Lotus Scales Back New Car Plans to Be Realistic
Following Lotus CEO Dany Bahar’s termination, the brand is abandoning the plan he championed to bring six new sports cars to market using the company’s engines and transmissions.
After the sacking, parent company DRB-Hicom took over the company’s daily operations, appointing Aslam Farikullah as the chief operating officer. Now, instead of Bahar’s plan which was unrealistic according to the company, Lotus has submitted a new plan to its creditors.
Details of that plan are uncertain, but the first signs of the company’s scaling back have already arrived in the laying off of 50 contractors understood to be working on new projects outside the brand’s current lineup.
Bahar’s plan included offering cars well outside the company’s realm of experience, including a luxury sedan and hybrid GT car, but those aren’t likely to make the cut. Instead, the new Esprit supercar would seem like the natural choice – though probably not with the expensive Lotus engine and gearbox.
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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