In a recent interview with Top Gear UK, Dany Bahar has finally revealed the details on what went down during his tenure at Lotus, the surprise DRB-Hicom takeover of Proton and the somewhat overly ambitious plan involving five new Lotus models at the 2010 Paris motor show.
Bahar joined Lotus as its CEO back in 2009, not before being personally selected by outgoing Ferrari chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, to helm several new initiatives to propel the brand forward. Prior to Ferrari, he had helped Red Bull, in 2002, diversify the brand’s presence into NASCAR and football with several team acquisitions.
On his plans for Lotus when he joined, Bahar had stated that he saw similarities between the brand and Ferrari as Lotus possessed a heritage that held vast potential – from “the 007 Esprit. The Ayrton Senna connection. The JPS cars. Seven F1 world championships…All there.”
Left; Lotus Elite. Right; Lotus Esprit
With that mind frame in set, Bahar unveiled his most ambitious plan for Lotus when it chose to unveil five new models – Esprit, Eterne, Elise, Elan and Elite. Bahar himself told Top Gear UK that turning up at the Paris motor show with one car was “not earth-shattering” enough, thus going in with ambitions to make “four, five cars”, with people’s reaction being “positive, [and] some negative.”
Bahar’s intentions for the five-model plan was clear from the beginning. He wanted to drum up as much attention as possible with a plan like that in order to “make a lot of noise and demonstrate real intent, because nobody would have cared otherwise.” It certainly worked because, according to him, “big-name automotive suppliers weren’t interested in working with us…[but it] all changed when they saw the plan.”
When asked about the criticism that was levelled at him about his plans, Bahar countered, stating that even back in the days of Colin Chapman, it was already a known fact that Lotus would not be able to survive selling small, affordable sports cars. Bahar wasn’t interested in ruining Lotus’ heritage by expanding its lineup for Chapman himself was already working on more expensive cars at the end of his era.
On arriving at Lotus, Bahar says that plans to move Lotus upmarket with new models were already in the works by Proton long before he was drafted on board. Talks between him and Proton began during a meeting at a motor show in which the company expressed interest in his plans – “I guess they liked my approach – it was new and fresh.”
Everything seemed to be panning out for Bahar and his team at Lotus until circumstances went awry. While most would be quick to point the finger at Proton and its management of the Lotus brand, Bahar says that the “Proton relationship was fantastic. The key people supported us, and got the vision.” What exactly went wrong with the relationship, then?
“DRB-Hicom bought Proton. It came as a total surprise. Proton didn’t even know it was coming.” Unfortunate news, considering that the Esprit was delayed for six months but it was already on course for 2014. “We were weeks away from the first prototype hitting the road. I believe it would have changed the economics at Lotus completely.”
What made the situation that bit more difficult to swallow was the fact that Bahar was quoted as saying that the “engine [in the Esprit] is fantastic, there’s some amazing technology there, but they didn’t even look at it. They simply cancelled everything.” Bahar wasn’t even concerned with the limelight of success when he said that “I don’t even care if someone else takes the credit…but at least take the car and make it a success.”
When the dust had settled on the mess, Bahar claims that all is behind him and that he has moved on from the Lotus saga. “My reputation isn’t my number-one concern; it never was…I’m happy, I’ve moved on already.” What had really affected him was the damage it did to his team who had placed their trust in him and were disappointed. “I was emotional about that,” said Bahar.
With that chapter closed, what’s the next step for Dany Bahar? Ares. According to him, Ares “is a new kind of automotive atelier created specifically to cater for people who need a car that’s unique, hand-crafted and extraordinary.” Think of it as Bahar’s interpretation of Ferrari’s Atelier programme. Ares positions itself as an independent atelier, responding to individual needs for custom sports cars, SUVs, the whole nine yards.
For now, at least, the future appears relatively bright for Bahar and company as they undertake a completely new project. With the Lotus episode behind him, it is rather surprising that Bahar hasn’t considered jumping industries entirely. We will be looking forward to hearing more from the Bahar camp in the near future.
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I too, amm not really sure weather the Esprit would have change Lotus completely. The performance point and price pputs it in a competition Lotus has never faced before and considering they are still on a leaking ship, I would ay such bold plan is very risky and the risk should it fail, disastrous(read BMW 507) .
