Dominic wrote:There could be a big opportunity for Lotus here - which I doubt they will take, but just suppose they do; an extruded aluminium chassis clad with plastic body panels to give a market first, a lightweight SUV. Would be a big step towards a more eco friendly SUV, which would surely attract a lot of buyers. It would answer the issue of the market demand for SUV and eco all in one package.
Is there any benefit in doing that though? Investing in a market that we know is going to disappear - that is to say, cars that solely use fossil fuels.
It would have to be at least a hybrid, and by the time you add batteries, it's not going to be the lightweight thing you want, and that's before we talk about the current Elise not being all that much lighter than the current mx-5, which is of course a traditional steel build.
Then there is the nature / fragility of the Lotus chassis - if you create it in an SUV that has any hope of going off road...
I think we will see an SUV with an extruded aluminium chassis, I wonder if perhaps it'll be an Aston Martin, and more of a crossover / urban car (without the plastic bumpers!) than a full height 4x4 type thing..
Financially, I think it makes most sense to utilise the Geely / Volvo platforms and make something that looks a bit pretty, and looks a bit Lotus, and hopefully rake in the cash. I think for this to work, it has to look sporty, and probably be nice / a bit sporty to drive, but that might simply mean it rides a little flatter than the competition, and has decent performance. The diehards will complain that it's not a real Lotus. The rest of us will accept that the need for a business to make money and survive is directly related to diverging into other markets.
Porsche 'enthusiasts' complained about the Cayenne, and later the Macan, but let's be honest, they also moaned about the 914, 924, and the 944, and even the Boxster (though oddly, I've seen less complaint about the Cayman).
I think if Porsche resurrected the 356 they'd moan about that, and god forbid they make another 912 - and yet, Porsche still trundle on, perhaps more successful than ever, and I think those who moan are happy with their top end products - the premium paid for a 'GT' badged car seems to suggest this anyway.
Maserati is going through a bit of a change at the moment too. I don't think they know what to do with it tbh. They have an SUV and a diesel saloon which I think make up the bulk of sales. I think part of the issue is that in recent years, they have become the niche company that sell the amazing sounding V8. As time goes on, they have to adapt, the V8 won't be around in the next few decades. I can't help but think that the company famed for wanting to perfect the biturbo - and eventually getting pretty darn close I think) should be trying to do exactly that now - small petrol engines with 2 high boost turbos, and probably a hybrid element - but we live in a world of engine and platform sharing, so this likely won't happen as they strive for a bigger slice of the market with more sales.
Alfa are firing on all cylinders, back to making amazing cars that review well and look great, and the Stelvio too.
