It’s great to see Lotus gathering strength. Not only has the company just unveiled the Evora, an all-new model taking it into a new market segment, but the company is also making money again.
Lotus’s history is peppered with various financial setbacks, and the company seems to flirt with disappearance every few years. But it’s only now that we’re hearing about just how close the company came to shutting down its excellent – and surely essential – engineering division.
Company boss Mike Kimberley has revealed that the previous management regime actually considered ‘rolling up’ the engineering consultancy business. Let’s not forget that this is the same team that played a major roll in the development of the Aston Martin DB9, Vantage and DBS, engineered various engines for GM, tuned the chassis of the previous Astra and its VXR variant and which has done pioneering work in the development of active suspension and active noise suppression systems.
Kimberley obviously can’t talk about Lotus Engineer’s current projects, but the fact it’s on a recruitment drive for 130 new engineers indicates that business is booming. Catastrophe averted, then. But the question is whether Kimberley and his team can manage to break the painful boom-and-bust cycle that has characterised this unique manufacturer for so long.