Monday 29th January 2007

VW looks set to buy Lotus

Proton sells out to German giant

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Lotus Exige 265E

Lotus is about to be sold to VW, if a story in Autocar proves true.

A majority stake -- 51 per cent -- of Lotus' Malaysia parent company Proton is about to sold to VW, an announcement that's said to be set for confirmation on 8 February. Proton owns 80 per cent of Group Lotus, the umbrella company under which Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering operate.

Other suitors have been mooted, not least General Motors -- a previous owner -- on these very pages last week when GM boss Rick Wagoner confirmed that his company was in acquisition talks with Proton.

We don't yet know what's going to happen to Lotus when (if?) the sale goes through -- but we're likely to find out soon after VW's hands take control of Proton's tiller.

[vladd]

Can only be a good thing in my opinion. If they do to Lotus what they've done to Lambo, what can go wrong?

[mini_ralf]

Porsche.... Handling by Lotus
Can't see it working myself

[speedyellow]

Biggest risk I can see is to the Esprit.... it is likely to compete head on with the brand new R8.... will they keep Lotus at the lower end of the market?

I assume they are more interested in Lotus R&D capabilities rather than the production cars?

[Sarah C]

And Porsche own 27% pf VW - so we might just have less of Lotus' quirky engineering!

[paulie-mafia]

vladd said:

What can go wrong?

New Elise unveiled at Geneva

The new Lotus Elise was today unveiled at the Geneva motorshow. Based on the VW Group's ubiquitous Golf / A3 platform, the car breaks with Lotus tradition in using a specially developed version of the Haldex clutch 4wd system mated to a 6 speed DSG gearbox and the increasing popular 2.0TFsi unit from the Golf GTi. It weighs just 1100kg more than the outgoing model....

Hahaha, only joking! Can be a good thing if it improves the quality of Lotus cars and gives them the boost they need to make the new Esprit a decent piece of kit. VW's also punted out a few lightweight sports concepts which would be possible if they had Lotus' experitse.

[oppressed mass]

article said:

if a story in Autocar proves true

Thats a big if..

[Fire99]

Off the cuff, One firm effectively owning Bugatti,Lamborghini,Bentley,Porsche,Lotus & not to mention the usual VAG suspects (Audi etc) is a bad thing.

Too much cross platform engineering which will mean less diversity plus too much 'team orders' so in-house manufacturers dont tread on eachothers toes.

IMO Jaguar has been watered down because of Aston and i feel similar issues prevail with the VAG boys.

[Horse_Apple]

oppressed mass said:

article said:

if a story in Autocar proves true

Thats a big if..

Last week the press was full of VW off-loading all the smaller sports car brands.

If they were still in the same trend of buying up the niche marques then I would think it was probably true but by all accounts they seem to be over that cycle and the industry is at a point of divesting these companies again.

At least with Lotus, it is not so much the brand or the cars but the innovative culture that is of most interest to certain large manufacturers.

It would be good news in some aspects for Lotus, but for anyone holding out for the GT car it may not happen under Porsche ownership.

[astrsxi77]

Coming soon - VW Earth
An entire planet bought by VW where well engineered machines go about their business in an effective but emotionless and rather dull way.

[havoc]

vladd said:

what can go wrong?

Lotuses in future will be powered by VAG group engines in an effort to save costs. New Elise to use McPherson struts in order to improve cabin space, and extra soundproofing to improve NVH.

I'll be glad if someone safeguards Lotus' financial future, but I'll be concerned they don't abuse the brand or go against Colin Chapman's ethos. Too many other marques already going for the 'premium sports GT' sector, Lotus need to keep their positioning at the purist end of the market.

[Mike400]

No one else find it ironic that VW now seems to be acheiving what its founder, a certain Mr.Hitler, didnt quite manage to do all those years ago?

Be wary of Polands first VW dealership....

I should get out more!

[speedyellow]

The problem with the purist market is that it's not mass market and VW group and even Porsche these days are all about the mass marketplace!

[havoc]

speedyellow said:

The problem with the purist market is that it's not mass market and VW group and even Porsche these days are all about the mass marketplace!

Sad but true...even Honda have 'dumbed down' the Type R, despite the old one being a massive sales success and the Type-R brand having a lot of Kudos.

Hope the same doesn't happen to future Lotuses...we've enough 'mass market' cars already.

[sad61t]

VW engineers are not entirely staid; the GX3 concept might even see production and it fits Lotus's profile better than any brand currently in the VAG.

[odyssey2200]

I heard from a reliable source that Citroen were sniffing around Proton too!

Lotus Elise with Hydorpneumatic suspension anyone?

[phisp]

Interesting. So I suspect the fact that my local VW dealer became a Lotus dealer as well a month or two ago is not unrelated.

[chalky180]

phisp said:

Interesting. So I suspect the fact that my local VW dealer became a Lotus dealer as well a month or two ago is not unrelated.

I would imagine this totallu unrelated due to the time it takes fot a dealer to change franchise. Ie 1yrs notice to change is probably not that uncommon. Wonder how long Lotus would keep the Toyota engine if this story is true!!

[PhantomPH]

Do Lotus actually develop their own engines these days, or do they still use 'bought in' plants like the Toyota 1.8 engine in the Elise?

I only ask, as surely replacing one 'bought in' engine with a German one, is not going to be too much of a bad thing.

Keep Lotus' light-weight ethic and drop in some German quality and the current Golf GTi motor with 230bhp and...yummy!



(disclaimer - the current GTi engine could weight more than the whole current Elise on it's own...I wouldn't know - I am just trying to raise a smile!)

P~

[scotty_917]

Proton has only been purchased to give VW a modern manufacturing base in SE Asia. Proton cars, Lotus, Lamborghini, Skoda & Seat will all be sold off in the short to medium term...mark my words!

[havoc]

PhantomPH said:

...drop in some German quality ...

Erm, I think you'll find Toyota display more 'quality' in their products than VAG have done for quite some time. 'German quality' is nothing more than a memory now, in all honesty.