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A New Year and a New Future:
New Lotus sports car series confirmed
Elise, Exige and Evora embark on final year of production
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New series sports car production confirmed for Hethel, UK
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£100m+ investment into all-new manufacturing facilities
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Further job creation to support increased volumes
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End of production planned for Evora, Exige and Elise in 2021
A new series of sports cars is confirmed, with prototype
production of the Lotus Type 131 to commence this year from a world-class
manufacturing facility in Hethel, Norfolk.
The new manufacturing investment is part of Lotus’ Vision80
strategy, which will also see the relocation of two Lotus sub-assembly
facilities into one efficient central operation in Norwich city to support
higher volumes.
To accompany the £100-million-plus investment into Hethel’s facilities, Lotus
will be recruiting some 250 new employees. This is in addition to the 670 to
have joined Lotus since September 2017, when shareholders Geely and Etika took
ownership of the company.
New recruits are required for roles in engineering and manufacturing for both
Lotus Cars and the world-renowned engineering consultancy, Lotus Engineering –
which opens its Advanced Technology Centre in Warwick later this year.
To acknowledge the forthcoming family of performance cars, Lotus has released an
image that hints at the new generation of products that will follow Elise, Exige
and Evora, which have entered their final year of production in 2021. A full
programme of activities is planned to celebrate the current range of three
sports cars, starting with the elder, the iconic Lotus Elise.
The Lotus Elise was unveiled in 1995, revolutionising the low volume sports car
industry with its pioneering use of extruded and bonded aluminium, high-tech
composites and lightweight knowhow.
Using the technology pioneered in the Elise, the Exige, launched in 2000,
quickly became the epitome of the ‘race car for the road’. The Exige
demonstrated a rare ability to give the driver an involving yet accessible
experience on the road, while still managing to lap the most demanding tracks of
the world quickly, with the safety and progressiveness expected of a Lotus.
The Evora, unveiled in 2008, returned Lotus to the lucrative super-sports car
sector as an award-winning and versatile road car that was more driver-focused
than its peers. In motorsport, the Evora was successful too, winning national GT
championships around the world and gaining a podium at Le Mans.
Future Lotus cars are taking this learning and further developing it to ensure
the preservation of that all-important DNA, with the overriding criteria of
being ‘For The Drivers’.
Phil Popham, CEO, Lotus Cars, said: “This year will be hugely significant for
Lotus with new facilities coming on stream, a new sports car entering production
and new levels of efficiency and quality that only a new car design and factory
can deliver. Despite the continuing global challenges, Lotus has emerged from
2020 strong and on track in the delivery of our Vision80 business plan.”
He added: “As our Vision80 strategy illustrates, Lotus is all about looking
forward, and our future is full of continuous innovation. In 2021, however, we
will be reflecting on the legacy of our current range, starting with the Elise,
a sports car that genuinely revolutionised the automotive industry, not only
because it is a legend-in-its-own-lifetime but also for its impact on car design
and technology.”
Matt Windle, Lotus’ Executive Director, Engineering, said: “Our renowned team of
engineers, designers and technicians who are working on the new cars are acutely
aware of the legacy from the Elise, Exige and Evora. Indeed, many were around
when Elise was being developed. Members of our team, old and new, are now busy
blending the learnings of the past with the innovations of today and tomorrow,
to ensure our future cars truly move the game on but remain firmly committed to
Lotus values.”
The Elise, Exige and Evora have contributed greatly to the Lotus business over
the years, and by the time the last of these models leaves the assembly line,
they will have sold a combined circa 55,000 units.
Lotus has created multiple automotive legends over the last 73 years, and with
the Evija hypercar and new Type 131 sports car, a new dawn of innovation and
legend-making is breaking over Hethel.
Images and text copyright Group Lotus PLC
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