coupe underneath with some help from the folks at Ohlins. Now, our spies have spotted this weird Lotus-bodied mule out testing, and it might be a major hint that development for the reborn French brand is getting serious again. Unfortunately, it's hard to pull many details about the future Alpine just from this mule. Up front the air extractors are noticeably covered, and at the rear there's now a panel hiding the engine with just some small vents near the very back. The roof-mounted scoop appears to be the major means of sending cool air to the powertrain. Alpine has been back in the news as of late. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the brand's Celebration Concept was unveiled but without many real details. Then, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the car was filmed actually moving under its own power. Earlier reports suggest that a production version, possibly called the AS1, might come in 2017 with around 250 horsepower on tap from an engine mounted behind the driver. Engineers would keep weight as low as possible to make the most from that power. While no version in the US is likely, prices in Europe might be about the equivalent of $34,000 to $40,000.