What's all this about?
Lotus is going to build an SUV.
Oh no - really?
Yep. Well... we think so. CEO Jean-Mars Gales, the man who is turning the company around in the wake of the Dany Bahar fiasco, reckons an SUV is key to Lotus' long-term success. And who can argue with him, when SUVs and crossovers sell like the proverbial hot cakes all over the world?
Wasn't it Bahar who first suggested a Lotus 4x4?
Yes, it was, but let's not talk about him. The new car could be built in a south-east Chinese factory (no, not at Hethel) and should have a nameplate beginning with 'E', in the best Lotus tradition. It will be a five-door and should stop, go and steer better than any SUV out there presently, Porsche Macan included.
Why is Lotus doing this?
Because in China, SUVs are hugely lucrative. The Macan, for instance, is selling in the tens of thousands over there. Elises, Exiges and Evoras are not.
Will Lotus move to China one day?
Hopefully not, and Gales is apparently insistent that Hethel will remain the headquarters - where the three sports cars are currently made.
When is the Lotus SUV going to be built?
Early indications suggest around 2019. So you've got a while yet to get your head around the idea.
Matt Robinson - 29 Apr 2015