Lotus confirms affordable sports car coming
Geely-owned sports car maker says new entry-level car has been created for everyday useLotus has confirmed it is readying an all-new entry-level sports car thought to be the long-awaited replacement for the Lotus Elise.
CEO Phil Popham didn't reveal the name of the forthcoming model but said in an interview with
that it would be priced between £55,000 ($A108,000) and £100,000 (A$195,000), and will provide just enough interior space for everyday use when it arrives in early 2021.Currently, the cheapest Lotus Elise in the UK is priced from £44,640 ($A87,000), which corresponds roughly to the pricing of the new mystery model.
Claimed to take styling cues from the pure-electric Evija hypercar, the new model will be built in a new purpose-built extension at Lotus' factory in Hethel.
It's not known if the new 'affordable' sports car will be available with battery power, but the safe money is it will once again source its powertrain from Toyota.
Lotus says it plans to unveil the new model before the end of 2020.
According to the Lotus boss, the arrival of the new sports car will help it ramp up its volumes by appealing to regular drivers.
Lotus says it wants to lift sales from 1600 cars a year to around 5000 units – the Hethel plant's annual production limit.
"Our focus now is on sports cars, but we do think the brand has the potential to move into other segments. And Geely has expertise in areas such as electrification and autonomous driving," Popham told Automotive News.
Helping fund the development of the new sports car, along with the healthy cash flow coming from new owner Geely, is the news that deposits have been secured for all 130 Evija hypercars.
Popham says that production of the $3.2 million will now begin towards the end of this year.
Claimed to offer Bugatti Chiron-levels of acceleration, the Lotus hypercar flagship will churn out a mighty 1479kW and 1700Nm of torque.
Topping out at more than 320km/h, the Evija gets active aerodynamics that includes an F1-derived Drag Reduction System (DRS.)
Despite its sub-three-second dash to 100km/h, Lotus says the production Evija should cover 400km between charges and take 18 minutes for a full charge when next-gen 800kW fast chargers come online.
Last year Lotus invited wealthy buyers to place a not-insubstantial £250,000 ($A485,000) deposit to reserve an Evija. It's not yet known if any are destined for Australia.
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