In an interview conducted by Car and Driver, Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales has stated that the company is set to expand its range of models to include sedans and crossovers. In relation to that, should a front-engined Lotus be produced, “it would be a real Lotus. Which means for ride and handling it could be a benchmark.”
With Proton being the parent company of Lotus, it should be clear enough that technology-sharing is “overwhelmingly likely,” according to Gales. “If we’re looking at four to six years in the future then our partner is Proton. Proton is a volume manufacturer and has parts modules that we could use for future models.”
Elaborating on the possible expansion of the Lotus range, Gales has confirmed that the company is intending to build radically different types of cars, apart from its core models. For enthusiasts who fear that Lotus may be aiming to echo Porsche, fear not. “I would only exclude anything that doesn’t fit the Lotus brand,” says Gales.
A future with front-engined, front-wheel drive Lotus cars is highly likely due to Proton’s entire range consisting of cars with said configuration. The company has produced a front-wheel drive car with the Elan – which ended production in the 1990s. A Lotus sedan has also been produced in the form of the Lotus Carlton.
For now, there is no official word on when we can expect the new models to arrive or even what they are. Gales is currently prioritising to company’s future with long and short-term plans that should see the company grow financially in time to come.
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Front wheel drive Lotus?
Fanboy: This is sacrilege. This is madness!
Lotus CEO: THIS! IS! LOTUS! *kicks fanboy into well*
On a more serious note, this is quite an interesting development. Finally, Proton and Lotus are going to work closer together rather than just Proton benefiting from the Lotus ride-and-handling and some of their engineering know-how.
I wouldn’t count FWD as a weakness. That configuration does have its benefits and a lot of FWD cars are quite capable. Let’s see how this whole thing pans out since these are projects that are likely to be still on the drawing board.
PROTON-Lotus..good JV..they will plan well and can go further to make more profit..
Imagine a future “Proton Saga Turbo” base on Lotus engine!
Front wheel, rear wheel, 6 airbags, EPS bla bla bla… all are non sense.
Proton biggest problem is Build Quality!!!
^And to a certain extent, consistency.
Fark no pls!
LOL!
It’s kinda like when Porsche launched the Cayenne & Panamera and BMW announced the FWD 2 series
Its not the same..
Porsche is luxury sport expanded to Sedan n SUV but not front wheel drive
Lamborghini is expanding to Urus SUV and Maserati expand to Ghibli Sedan..
But all this Luxury sport still pretty much remain as rear wheel drive or four wheel drive..
BMW n Mercs are Luxury sedan, and producing front wheel for their lower end line-up
Lotus should join the Luxury sport like Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche n Maserati, not following the footstep of BMW n Mercs
Why not? Even now Proton’s ride and handling are light years above common Japs cars.
You ride Proton then ride Japs cars you will be worry all the way it turns turtle. Japs cars suck big time
With Proton’s build quality, Lotus will sink even further. Well, maybe that’s not a bad move. Use more money until bankrupt! Good good!
If the potong handling and ride is so advance until light year ahead the japanese car, then should be potong share its tech to lotus but not the other way round.
No harm to be potong die hard fan, but please manage your sentence a bit at first place.. lol
It’s not fair to say Jap cars suck just because they don’t handle as well as Proton’s cars. There’s more to cars than ride and handling and the Japanese seem to be focusing on other things that are more important for that market segment than simply ride and handling. Like reliability, FC, QC, interior space, perceived quality and all that stuff. Stuff that many Malaysians seem to appreciate.
It’s just sad that on the safety department, Jap cars are mostly behind because of their local distributors.
savvy?
I guess its because the current formula doesn’t really drives sales so they needed a change. For better or worst… so basically Lotus is gonna be like a luxury brand for proton? Is it headed this way?
I agree to the fact that their formula isn’t working. And the fact that newer Lotus models had diverged from nimble and lightweight to lazy and comfortable means the transition for the brand to penetrate into the Luxury segment is feasible yet hypothetical. This is partly due to the fact that Proton doesn’t have the technological advantage against their supposedly competitors. The larger problem is that Proton is trying to emulate giants such as BMW/TATA/Geely/DaimlerAG/Toyota Group/ VWAG, whom had the privilege of multiple R&D faculties and cross brand leverages. It’s debatable that their plan could succeed as it is certain that those giants took decades to penetrate global markets and have their lineup of commercial vehicles (+motorcycles). In the very least the luxury segment succumbed to buyouts from Geely, Tata, Toyota and Volkswagen respectively. Perhaps Proton should focus on service vehicles first before heading into Luxury vehicle territory as their reputation isn’t particularly adept for reliability nor technological advancements.