What would have save Lotus however was whats powering the new Esprit. The ‘in house’ develope V6 and V8. Those engine could be fitted to a heavily revamp car using the Evora platform. It will also benefit Proton as the design could linger down to an In-line 4 for Proton.
Bahar attempted to point its crosshair at cars such as Porsche and Lamborghini but the problem is, Porsche and Lamborghini(or rather VAG), has something that Lotus never has, ever….. built refinement and overall quality. Theres no Lotus built siince, that have a very comfortable and luxurious interior, at least enough to rival Porsche. Jumping from an empty shell, purpose track car like the Elies to something that can rival Lamborghini and Porsche for the Elite club is something many have tried and most have failed. Lotus Aluure stands at its driving-pedigree, thats what the Elies is. The Evora attempted to change the minds of would-be Cayman buuyers, but its interior just would’t match Stuttguard’s finest and more dissapointingly, neither does its ride and handling.
You got a totally contrasting view with Bahar in this matter. Historically b4 VW took over, Lambo sold on its exotic design and emotional sound, other than that its terrible and never made money for the co owner. So, in a business point of view, historic Lambo and present Lotus are not so different, and Both are GREAT BRAND to exploit its potential and this what Bahar was looking. exploit the brand value and get out of the traditional business! Problem was, Lotus new owner just couldn’t stomach Bahar’s plan… Or maybe the plan was too big for Proton/DRB to play with
It must be a pretty bold plan, Porsche traditionally has a long line of well selling products, and Lamborghini’s transition from the Diablo to the Diablo VT 6.0, Lamborghini’s overall built and fit and finish begin to look more German, more premium and worth the paying price rather. The engine, still the same Bizzarrini V12, became more relible as it progress into the Murcielargo. It convinced elite buyers that it not only a Supercar but a proper car and not a more expensive way to see your local tow truck guy, and now with growing potential of the former-USSR, the Middle East and China, are beginning to produce rich enough people to buy them in bulk and with no automotive culture to speak off, it was a ka-ching moment.
In any case, I still believe Lotus should have continue development of the Esprit if as Bahar said was that close to production. Even if the car was dead the engine could see a new lease of life for Lotus. Something like a McLaren Renaissance. The new Lotus CEO has a safe plan, revamping the almost decade old Evora and the decadeS old Elies, before moving to a territory even un-Lotus than Bahar’s Lotus plan, a sedan and SUV. I still have trouble perceiving Lotus overall fit and finish to be good enough to chellenge ze Germans in the sedan or SUV department, most of these customer will want not just a good handling car but also a well sorted and built car…. the Exige in any sense sounds safer.
Bahar was a visionary. He had goals and vision for the company. The Malaysian fools could not handle his vision and hard working attitude.
You see, Proton and DRB Hicom have this lazy culture. The culture of relaks, lepak and tidur. Each working day, they go to kantin and minum teh and makan kuih lapis at least 8 times a day. Each time they go, it is at least 30 minutes of chilling and talking kok.
Bahar could not handle this Malaysian GLC way of attitude. For him, luch break was a mere half and hour and after that it was pure hard work.
Our Proton and DRB guys have no vision. They just sleep in the office thinking about how many more wives they can get and also which awek in the kilang they can kongkek.
This is the truth of why they got rid of Bahar. It is partly Bahar’s fault why he did not try to pretend to be lazy, relaks, lepak and minum teh 8x one day. If Bahar tried very hard to be lazy like the Proton workers, then Proton would have been very happy with him.
They would even go further to make him Datuk Danny Bahar and eventually give him Tan Sriship if he tried to be lazy and chilled out.
Somewhat agree. The Evora totally failed to win any points against it’s intended Porsche target. It’s at around the same price point, but bloody hard to exit/enter, whereas the Porsche functions perfectly well as a daily driver. They are now stopping Evora production because of low sales.
