'Lotus is arguably the most evo automotive marque there's ever been'
From a fan's perspective, the future of Lotus is uncertain. Can there be light at the end of the tunnel for this champion of lightweight sports cars?
There’s something magical about Lotus. Not only in the way the cars drive (though that’s some pretty powerful witchcraft) but in the affection and passion it kindles in people. Not least those at the Hethel headquarters of Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering.
There are long-life Lotus team members who’ve been through multiple eras of the brand: different owners, different bosses, different challenges, but their passion for the cars and the marque itself never fails to shine through.
Today, from the outside looking in at least, the picture at Hethel is unclear. Since Geely took Lotus ownership in 2017, its funding has enabled the Lotus Emira sports car, which looks a million dollars and caught the world’s attention (and plenty of deposits) on its debut and likewise the Evija electric hypercar (which costs rather more than a million dollars). In the years since, however, we’re yet to drive a production-spec Evija and there have been multiple delays for those who placed deposits on an Emira. The four-cylinder turbo variant in particular has reached customers far later than initially anticipated.
Geely’s focus is on Lotus’s new EV start-up chapter, building the Eletre and Lotus Emeya in Wuhan. If that mission achieves its targets, it could in theory lend a financial footing to the future of more traditional Lotus sports cars, but Hethel has gone on record as saying the i4 Emira will be its last combustion-engined car – save for niche projects such as the Type 66 Can-Am tribute. Emira production may continue for longer than planned, and it’s possible – though not confirmed – that the car could still be sold in markets outside the UK beyond the 2030 cut-off.
A joint venture was announced with Alpine/Renault in 2021 to produce an all-electric sports car but was cancelled in 2023, although the two companies have not ruled out further collaboration in the future. The Lotus Theory 1 Concept revealed this week is Lotus's first public concept airing for a pure EV sports car. Whether that will be a solo project for Lotus and the wider Geely group, or whether it will involve a separate partnership along the lines of the cancelled Alpine tie-up, is yet to be confirmed.
A future all-electric Lotus is likely to be built in the same production hall as the current Emira, which was mapped out during the chaotic Dany Bahar era and completed under Geely ownership. The up-to-date plant is sophisticated enough to produce EVs or hybrids as well as, or instead of, ICE cars.
Lotus has sailed on choppy waters before, and the longest-serving members of its team have seen it all. Right now, the future of Lotus as the innovative sports car maker we all know and love seems more uncertain than ever. But there’s still magic at Lotus. And perhaps the Emira won’t be a full stop rather than a comma at the end of one of the greatest sports car stories ever told – and arguably the most evo automotive marque there’s ever been.
This story was originally published in evo issue 319 in February 2024
