| Company tie-up | Lotus & Spyker |
Lotus has signed a deal with Dutch supercar builder Spyker to share parts and platforms for future cars. The deal gives Spyker access to Lotus's huge engineering knowledge and will help both companies expand into more markets worldwide.
Sharing the cost of developing new parts and platforms will spread the financial burden between the two small-scale sports car companies. The first result of this cooperation will be the new Spyker C8 Aileron sports car.
Spyker boss Victor R Muller said: "We have developed a very fruitful relationship with Lotus over the last four years. Now, we have come to the conclusion that we need to intensify the cooperation to the point where we share parts and platforms. Lotus is now Spyker's preferred contractor in a number of projects, including the C8 Aileron and D8 Peking-to-Paris."
Michael Kimberley, chief executive of Lotus, said: "We look forward to working with Spyker to expand our global business. Lotus has a great heritage and solid track record in developing innovative solutions, so we look forward to using our lightweight vehicle know-how to enable Spyker to establish itself as a dynamic premium player."
Alisdair Suttie - 14 May 2008