Retro Gone Too Far? Lotus Says New SUV Will Resemble An Updated 70's Era Elite

As he launches the most Lotus-ish Lotus ever, the super-light and fighting-fit 3-Eleven, Lotus boss Jean-Marc Gales takes some time to justify to TopGear what must be the least Lotus-ish Lotus ever: the upcoming, Chinese-built SUV crossover.

The SUV will be the result of a joint venture Lotus signed last year with Goldstar Heavy Industrial of Quanzhou city. Mind you, if it ever goes on sale in Britain, it won't be until about 2022. So if you furiously judge this a Lotus sell-out, you still have several years for your anger to subside.

Of course Gales believes that making an SUV will bolster profit. Building an SUV is standard operating procedure for a sports-car company these days, right?

And in most of its 63 years, Lotus has shown the opposite of profit. But Gales reckons an SUV will do something else too: improve the sports cars.

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carloslassiter - 7/3/2015 1:30:51 PM

+2 Boost

Timeless.

MDarringer - 7/3/2015 1:46:11 PM

+1 Boost

I say brilliant. I love that 70s "Ital Design" look of the styled by ruler cars.

TheSteve - 7/3/2015 3:03:09 PM

+1 Boost

Is the new SUV they're talking about the one that'll be Chinese built, and won't appear in the UK until 2022? I'm not getting excited about that. Not even interested in learning more about it.

runninglogan1 - 7/3/2015 5:38:18 PM

+2 Boost

Don't knock it 'till you try it;)

MDarringer - 7/4/2015 9:46:33 AM

0 Boost

There's good reason to be skeptical. The first is that Lotus has no experience designing mainstream cars.

Lotuses are still very much track cars that in theory are streetable. Fun at the track yes, but not brilliant daily drivers.

The second is that Lotus does not have the engineering resources to do their own SUV, so they will have to badge engineer. Chinese cars designed by the Chinese--as theirs will be--are not yet up to snuff to world standards much less BMW/Mercedes quality where this SUV will likely sell.

Lotus is flailing.

A much better first move would have been to phone VW and use the Tiguan to get a Lotus product out there to (1) plant the idea of a Lotus SUV, but also (2) to learn the market. Throw on a Lotus face, turn up the volume on the turbocharger, tart up the interior, and get a "tuned by Lotus" product out to get into the market as they plan their own SUV.

dumpsty - 7/6/2015 12:42:11 PM

+1 Boost

Yeah...an SUV will generate profit to fund sport car improvements & programs.