Shrugged shoulders, exchanged glances, and what I believe is the honest answer: we just don't know. I'm at Lotus HQ and have asked the inevitable question. What news?
There are rumours that DRB-Hicom, the investor which recently bought Lotus's parent company, Proton, doesn't quite share Proton's vision for the success of The Lotus Plan (you know the one, featuring Swizz Beatz and Mansory).
A transitional phase, which gave DRB-Hicom 60 days to decide what to do with Proton, has elapsed - its representatives duly visited Hethel during that time.
The options? Sell Lotus off. Send it into administration and then sell it off. Or hold their nerve and give the people who work at Lotus what they deserve: the opportunity to make a new range of world-class sports cars under strong, sensible leadership. I know which one of those sounds like it would be a novelty.
Given some of the coverage, you'd be forgiven for thinking nothing at all was happening at Lotus HQ. But instead they do what good people do: they get on with things. The new test track is finished. Cranes and wagons are still, even today, erecting new production buildings. Cars, albeit in far smaller volumes than is ideal, move down the line.
And although the chequebook is closed, contrary to reports that development has stopped, Lotus's engineers have more product to develop than they have time on their hands. Hence the reason they let a road tester like me into the place yesterday: to drive the newly finished, supercharged V6-engined Exige S.
While I can tell you I've driven it, until the 25th of this month I can't tell you what it's like. Driving a car under embargo is not a particularly unusual arrangement (it stops a lot of inter-mag aggro) but is, in this case, a particularly frustrating one.
Lotus's situation isn't like that of Saab. The engineering expertise is too valuable to go to waste; even if DRB-Hicom doesn't want it, you can be sure somebody will. But cars aren't like Salad Cream or BBC 6Music. Create uncertainty about their future and people don't flock to consume them. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I hope, then, that in two weeks' time there'll be a less uncertain and more positive backdrop when we bring you the Exige S story. The cars, and the people who have developed them, deserve nothing less.
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re: Why we can't lose Lotus
To be honest if I was running Lotus I think the so called 'enthusiasts' would have sapped the will to live from me by now. They said a proper marque would make it's own engines. Lotus develop a bespoke, flat plane crank (just like ferrari's) and very light twin turbo V8. They said it's not reliable enough. Lotus then source bulletproof japanese engines. They say four cylinders isn't premium enough. Lotus offer them a V6. They say it's obselete (whatever that means?). Lotus suggest they try the supercharged version, they refuse on the grounds that it's still obselete and not special enough. They moan about where the gearbox came from. They say they're living off the past. Lotus invest heavily in a massive return to motorsport. Now they say sponsorship doesn't count.
It's abundantly clear that it really doesn't matter what Lotus do if people write them off without trying their cars. The badge is worthless where it matters most - the shallow confines of the golf club car park. The game is over.
re: Why we can't lose Lotus
So you still haven't driven an Evora yet then, clearly.
That makes your view on the Evora completely worthless and of malicious intent.
re: Why we can't lose Lotus
Pits, dream on, someone has to continuously correct the apparently authoritative postings of no-nothing ( technically ) dreamer that continuously spouts erroneous technical information . As I've said to you before I've purchased several new Lotus car and never purchased a new Porsche, and am never likely to.
If you could lower yourself to meet me in person to further discuss any of the points I've raised, I'm at just about every Gold Track Track Day this year in a light blue 944, I look forward to meeting you in person.
Finally, yes, it got a terrible twisted driving position like an early RHD 911 !