It’s been more than a decade in the making, but it looks like we may finally get a new thing Lotus is out by 2021. The company is making its final round next and last gas-powered sports car, which is expected to start in the summer, before production begins in 2022. Indeed exciting times.
On the other hand, every Lotus currently on sale will be discontinued. Say goodbye to the Elise, Exige and Evora – a trio that the British producer wore for much longer than they expected or deserved. The news was confirmed in a press release today.
The Evora went into production in 2009 and is especially the only current Lotus model you can still legally buy in the US. The Elise, of course, exists much longer. The ‘Series 3’ Elise – the latest – appeared in 2010. Although the Series 3 is under a slightly lightened skin, it is actually only the second generation Elise that lasted until 2001. Hell, it even produced. some Opel and Vauxhall variants I have completely forgotten until now.
Note that Lotus’ inability to continue from the Elise, Exige, and Evora does not stem from a lack of effort. It was at that point that the carmaker arrived at the Paris Motor Show in 2010 with five proposals for new performance cars, and a very few Lotus supermini called the Ethos (or “City Car” if you look at the license plate).
At the time, Lotus was under Proton leadership, and no part of the brand’s vision of the future took place. The then CEO, Dany Bahar, was ousted two years later, allegedly due to the misuse of company funds, and Proton was swallowed up by the Malaysian manufacturing conglomerate DRB-Hicom.
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Nothing really started to change until 2017, when Geely acquired a majority stake in Lotus. The 2000 horsepower Evija hypercar was the first product of Lotus’ next era to break the cover – you can see it on the right in the shadowy photo above – and the three cased cars will supposedly replace those leaving this year. According to the press release:
In recognition of the upcoming family of performance cars, Lotus has released an image pointing to the new generation of products that will follow Elise, Exige and Evora, which entered their final production year in 2021.
Under one of the lids is presumably the new pure combustion model, which is expected to start at around $ 75,000. Lotus CEO Phil Popham teased that the vehicle would have a “real focus on usability” and that it was designed so that owners “could live with it on a daily basis. ‘
Then there is also the car mentioned in this version, codenamed Type 131. It turns out to be different from the above $ 75,000 Lotus; Engines the Type 131 seems to be the spiritual successor to the Esprit, powered by a V6 hybrid propulsion system and starting at a ‘price set in the low six digits’, above the Evora in the pick order farm. Also, don’t forget the long-rumored SUV, which was not included with this family photo.
Geely has grown Lotus significantly over the past four years to meet these challenges. The British carmaker reports that 670 employees have joined its ranks since it fell under new corporate ownership, and it plans to add another 250 people in the coming year. If ever there was a time for Lotus to change, it is now.