Iħjut Lotus bidliet istrateġija tal-magna

Triq & Track

Lotus new range of cars, which was unveiled at the Paris Auto Show last autumn, will be powered by a bespoke range of engines and not the Toyota-Lexus based units originally envisioned.

Talking to Road & Tracks European editor, Ian Adcock, at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show, Lotus CEO said that feedback from the Paris and LA shows, as well as a questionnaire to over 1000 potential customers had persuaded Lotus management team to change its engine strategy, People didnt want engines based on production units, they wanted unique Lotus powertrains.

He revealed that the engines – an inline four (320-340 bhp), V-6 420 bhp and V-8 570-580 bhp – will be designed around a modular concept, with a claimed 60% commonality, allowing them to be assembled on one production line at Hethel.

Lotus enthusiasts might be disappointed to learn that Lotus Engineering wont be involved in their design, Lotus Engineering has down sized its engine department and it would be too costly and take too much time to build it back up again, said Bahar.

Instead the engines will be developed by third parties in Germany. Design work on the V-8 started before Christmas and Bahar expects it to be fired up before the end of May followed by the V-6 and inline four.

Hybrid versions will be a combination of Lotus technology and a third party said Bahar who confirmed that Italian transmission specialist, Graziano who produce both the McLaren and Lamborghini gearboxes, will develop an innovative, bespoke gearbox for Lotus.

Funding for the engine program will come from a realignment of the proposed product range, explained Bahar We felt that the proposed Esprit and Elan were too close together so we might merge the two or down spec the Elan. The decision will be taken in the next three months.

Before the new range emerges, the Evora will get 47 improvements for model year 2012 including a new interior, color and trim with soft leathers and better stitching with a higher quality perception plus another 50 updates for 2013.

Well also come up with some clever variants, promised Bahar, who added that Lotus is currently in discussion with three parties regarding distribution in the States, We have two options open to us: we can continue with our own subsidiary or go with a distributor.