THE GOOD OIL
We’ve heard the wobbly hyperbole from Lotus before, but this time it looks like the esteemed British sports-car maker really might be on the verge of a comeback.
That’s mainly because it isn’t very British anymore. It’s mostly Chinese; the giant Geely corporation bought a 51 per cent stake in Lotus last year. And no one needs reminding that Geely has deep pockets. It also owns Volvo and the company that makes London’s iconic black taxi cabs.
In other words, Lotus — which only sold 1600 cars globally last year — has the best shot it has had in years of regaining financial stability.
Until Geely invested, the company had sputtered along under the control of a Malaysian conglomerate for several years.
That ownership deal came about after the manufacturer’s hopelessly optimistic announcement in the latenoughties that it would build seven new vehicles under the direction of Dany Bahar.
These days, in addition to knowing the pin number for the Geely corporate credit card, Lotus even has a proper grown-up in charge — former PSA strategist Jean-Marc Gales. He is the source of the hyperbole, although he hasn’t completely lost his head.
He’s saying Lotus will produce two new sports cars by 2020, as well as an (perhaps inevitable) SUV, which will be on sale by 2022.
The company’s newest model is the Evora, which has been in production for almost a decade. Additionally, Lotus also still builds the Elise, Exige and the track-only 3-11 racer. Who knew, right?
Lotus has failed to turn a profit for several years. You’d think the rush to turn out a Porsche Macanbaiting compact SUV would be more pressing than adding another couple of low-volume sports cars to the roster.
Gales says the company will make money in 2018 and is even looking to recruit up to 300 people to help build the revitalised range.
All the manufacturer needs now is for Eon Productions to want to bring a smidge of kitsch back to the next James Bond instalment with the reintroduction of a Lotus hero car and it’ll be just like old times.