If they couldn’t even build Evora competitively, not very high hopes that the Esprit will be competitive price and performance-wise against Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche in such a short time.
http://jalopnik.com/if-lotus-died-in-america-would-anyone-really-care-1638194455/
It does take such boldness and such risk-taking to turn things around at times. Fit and finish, material quality, etc, isn’t a quality set in stone. There’s only the previous track record you can’t change. The automaker just needs to focus on the right things and step out of their comfort zone, maybe hire a few car interior specialists in efforts to upgrade the interior. They might not nail it the first time, but they can make enough of a leap to get some attention and get the ball rolling.
It really is such a shame that the car got scrapped. Now we’ll never know if it would have been a success or not. I think it is quite possible for the engine to make a debut in one of their future cars. It is stupid to completely scrap such an investment.
Well.. too bad for you then. Because, PROTON!
Syuhhh Syuuhhh! Keep quiet! Don’t butt in when the adults are talking, understand?
na zis should just sit on proton accord
AVH, what if it can? Your guess is as good as mine, what if the Esprit turns out to be good? What if it doesn’t? We will never know surely. If the British workmanship overcomes the mentality of Proton, surely we will have a a great future in the automotive industry. We are so far behind, the Koreans, despite their shortcomings through the years are actually matching the continental brands, sometimes surpass some Japanese makes. What do we have to show after 30 years of our “automotive heritage”? We have the platform, but we screw it. MV Agusta before and Lotus in the near future. We are just too much politics and no action, how to succeed? At first I thought Bahar was taking advantage of Proton, but the more I see it, Proton or DRB for that matter made a mistake of not taking his talent seriously.
TLDR: Nationalism is what will hinder Proton from moving ahead.
Long Ver:
After reading your question, two things ponder inside me last night, how to reply to your question, and how da hell did I get so many dislikes. But anyways the reply.
The problem with large cooperate turnaround is that it requires 3 things; Large amount of cash, Large amount of risk and Large amount of good ol’ luck. reading through several major CEO influence cooperate turnaround like Chrysler-Fiat under Sergio Marchionne, Aston Martin under Ulrich Bez and Nissan under Carlos Ghosn, most of them are willing to gamble a certain aspect. It requires some outlandish and falmboyent style of leadership most will not be comfortable to(think Steve Jobs in the 00s, or even Elon Munsk now). Bahar is that kind of guy, and yes there is a probable chance the Esprit could work and ended up with a car not so much different from the McLaren’s V8/Carbon Fiber tub family plan. A line of cars could spawn from the Esprit utilizing the same but tweak engine and chassis.
But then we come to the problem of Malaysia, we are just not used to taking such huge risk espacially when the gains are really to a foreign car manufecturer than our own ailing Proton. Malaysians are also not comforted to such flamboyent style of leadership. I could be wrong at this as I am not immerse into the local cooperate world, but this is my outlook as a bystander. Theres also a sense of Nationalism when managing through Proton and Lotus which I just dont like. Not that I dont respect our local talents but I don’t like the attitude of restricting our view and ambition to such a small spectrum. Hyundai-Kia’s success is mainly down to the fact that the head of almost every department but Financial is headed by a Foreigner(non-Korean), and they have already markets all over the world knowing what serious competition is all about. Of course we can argue Hyundai-Kia is a major conglomerate, with over 50 years(20 more than Proton), with personal net worth to overflow the bank of England.
Sure, naysayers are quick to say ‘in Korea, Koreans only buy Korean cars, haha, Nationalistic help them, same with Japan’, no that is not Nationalistic, that is Patriotic, and there is a difference in the two, an also because their cars are good and cheap. Once a respectable Japanese or Korean get their wealth, will they continue to support their OEM, nope, they will say Sayonara or annyeong to their cars and Guten Tag to Deutschland Auto, even thou their Genesis and Lexus brands exists. Czechoslovakia made some fine cars, and so does Britain, and Sweeden, do you see them running around in their Skoda or Rover or Volvo, nope, still a diverse selection of cars in all countries(and Hyundai is edging out Seat as CZ no.1 car).
