Photo: Lotus
Lotus is not your typical modern day car builder. It mostly keeps to itself, trying to find a strong business direction under new management. It didn’t announce major expansion plans for the future last year, when all others were committing billions to the future. And, most importantly, it hasn't launched a brand new car on the market since around 2008.
But that doesn’t mean Lotus is not here anymore. The company, now owned by Chinese conglomerate Geely, seem to be secretly plotting a comeback in the years ahead, with the help of another icon of British motoring, Williams.
On Monday, Lotus announced it will begin working with Williams’ Advanced Engineering division on the creation of “advanced propulsion technologies” that leverage the former’s knowledge in lightweight structures and materials and the latter’s know-how in the field of battery technology.
“Our new technology partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering is part of a strategy to expand our knowledge and capability in the rapidly changing automotive landscape,” said in a statement Phil Popham, Lotus Cars CEO.
“Our combined and complementary experiences make this a very compelling match of engineering talent, technical ability, and pioneering British spirit.”
As usual, Lotus was all unrevealing in making this announcement, stopping short of providing any other details.
Williams Advanced Engineering is the company behind the battery packs used in Formula E cars, so there’s no contesting the company’s authority here. With that in mind, it’s easy to speculate that the future Lotus cars, whatever their name, will be at least to some degree powered by electricity.
Word in the industry is the sports car builder is planning a revival of the Esprit sometime in 2020, and it is also working on an entirely new model to be presented at an unspecified date. Leveraging Geely’s involvement in Swedish carmaker Volvo, a Volvo-based SUV is also scheduled for release in 2022 or later.
With the support of Geely, Volvo has taken huge strides towards bigger success, so might just expect, albeit later than some would have hoped, the same evolution for Lotus.
On Monday, Lotus announced it will begin working with Williams’ Advanced Engineering division on the creation of “advanced propulsion technologies” that leverage the former’s knowledge in lightweight structures and materials and the latter’s know-how in the field of battery technology.
“Our new technology partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering is part of a strategy to expand our knowledge and capability in the rapidly changing automotive landscape,” said in a statement Phil Popham, Lotus Cars CEO.
“Our combined and complementary experiences make this a very compelling match of engineering talent, technical ability, and pioneering British spirit.”
As usual, Lotus was all unrevealing in making this announcement, stopping short of providing any other details.
Williams Advanced Engineering is the company behind the battery packs used in Formula E cars, so there’s no contesting the company’s authority here. With that in mind, it’s easy to speculate that the future Lotus cars, whatever their name, will be at least to some degree powered by electricity.
Word in the industry is the sports car builder is planning a revival of the Esprit sometime in 2020, and it is also working on an entirely new model to be presented at an unspecified date. Leveraging Geely’s involvement in Swedish carmaker Volvo, a Volvo-based SUV is also scheduled for release in 2022 or later.
With the support of Geely, Volvo has taken huge strides towards bigger success, so might just expect, albeit later than some would have hoped, the same evolution for Lotus.
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