Lotus future in the UK

[Bibs]

That's article says 'contractors', not contracts. Companies employ contractors rather than permanent staff to fill temporary roles that don't require perm people. Letting contractors go isn't a surprise when their first priority is to save some cash, that flexibility is why they took them on in the first place.

[Gus82]

True but as the contractors aren't involved in production and relate to the development of the new range (which is currently only the Esprit) and we're talking about 50 of them, I'm assuming that there has been a significant change to the program. Its speculation on my part but I suspect ditching the engine and a few other components that could be bought in would save huge amounts of money, potentially bring the purchase price of the Esprit down and therefore boost the potential volumes of that car. It looks more and more likely that the 5 car plan is dead so producing a unique engine for the Esprit looks more and more unlikely especially if it requires so much money to be spent on it to finish development.

[B1 RMA]

Oh dear hope this isn't going the same way as the M250 (think I've got that right) as a true Esprit fan I can't quite make my mind up about the new Esprit because the competition in that sector is really tough these days,I still think Lotus could bring out a low cost, light, front engined rear wheel drive car which can be specced up either by the owners or as a factory model for extra cost or even as a kit car.

Edited June 23, 2012 by B1 RMA

[Gus82]

Thats an interesting idea B1 RMA. Perhaps Lotus should consider launching a simplified Esprit with a choice of bought in V6 and V8 engines and priced against the 911, then take a virtually blank sheet of paper and think what Lotus could produce below the Esprit that would be both a great Lotus and a profitable addition to the range (as opposed to trying to justify adapting and replacing current model lines to make them more profitable in the mid to long term).

A front engined sportscar like you suggest might be just the ticket. Being front engined you could also have a coupe with a good load area or +2 seating.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Gus82

[simonb]

OK proposing a really cheap front engine / rear drive sportscar, but who are you going to source the transmission from?

BMW / Mercedes / Mazda?

Maybe they could ask Caterham (or maybe not)

Beauty of sitting a FWD transmission in the middle is that there are lots of choices

[Gus82]

Mazda might not be happy to help Lotus create an MX5 rival unless it was similar to the deal with Alfa. BMW however like to supply engines and transmissions to both niche manufacturers (Morgan, McLaren) and even volume companies (Saab). The only one area of crossover would be the Z4 but the Lotus would be a very different car.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Gus82

[Iconic Ride]

If Lotus choose (or, more to the point, if DRB-Hicom makes the choice for them) to discontinue development of the new Esprit, then the company may as well roll over and assume the fetal position. This is their flagship car, after all. And a significant part of that heritage is predicated on the incorporation of a Lotus bespoke powerplant. With all the effort expended thus far on the new V8 (it's already being "mule tested" for Christ's sake!), it would be a great shame to terminate the program now. By all means, put the other "concept" models on the back burner if that is the only way to retain sufficient funds to bring the Esprit to market. Keep the cash flow going by tweaking variants of the existing model lineup (just as they seem to be doing), but throw everything else into producing a new flagship Esprit that will blow everyone away. It can still be done. The expertise is there. Always has been.

[TBD]

I'm not very worried about the Esprit, not continuing it would imply a major writeoff of investments and, as John said, it is the flagship car. Without the Esprit there is not even a chance to sell Lotus, which is still likely the long-term DRB objective. Remember, Lopez has declared interest, but I'm sure there can't be an acceptable offer before the Esprit hits the market.

[koorby]

As I said in another thread I would buy the Esprit in a heartbeat if they actually release and don't f&ck things up in the next 12 months. They have a prime opportunity. Let's hope they can pull it off.

[Gus82]

I don't think any new management would want to kill of the Esprit its an iconic name that could sell in a part of the market where it is easier to turn a profit, and could attract new partners/owners. However I would imagine that the new management is going to drip feed development funds due to the amount of debt. IF Lotus need to cut costs, I would prefer them to kill the engine over taking shortcuts elsewhere (quality, chassis development, etc.) as longterm no niche manufacturers will be producing their own engines as its just too expensive. The cost of tooling up for production is a big one and Lotus are unlikely to be able to spread the cost over using the engine in 7,000 cars and at least 5 model ranges, so they need to take a financial decision on this. The stats for the V8 sounded epic, but I don't believe its essential for the cars success and I think they will need to offer smaller engines to maximise sales of the Esprit.

