A Lotus SUV and a sedan are in the plans of the Malaysian-owned British brand. Yes, you read that right. Not one, but two completely new, completely uncharacteristic body styles are to be developed by the highly-regarded but troubled sportscar-maker.
As unlikely as it may sound, Utusan Malaysia reports that this revelation came from the boss man himself, new Group Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales, in a Proton board meeting yesterday. Proton's chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, CEO Datuk Abdul Harith Abdullah and Lotus COO Aslam Farikullah were said to have been present in the meeting.
This is all part of Gales' future action plan for Group Lotus. The former PSA head took over the vacant position (since Danny Bahar's dismissal in 2012) from May 1 this year. He had previously held senior posts at Daimler, General Motors, Fiat and Volkswagen.
Before any speculations rise, the upcoming SUV model will not be related to the 2006 Lotus APX concept (pictured up top) at all. It will have an all-new design, apparently. Speaking of the sedan (a large D-segmenter, according to the report), Gales said that Lotus has had prior experience in building such a vehicle – the 1990 Lotus Carlton/Omega super-sedan that was co-developed with Vauxhall/Opel. How that is of any relevance today, well, we're not quite sure.
Is Lotus moving in the right direction with this decision? Do share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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