Lotus Group CEO Jean-Marc Gales recently attended a board meeting with Proton management and presented an action plan to bring Lotus cars back in the blue.
According to unidentified sources present there, Mr. Gales announced that Lotus will develop the SUV and a D-segment sedan, but did not provide any potential launch dates. Rumor is that this SUV will now be aesthetically related to the 2006 APX Concept and it will challenge Audi and Porsche.
As for the D-segment sedan, Mr. Gales spoke about Lotus’s prior experience with building such a vehicle which which started with the Lotus Cortina. This was highly successful product where the second generation Lotus Cortina sold more than the stock showroom Cortina.
Then there was the 1990 Lotus Carlton ( a very limited number of cars were built and there is 1 unit in Malaysia) which was a car that was derived from the Opel/Vauxhall Omega. The Motivation behind the car came from Opel and Vauxhaul who wanted to improve the image of their platform car. Lotus used the Vauxhaul Carlton 3.0 GSi 24v as a base for the car, improving almost every component.(pictured above).
The engine used was a GM inline-6 although the block is the only original component. To cope with the 100 bhp per litre load Lotus replaced the pistons, crankshaft, induction system, cooling manifold and induction bodies. The Inline-6 was bored and stroked to a capacity of 3.6 litres. A redesigned cylinder-head and twin Garett turbochargers were also added in the mix. The result was 377 bhp from an engine that originally had 204 bhp. In the 1990s, it was a fast machine that could only be chased by the Ford Sierra Cosworth.
Question now is, can a super sedan be a high-volume model to help this Norfolk-based Malaysian owned sports car company cut that £167.8 million net loss it suffered from 2013. Can a SUV be its recovery answer just like how Porsche had the Cayenne to revive its fortunes and then came the Panamera to bring in more interest?
