Unveiling its last petrol car, Lotus sets off in pursuit of Porsche (https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/unveiling-its-last-petrol-car-lotus-sets-off-in-pursuit-of-porsche/ar-AALQxG2?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531)
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Lotus unveiled its last ever petrol car on Tuesday, a milestone in the British sportscar brand's journey towards becoming an all-electric and far bigger automaker by the end of the decade.
Lotus and its Chinese owner Geely want to transform what is now a tiny company making some 1,500 sports cars a year into an electric powerhouse churning out tens of thousands of high-end saloons and sports-utility vehicles (SUVs) as well.
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No idea Geely owned Lotus.
Lotus has tried to change directions multiple times in the past 2 decades. I'll be interested to see how this change works out.
Similar to the Miata, Lotus's have never been about the engine as much as the chassis. As long as they keep that sorted correctly, it'll be great.
Quote from: CaminoRacer on July 07, 2021, 09:23:24 AM
Lotus has tried to change directions multiple times in the past 2 decades. I'll be interested to see how this change works out.
Similar to the Miata, Lotus's have never been about the engine as much as the chassis. As long as they keep that sorted correctly, it'll be great.
The EV situation matches up quite well with Lotus' approach, since they have always outsourced the engine (more or less, I know they tune it themselves). With EV's and batteries outsourcing seems like it will be even simpler/easier. The trick for lotus (and all sports car manufacturers) will be in finding ways to keep the weight down.
Quote from: SJ_GTI on July 07, 2021, 09:43:39 AM
The EV situation matches up quite well with Lotus' approach, since they have always outsourced the engine (more or less, I know they tune it themselves). With EV's and batteries outsourcing seems like it will be even simpler/easier. The trick for lotus (and all sports car manufacturers) will be in finding ways to keep the weight down.
More importantly the cost down :lol: Not sure how Geely is going to churn out tens of thousands of these cars with typical new car Lotus pricing.
Quote from: CaminoRacer on July 07, 2021, 09:23:24 AM
Lotus has tried to change directions multiple times in the past 2 decades. I'll be interested to see how this change works out.
Similar to the Miata, Lotus's have never been about the engine as much as the chassis. As long as they keep that sorted correctly, it'll be great.
I think the Miata's future is safer than that of Lotus. Yea they are both chassis focused but Lotus' pricing gives it less powertrain leeway. And the Toyota V6 works well in it.
If/when the Miata goes EV a lot of the meaningful (IMO) differences between it and Lotus' offerings go away. Electric power is damn near free compared to ICE power as far as cost/weight/emissions go. So I'm kind of skeptical on the future of the super high end performance car in general. Ford is selling an electric pickup truck with more HP than Lotus flagship sports car for less than half the price. I imagine everybody is going to be able to crank out Lotus like EVs for a lot less than Lotus (or Porsche or whoever) will be charging if they want to.