As of now Proton are showing signs of some revival, honestly the Iriz(or whatever is called) is a rather small and promising hatchback , there are still flaws thou. But that nationalistic feeling is what irkes me from buying a manual Iriz high spec. I know the comment section of Paultan are meant to be non-serious and sometimes a place to joke not only here, but even in FB and other websites and even in the 1Malaysia Bajet 2015 proposal, ‘Free tolls and subsidized petrol for Proton and Perodua Cars Only’ was one of the suggestion….. Its basically chocking me to buy a Proton. I was beginning to think that the problem of nationalism is less of a joke but something that kept in heart
Apart from my silly comment above (just for poking fun), what you mentioned about nationalism is quite true. And it’s so sad that nationalism in Malaysia is regarded as something negative (on me and on you, not sure bout others). And the only way to fix Proton, is to fix “THE” people who manages Malaysia. Once that’s set and with a good product, Proton can fly wei.
Nationalism in my mind is the believe that one country is better in every single respect to others, with little to no tolerence of other culture and products and Achievment. When someone chokes Proton down my throat and assume other products is nothing short of rubbish…. I’ll immediately assume Nationalistic.
Patriotism, on the other hand, is acknowledging that our country is what it is and appreciate its improvement and so on. In example when someone says that Proton has improve but has many area to catch up and proud of it…. that I believe is a Patriotic comments
Yes, Proton will improve dramatically when the people managing it will change….if they will change. Personally, Proton exits is the achivement of the Malaysian politics, not Malaysians….. not yet.
Oh please.. grow up..Better don’t simply justify nationalism. .
As for me.. nationalism is.. not robbing rakyat money.. sell craps products. . Discontinued half way without service & parts..
Deny FDI opportunities that can offer jobs to people. . NAP protection.
Worst.. bash kampung folk because P2 producing cheapest model.. for some lower income group.. then some idiots justify how cheap their life.
That’s nationalism to you?
I think you got many downvotes because of the recent climate in paultan.org’s comment section. There’s an anti-bashing mood at the moment. Many negative comments are just hit by a flurry of downvotes, even if they do make sense.
There are also people who genuinely disagree.
A few commenters have become sure-downvote targets. All the crazy sarcasm employed in the comments is probably contributing to it.
Whatever. .
Anyway. .
Burrpp…
Kenyang dy this guy..
Thx proton.. well done.
Bahar, cant blame u though, cuz we Malaysian dont used to too swag of stuff including your ambitious plan, so do the one who fire your ass off from Lotus.
No it wasnt…..
even the mclaren had a hard time convincing critics that it was as good if not better than the italia…
anyway mclaren automotive was making a gamble as well when producing their first mass produced supercar to take the ferrari head on…
lotus should have taken a similar approach instead of splurging the cash on 5 new models and using celebrities to promote those nonexistent cars, which is what now we see is a big joke, terrible idea, only knuckleheads would agree to it , like proton..,
existing cars are marred by quality issues…
jeremy clarkson pointed out the speaker grill of the evora came out while drifting…
should have worked on the esprit in the dark, keep the audience guessing then only you unveiled it once its done….
The affordable track weapons like the elise and exige should just be mildly updated time to time cuz it attracts a different kinds of customer , while the evora , a daily driver proposal shouldve have come with better interior and ergonomics,
the esprit would have put lotus back on the map, but the approach was wrong
Good one.
He said it in three words: D-R-B. Let’s say I know the tales of two of DRB’s companies (one acquired, the other established) and they’re both nightmares to deal with.
It’s really a shame though. We got into the automotive industry way ahead of China and India. Tata bought Jaguar Land Rover, and now we have the Jaguar XE, Range Rover Evoque and the Range Rover Sport. Geely bought Volvo and we now have the new XC90. We bought Lotus, what do we have? The so called Lotus Ride and Handling bullshit.
Which makes me wonder, itu Iris ada “Handling by Lotus”?
It’s simple…
VW GROUP has shares in DRB…..right?
VW also owns Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley & Bugatti, all brands which Lotus is trying to go head on with these 5 new lotus models….
So, why allow another competitor to join in?
So, do a ‘coup d’etat’ by owning DRB and kill off your competitor/ controlling your competitor presence in the market!!!! Which in this case is Lotus!!!!
Please remember that Lotus just announced plan to cut a quarter of their workforce….
While, during Danny Bahar time, he was recruiting, in anticipating of the future demand of lotus cars. You do not get skilled people overnight…. They need to be trained….
And now, all these trained staff are losing their job and going to other car manufacturers. ..who gains in this case?
