Lotus Developing “Practical” Sports Car

Group Lotus plc is creating a new sports car that will be unveiled sometime next year.

The model will be built on a modified version of an unspecified existing Lotus platform, CEO Phil Popham tells Autocar. He says the vehicle will maintain Lotus’ signature driving dynamics and lightweight attributes but will be more practical in terms comfort and interior amenities than the brand’s current sports car lineup.

The unnamed car will be launched ahead of the planned rollout of an all-new platform that will carry the company’s next-generation Elise, Evora and Exige cars. Popham says the new model will serve as a bridge to the redesigned sports cars that are expected to debut in about four years.

Lotus also is developing a crossover vehicle that will be built at the new plant that parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is constructing in Wuhan, China. That vehicle will be based on a modified version of Volvo’s SPA platform.

Propham says all future Lotus models eventually will include some form of electrification. In January, Lotus confirmed it is working with Williams Advanced Engineering Ltd to develop an all-electric hypercar, codenamed Omega.

Lotus sold just over 1,600 cars worldwide last year. The company has production capacity for 5,000 vehicles.