Interview with new Lotus CEO

[amarshall]

Restructuring, brand values, the Bahar cars and some hints about the future.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car ... ategy.html

[DWH]

Sense a sensible approach and new dealerships in the expanding global markets can only be a good thing. I do wonder what the breakeven point for the company is in terms of cars sold......914 cars in 5 months isn't a lot so any increase will show a huge uplift in percentage terms.
I wish them every success but do feel that if they offered the Elise with a few more "comforts" then it would appeal to a wider market without losing much if not any of the "just add lightness" philosophy. I've looked after a few Elises and Exiges and a couple of VX220s and whilst they're a blast for twisty A and B roads with the sun out, they're tiring on a long journey on dual carriage ways and motorways.......or perhaps I'm getting old !

[don.hasi]

Very good news I think. Back to the roots, back to the core values

VX220s and whilst they're a blast for twisty A and B roads with the sun out, they're tiring on a long journey on dual carriage ways and motorways....

To be honest... The VX220 is for me the car I mostly do and mostly enjoy long journeys. The last one was to the Pyrenees... Almost 2000km one way highly recommended.

[DWH]

I'm getting old then.........

[richardw]

Really heartening to see such a sensible approach, and the enduring value of the Elise design. Back to building cars for people who love driving by selling pure design efficiency, and not a V8 in sight!

I've always believed that something like the Elise has the potential not only for high performance, but also for great economy. Although the latter hasn't been explored, the fact the potential is there means that the potential for efficiency is huge.

Dunno what the cost of an Elise tub is, but what about a car to build on the position achieved by the MG Midget & Smart coupe using a low capacity high efficiency engine?

At the other end of the scale, I agree that a more comfortable long distance GT would be fantastic also.

Just daydreaming!

Richard

[alanmoss]

It is impressive that Alfa's 4C carbon fibre chassis is only 3Kgs lighter than the 1996 Elise aluminium chassis. Shows how good the engineering at Lotus is.
The growth in sales this year is fuelled by the clear best seller - the Exige S V6 - a car that would not have happened had DB stayed.
Sounds very promising.

[crofty1984]

The growth in sales this year is fuelled by the clear best seller - the Exige S V6 - a car that would not have happened had DB stayed.

Have to disagree with this bit, the Exige S was done under Bahar. I'm hoping this new guy is able to turn the company round though

[amarshall]

The growth in sales this year is fuelled by the clear best seller - the Exige S V6 - a car that would not have happened had DB stayed.

Have to disagree with this bit, the Exige S was done under Bahar. I'm hoping this new guy is able to turn the company round though

I rather thought that that project started under the previous incumbent and was delivered to Mr. Bahar as, as the fat owl might say, "a fat accomplice".

[alanmoss]

The growth in sales this year is fuelled by the clear best seller - the Exige S V6 - a car that would not have happened had DB stayed.

Have to disagree with this bit, the Exige S was done under Bahar. I'm hoping this new guy is able to turn the company round though

I rather thought that that project started under the previous incumbent and was delivered to Mr. Bahar as, as the fat owl might say, "a fat accomplice".

The development of the Evora involved testing the power train by fitting the Evora engine subframe to an Elise tub under a previous incumbent as Angus says.

In 1998 Lotus type 120 was assigned for an Elise V6 (never produced).

DB's arrival signalled his intention to take the Lotus brand up market to compete with the likes of Ferrari.

"Bahar intended to drive the brand up-market into the expanding global luxury goods sector, effectively away from the company's traditional light weight and pure driving experience simplicity."

As sales were effectively collapsing and the dealer network shrinking, something was needed to get Lotus moving again. The engineers at Lotus had a solution by further development of the Elise/Evora combination, which became the Exige S V6. If you read any of DB's strategy statements and thinking you will see the this car in no way fitted with his plans; in fact on several occasions he was clear that he wanted to move completely away from this type of car. So I would suggest that the Exige was done despite Bahar although I accept that he was still CEO at the time of the announcement at the Frankfurt show. He had gone 2 months before the car was finished and the first production car was shown on 26th July 2012 by Lotus Chief Operating Officer, Aslam Farikullah (appointed post DB).

[alanmoss]

Further interview with AutoExpress.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/lotus/8874 ... the-future

[amarshall]

Summary : Less expensive "lifestyle" nonsense, more performance car focus.

[alanmoss]

The growth in sales this year is fuelled by the clear best seller - the Exige S V6 .....

During tour of the factory today two things were clear - they are currently building more Exige V6 cars than Elise and Evora and a majority on the line were for export. I did see an Exige V6 destined for Silverlink (Lotus Newcastle).

[Lotus-e-Clan]

The growth in sales this year is fuelled by the clear best seller - the Exige S V6 .....

During tour of the factory today two things were clear - they are currently building more Exige V6 cars than Elise and Evora and a majority on the line were for export. I did see an Exige V6 destined for Silverlink (Lotus Newcastle).

Doesn't surprise .... apart from performance gains, the Exige V6 is better looking than an Evora to my eye (the bloated design makes the Excel look even more elegant than it is).

[amarshall]

And a follow-up interview with some interesting hints about what might happen to some Proton models...

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default ... ryId=30975