If lotus have plans to built SUV and increase their sales, don’t you think they need more people?
So, congratulations VW/DRB on a very well thought plan!!!!
You now own LOTUS!!!!
wow when Lotus cut manpower we here sad.. but here people asking to close down PROTON, everyone happy.. no comment saying mom dad uncle unties losing jobs… puii
VW has no shares in DRB… they mentioned in news last month and cautioned drb of using their name in their daily business. drb is only a distributor and contact assembler for VW. pls update you data. VW even said they will never share technology with drb.
Nice story, but obviously wrong.
Shareholders DRB-Hicom Berhad:
Mokhtar Shah Nor 55.9%
Employees Provident Fund 9.23%
Skagen AS 4.57%
Norges Bank Investment Management 2.66%
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP 1.99%
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan 1.74%
APG Asset Management NV 0.83%
Tai Tak Estates Sdn. Bhd. 0.57%
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. 0.49%
Yahaya Ahmad Family 0.46%
He sure has ambitious plans for Lotus.
But how it turns out nobody knows.
But I know that business and politics shouldn’t mix. That’s what is happening to most Govt-link companies.
still remember the few Lotus cars in KL international motor show then really gave everyone some hope…very original design for new sports car..
is Gregory Sze new paultan.org new author from the previous posted regard to available position???
what a pity, a legendary company with legendary ride and handling, with fantastic fun to drive, based on Clarkson review. Highly respected by British folks.
Here our talented DRB hicom management would like to make a Affordable practical and easy to maintain car. go ahead DRB, we wanna see what bonkers you have got, what kind of balls you got. Or are you the shy away management.
Or In the other hand, because DRB VW are in the same group, are they trying to slowly close the company and make it out of business? Maybe thats the plan.
Proton closes Lotus group. Ta Pau.
sigh..people at DRB are rather mentally conservative..how to do business without taking some degree of risk and huge borrowings..you cannot cross the road without some danger that you will be hit by a car..tats why this guy was sacked…KIA n sister co. Hyundai ..nearly go bust (huge spending) if not because of bailed out by Korean government…and of course people there very supportive.
Dany Bahar, I kinda like this guy. I think he has a vision, a plan, for Lotus to succeed. Though it might need a lot of cash, but at least it promises something to be envisioned.
Lotus (or DRB) is mainly concerned about making profits. But how can one make profits without spending? It’s a shame that these 5 amazing-looking cars have been cancelled, but I am really looking forward to seeing these cars see the green lights for production.
At first, it was good that he and the team he brought him had shaken up the then Lotus management complacency which pretty much plagued the company for decades. However, increasingly it was evident that his penchant for luxury perks and Hollywood friends isn’t sustainable for the company (and also for the Malaysian lenders of the massive RM1.3b loan, which no European banks agreed to provide). While it is true that work had been started on the Esprit, it is nowhere near completion. There was no running prototype, and the new V8 was still undergoing dyno tests. DRB HICOM came in and knew what sort of headache they are staring at and the rest is history.
I also heard Dato lukman when he was proton Deputy CEO and LOTUs Boss, ordered to scrap all the prototypes, models and info on the five cars so they will never commercialize or seen again as he was scared they need to invest money in them. what a loser.
Anybody can tell that the plan was too ambitious. It would bleed P1 of money it doesn’t have anyway. The Lotus CityCar project would make more sense. Why? It can be the halo car that shall immediately put Iriz on the global map as the car that it would be based upon. Nevermind if it cannot sell in numbers (that is what halo car is all about). Use all the amazing techs that Bahar mentioned available. Make it the next Lotus Satria GTi.
Ok, I think small. Only sensible. Five-door Iriz is P1’s hope of real entry into global sales. A three-door Lotus hot-hatch will help it rake in more numbers to its sales. Don’t make it cheap, throw in all the bells and whistles. A pretender in a lower cost P1 Satria GTi will work the magic, and thus the win-win situation
A halo city car…now that’s something to think about.
Good idea Garfield, fact of the matter is it is a lot more difficult and expensive to get a mass market car which has to appeal to the public at large as opposed to a purpose built Supercar.
