The Venza is a mid-size crossover that has more in common with a car than an SUV. It is quite low to the ground, it drives very well for its size and it manages to depart from the minivan look of its rivals. Unfortunately, it didn’t sell all that well in the US. The main reason for that was the wagon-like look which the US market doesn’t really like. The car is still available for sale in a few export markets, but it will be completely discontinued by the end of the year.
What is it?
The project doesn’t have anything in common with Toyota, and it was done by Lotus to showcase their engineering skills. They bought a new Venza, stripped it down and reverse engineered it in order to get a bill of materials. With it, Lotus was planning to see what could be done to improve the car. In fact, they did extensive research in order to make the Venza lighter. Why? Well, Lotus makes fast cars through lightweight and not power, and the same concept could be used for efficient cars.
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