New Lotus sports cars confirmed as Elise, Exige and Evora face end of production
Lotus has confirmed a whole new series of sports cars with prototype production of the new Lotus Type 131 to start this year in Hethel, Norfolk.
The £100million investment into Hethel’s facilities will create over 250 new jobson top of the 670 jobs created at Lotus since September 2017 when shareholders Geely and Etika took ownership of the company.
Lotus has released the image shown here which hints at the new generation of products that will replace the Elise, Exige and Evora. The company has also announced a full programme of activities to celebrate the current range of three sports cars, starting with the iconic Lotus Elise.
Phil Popham, CEO, Lotus Cars, said: “This year will be hugely significant for Lotus with new facilities coming on stream, a new sports car entering production and new levels of efficiency and quality that only a new car design and factory can deliver. Despite the continuing global challenges, Lotus has emerged from 2020 strong and on track in the delivery of our Vision80 business plan.”
He added: “As our Vision80 strategy illustrates, Lotus is all about looking forward, and our future is full of continuous innovation. In 2021, however, we will be reflecting on the legacy of our current range, starting with the Elise, a sports car that genuinely revolutionised the automotive industry, not only because it is a legend-in-its-own-lifetime but also for its impact on car design and technology.”
Lotus has created multiple automotive legends over the last 73 years, and with the Evija hypercar and new Type 131 sports car, a new dawn of innovation and legend-making is breaking over Hethel.