The other point is that updating the existing range could help bring in small profits in the short to medium term, but it might be a stretch to fund properly developed replacements to all the existing models, therefore looking for a single new highly adaptable entry level model would be wise rather than trying to replace each car in turn. Of course if the new variants of these cars which are being teased turn up and lead to a huge change in sales its possible that these cars could fund direct successors themselves, but it would need to be a BIG increase.

Edited June 25, 2012 by Gus82

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

My concern would be if it costs less to bin the engine than to complete development the new bosses may well take that route, especially if the figures were worked out over a 5 car range recouping the costs. Let's hope there's some sort of official announcement on a long term plan over the Goodwood weekend.

[NedaSay]

My impression (and it's just an impression) is that DC and the engineering team have redesigned and engineered the Esprit with a smaller & lower engine and engine mount in mind than what was initially supposed to fit in the engine bay (Toyota/Lexus ISF V8 engine). So Lets imagine they bin the new V8: massive black eye to all involved especially Wolf Zimmerman, but they will survive that. But also automatically further delays in the release of the car. Plus the compulsory headache to find and source the new engine and tranny that will fit the tight engine bay! Of course it's not that hard to find. Then they just need to provide cash up front to the supplier, I don't think that any car maker will provide a credit line to Lotus after what they have shown in the past two year.

[jim clark]

Ansar Ali quits Caterham cars as CEO, could he be heading back to Lotus ? Anybody heard anything ?

[Bibs]

I've heard similar rumours from outside of Lotus but think the timing is just a coincidence.

[Gus82]

I hope this is wide of the mark but......

http://skiddmark.com/2012/06/lotus-featured-by-infinity-loop-sculpture-at-goodwood-but-are-they-in-a-death-spiral/

[mdavies]

It might be my browser, but I needed a fair bit of clicking from the front page to get to the actual story. Initially I thought it was just the pic and the headline.

Rather dispiriting in that it illustrates the inverse of the "market hype" that we have perhaps become too used to, but if the new approach succeeds in getting operations grounded and building a platform for the future, I won't complain. No forecast of the future re the Esprit, although given the remainder it's development is hardly likely to have been accelerated. In immediate terms the key disappointment is:

"If you were expecting ‘two’ new Lotus variants to launch at Goodwood, then you’ll be disappointed to hear those plans have been shelved"

Edited June 28, 2012 by mdavies

[Gus82]

I just hope these two cars re-appear soon. Its very difficult to understand why you would cancel versions of the current product that would have been more appealing and were so close to production. As I said on the Goodwood thread, hopefully these cars will appear at the Paris motorshow in the autumn.

I think we need to face the fact that the situation is fairly bad, but hopefully there are one or maybe two cars that can be developed that will change things. My worry is that the management may see the way out as concentrating on the successful engineering department. Turning the Esprit into a fuller line up and getting it to market soon is essential.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

With no talk of investment in the future and the emphasis on heritage I wonder whether Goodwood has become a shop window for the sale Lotus Cars itself.

[NedaSay]

Well it for sure doesn't bode well for the future of the company in the hands of DRB... I want the MJK era back!

I hope that at least Elise S and Exige S will be developed to be sold in North America again!

Edited June 28, 2012 by NedaSay

[Bee]

And so it continues ... Actually wondering if we'll see the Esprit, now, never mind my Elite!

http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/three_group_lotus_managers_are_suspended_1_1425520

[Guy W Johnson]

They are getting ready to sell the Company.

[mdavies]

"....suspended managers are believed to be part of the legal, human resources and finance teams....." (EDP report)

Guy, as those are key corporate functions, I think they are disembowelling Lotus as a company but perhaps (let's hope) keeping it as a technical/design/production entity. Your conclusion may well be right, but not necessarily. Perhaps they want to put their own people in - quite possibly recruited in the UK, but new and "untainted".

Edited June 29, 2012 by mdavies

[NedaSay]

Mel I really want you to be right! When I see the improvements/expansion realized at the factory I really want to believe that there's still a fair bit of development going inside. That what needs to be done to safeguard the company's future as a whole will be done and that new Elise, Exige, Evora and Esprit will all be on sales or presented soon.

Anyway if DRB wants to sell the business it needs something to sell a three tier range is better than a two tier range and a halo car could/should/would do marvel to attract potential buyers I think.

[simonb]

If this includes Dany's thug bodyguard that is no bad thing

[Bibs]

Unfortunately not, yet...