No…..
The last Lotus branded FWD was the Elan. And that didnt do too well. Lotus Engineering would probably still work on a lot of projects for other automakers but having an own brand FWD? Sacrilege
If they want a mass market car, they can do up a new Lotus Carlton. I’m sure they can find some chassis to improve.
This is what we call tech sharing..Both PROTON and Lotus have their own strength..Lotus should go for FWD which offers cheaper to design. There are fewer parts — and the drivetrain is easier and cheaper to install as the car rolls down the assembly line. FWD also helps cut down the car’s weight by eliminating the separate transmission and axle assemblies used in a RWD car. This, in turn helps the Lotus car get better gas mileage. That’s why FWD is most commonly found in economy-type and lower-cost cars. More people can own a Lotus if this idea really happening..
FWD Lotus hot hatch city car based on Iriz platform is ok (like EMAS/Ethos twin). Other than that pls RWD or AWD.
Oh and, Gregory, I think what you’re trying to say in paragraph 3 line 2 is “For enthusiasts who fear that…” rather than the current “For enthusiasts for fear that…”
Correction made. Thank you.
Lotus is loss making till now.Whats the big deal?
Lotus should learn from Proton … get assistance from Govt and Petronas…
I’m looking at you,next gen proton perdana….
Next gen saga blm we be too soon to take advantage
Why not? Make a FWD hot hatch and kick the GTI ass.
Hum Interesting!!!!!
Well I think the Proton Suprima Could be the Next Lotus Carlton but if Lotus insist on a Sedan than the only candidate would be the Next Gen Perdana or The Preve facelift …
The thing that iam interested in is what engine would they use because at the moment they have :
1)the new 1.3L/1.6L VVT Engine
2)The EOs PETRONAS family of Engine 1.8L/2.0L/2.2L and The largest 2.4L Turbocharged
The Honda Deal is only for the Proton Perdana or an SUV using the CRV platform(unconfirmed )
The article also states the they will have AWD in some cars but where are they going to take this system from….HUM why does my Gut tells me that they are working with Jaguar/LandRover ????????
Well Any News on Proton or Lotus is most welcomed
Good Job paultan
Exciting Times ahead for Proton & Lotus !!!!!
as i heard from proton insider, they currently on the last phase developing 2.0 turbo with dual-vvt (intake & exhaust) based on petronas engine siries…especially for perdana replacement & exora…
wah…2.0 turbo with dvvt for new exora…really ah? can i place booking now? want to trade in my current exora cfe
Well if they do take the Suprima as a future platform for their new FWD and AWD cars I only hope that they go crazy ie don’t limit their potential I mean like make sure the cars have at least 240bhp with 350nm of power ….!
Proton you do have The Technology all you need now a little more Ballss …….Go Ahead Proton Make a New Car For your Kid (Lotus )
Pls emulate mazda mx5 approach…price for proton badged variant less than rm60K.
any take on Lotus (proton) jumpback replacement model
what they r suggesting is rebadge proton as lotus. job done.
talk is cheap, really really cheap
You mean like Same Lorr, Ioma and Moronhead
That’s what you call synergy within the Proton Group.
Lotus seems to be going nowhere after being acquired by Proton.
Incompetent management I guess
Maybe instead of proton having it all, they gonna devide the car or at least rebadge proton model.
C segment,
proton get preve r, exOra r
Lotus get Suprima r, new suv
D segment
Proton,:perdana
Lotus,: eterne
B segment
Proton: saga r, mpv
Lotus ; iriz r, mx5 fighter
A segment
Proton: Axia fighter
Lotus: ethos (fashion item)
Proton would be more sedate, cost effective will lotus is exclusive, zoom zoom thingy.
*r = replacement
lotus satria neo CFE 6mt
the last time FWD happened for Lotus, it failed as the Elan
Right… Got killed by the rising star called the Miata MX5
after all completed, proton will use fuel guzzler cfe engine and lotus will use toyota engine. right or not?