A high performance variant like a Gti,R ,R3 etc that you have mentioned will just endure the same pitfalls which be made even deeeper as it has to work on the same platform and steps to adapt the purchasing/engineering process of parts to suit this model etc which will be too complicated for Drb to undertake in Proton’s present state. Tacking on high quality aftermarket performance parts and calling a Proton model a ‘Lotus’ on the other hand does sounds mighty appealing will just kill any credibility and momentum of turning the latter into a self sustaining brand.
That is the reason i respect companies such as Ford,Mazda,Bmw etc as they are able to come up with halo cars while dishing out solid mass market cars which are by no means an easy feat regardless of company size for years.
On the matter, i reckon DRB simply does not have the time to be indulging in sports/supercars as the focus right now has to rightfully be on getting Proton right as it’s really last chance saloon for them.(when a high number of middle income rakyat which you are targetting are willing to buy a 5-7 year old foreign car or smaller p2 cars just to avoid your factory new product, you have issues)
I believe they have plans for Lotus and do hope they sort it out eventually. Lotus has become a national pride of sorts so yea.
Or it could be just wishful thinking as they may just be waiting for the right buyer/offer. Only DRB knows. Lets see how it pans out!
Why am I not surprised with this article. Typical. DRB Hicom is just doing cost cutting exercise as usual. They’re thinking and vision is just isn’t there yet coming to future of Lotus and its potential. They failed to recognised the history, heritage and pedigree that Lotus has that would probably make Lotus name in the supercar world. Probably they’re too fixated and clouded of Bahar’s lavish lifestyle and travel expenditure on company account(and wondering why they themselves are not enjoying this).
—Everything seemed to be panning out for Bahar and his team at Lotus until circumstances went awry. While most would be quick to point the finger at Proton and its management of the Lotus brand, Bahar says that the “Proton relationship was fantastic. The key people supported us, and got the vision.” What exactly went wrong with the relationship, then?
“DRB-Hicom bought Proton. It came as a total surprise. Proton didn’t even know it was coming.” Unfortunate news, considering that the Esprit was delayed for six months but it was already on course for 2014. “We were weeks away from the first prototype hitting the road. I believe it would have changed the economics at Lotus completely.”—
Based on the excerpt above that I extracted from the article, Dany Bahar points the blame to DRB-Hicom.
Lotus had done it before. In 1990 they had turned a boring Vauxhall Carlton into a Lotus Carlton with near a supercar’s performance. The looks were understated, but a car nut like me can immediately recognize the Imperial Green colour of the original Lotus Carlton. Notice that Vauxhall (or Opel) did not own Lotus but they proudly put a Lotus badge on it, and call it one. In the old days, there were a Lotus Cortina as well.
What Lotus did for Satria GTi was different. They didn’t tinker with the 4G93 too much and concentrated on the handling (thus the “Tuned by Lotus” badge). It did not qualify as a Lotus; admit it, the base car was crap. But it wins adoration as a product that tries very well, even by Richard Hammond back then when it was launched in the UK. It was compared to a Pug 208 GTi and came out on top, and about even compared to the VW Polo GTi (it lost on the practicality of the 5-door Polo).
I’m not sure what happened but Lotus did showcased the sixth car in Paris 2010, the Ethos supermini; alongside the Proton EMAS penned by ItalDesign Giugiaro. Honestly I doubt if Bahar even wanted to proceed with that, and the idea was most likely from P1 the parent company. If it was binned, then P1 has benefitted somewhere in the platform design and styling. The product could easily be badged a Lotus with the right powertrain (that P1 doesn’t have or yet unreleased).
That’s where the synergy between Lotus and P1 could have continued to exist. It is not demeaning to Lotus to build a P1-based car (that is safe and comfortable compared to the Elises and Elans). Yes, Lotus could be much more like Bahar had imagined, but P1 or DRB could not foot the bill to sustain his dream and personal lifestyle. I do however, agree that the Esprit should be completed and launched. It is also not demeaning to DRB to at least finalize one of Bahar’s dream.
Proton lost RM 807 million on Lotus in fiscal year 2013. Was it worth it?
During the launch of Iriz, Proton CEO commented that Proton had spent RM 560 million on its development budget. =O
I wonder how much the development for Lotus Esprit..