The British automaker Lotus has recently told Auto Express that it is planning to launch a SUV by 2019. The current CEO of Lotus Jean-Marc Gales said, “We are going for something that’s about the size of the [Porsche] Macan, but 200-220kg lighter,” he said. “It has to be true to Lotus’s heritage, which means it will be the lightest SUV on sale, the best to drive and the fastest through the corners.”
Gales continued: “Our car will be very low for an SUV and will look a bit like a 3-Eleven [the track-focused sports car that Lotus unveiled at Goodwood] from the front. The side will be a bit like the Elite from 1974.” The company is planning to sell 10,000 examples of its SUV during the first year it’s on sale, rising to 18,000 after a couple of years. With this model, the company has even bigger plans for the brand. “There will always be an Elise, an Exige and an Evora in our range, but in the future they will have better ergonomics and be easier to get into,” Gales said. “The next Elise has to do two things. The S version will be lighter, faster and more expensive than today’s car. But we also need to have a base Elise that’s only a little over £30,000,” claims Gales.
