Jean-Marc Gales, Lotus CEO, has reportedly confirmed that the company is working on two new sports cars as investment from their new owner, Geely, begins to materialize.
This will include a new flagship model that’s set to arrive in 2020, as reported back in January, and will be positioned above the Evora in the company’s lineup. The new Lotus sports car will be essentially a modern-day version of the iconic Esprit.
Gales said to Autocar that the new model will be a significant development, sitting “in an upper segment, above the Evora”, and it will “take the Evora a step further” and will be lighter.
The company’s boss didn’t divulge the power output or with which cars the new Lotus flagship will likely compete but he said that the new car will achieve a class-leading status via “efficiency, aerodynamics, agility and braking working together in balance”.
Fewer details became known about the second sports car, which is likely to be a two-seater. We don’t know yet if it will directly succeed the Elise or evolve into something with a different character as Gales noted that “the market is now moving a bit more upmarket”.
Lotus is currently finalizing the design of its first crossover, which is expected to be based on Volvo’s SPA architecture. Gales has also confirmed that the current lineup -that includes the Elise, Exige, Evora and 3-Eleven- will continue using Toyota-sourced engines for the immediate future.
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Lotus Evora GT430 pictured