Go back to school axia drinks more fuel than Mirage despite lower cc
Haiyo,Just use the 1.8 engine on Elise for Exora cps enough leh
Wait guys, wait. If you guys read his words again (even in original CnD article), he did not even say “front wheel drive”. He just said ‘front-engined’. It probably means FR layout.
What does this mean? Rebirth of classic British roadster! Mazda Miata rival! Wooot! (hope so)
Good catch there, mim. The article contains ‘front wheel drive’ in the title while the content contains ‘front-engined’ though that is not in the quotation. A misleading title, perhaps.
I guess the pitchforks and torches can be put down now.
I checked out the original article. No concrete answer there at all as the CEO is very evasive. Why front wheel drive was mentioned was because Proton was mentioned as a very probably partner and all of Proton’s cars are in the FF layout, so if Lotus decides to use Proton’s know-how to make a new car, Proton’s familiarity with the FF layout and total inexperience with the FR layout would make the new Lotus very likely to be an FF layout car.
But this is ignoring the fact that Lotus has built FR type cars before. A casual search on the web reveals the Lotus Excel and the Lotus Eclat. Things might be different in this day and age, however, and if Lotus is truly incapable of building an FR car, they can always find an expert to lend a hand…
Proton’s know how on FF chassis?
I think it would be the other way around. Lotus has been improving a lot of FF chassis for a long time.
Lotus Excel and Eclat? You forgot about the Lotus Carlton?
They’ve been improving them but I don’t think they’ve made any, but this is not wholly about them. It is about their partnership with Proton and speculating how they will share technology.
I only mentioned the Excel and Eclat because that’s the results that came up when you search online for “Lotus front-engined”. I didn’t claim it was an exhaustive listing of all Lotus FR cars. Geez.
Whatever they do… THEY SHOULD NOT ALLOW THE PROTON DESIGNERS ANYWHERE NEAR THE CAR!!
Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales
It would be great to have you as CEO of P1 instead.
Dreams are boundless but can it be turned into reality with a lack of vision, a proper business module and a limited budget from the current management?
And not forgetting Tun will always have the final say.
Welcome to Msia Jean !!
I wish when Proton’s GDI (direct injection) ready by sometime 2019 (5 years), Proton can come out with real hot hatch – 3rd generation Satria.
Anyway, all the best.
Nice to see proton is improving…
Well done Lotus and Proton. Hope for the best. We have high hopes in you..
Awwww hell yisssssssss
Nice driving experience to the masses!
Woah..we can have Protus !..but in 6 years ?…damn have to go hospital often, eat less oily food and less my sugar consumption so I can still live to that day..hope I can make it
good job proton
“Proton is a volume manufacturer…”
Sure or not? The sales figure tells otherwise. More like a niche brand. haha
sure ka? 150k unit per year not Volume manufacturer yet ?
It’s actually considered niche in the global scale. Unless you are contented that Proton will always remain as a home brand then ‘it’s selling huge volume indeed!’ *sarcasm intended*
With that said though, it’s tough for Proton to get out into the global market alone. In the economics of scales to purchase and offer cheap but reliable technologies compared to Japanese & Korean manufacturers, it is not possible for Proton to offer the same technologies for the same price that our Japanese & Korean counterparts does simply because Proton doesn’t BUILD and OWN those technologies. The only way for Proton to get out there is JV with technologies companies such as LG and leverage on their partnership to offer better technologies (electronics), and have Lotus build FWD cars to spearhead Proton’s vehicle forward (mechanical). Partnering with Geely to gain a small slice of Chinese market makes sense as well (financial). Probably in the next 5 years we will see their fruit of labor but as of now, I wish Proton the best.
Utterly ridiculous… Lotus makes sports cars… Not some front wheel drive car, should stay true to its core..
Lightweight and high on power & REAR WHEEL DRIVE…
Utterly ridiculous… Lotus makes sports cars… Not some front wheel drive car, should stay true to its core..
Lightweight and high on power & REAR WHEEL DRIVE…
Can lotus make engine for proton while their elise n exige still use toyota(toyota 2zz-ge)….even toyota don’t use these engine for their performance car anymore…..
I don’t really care if Lotus make a FWD hot-hatch/sedan but can Proton please launch a new Putra based on the old Esprit? It’s long overdue!
Hope it become Hot Hatch Lotus….with powerful Toyota engine
X
X
X
Lotus makes sports cars… Not some front wheel drive car, should stay true to its core..