1977 Lotus Esprit Base Coupe 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Lotus settles with ex-CEO Dany Bahar, avoids London High Court

Five years after it began, it appears the Dany Bahar tenure at Lotus is finally over. After former Lotus owner Proton brought in the ex-Ferrari and Red Bull marketing savant to run the company in 2009, everything had gone pear-shaped by 2012: Proton had been sold to Malaysian auto supplier DRB-Hicom, who suspended Bahar and then fired him for what it said were expense-account transgressions (although Bob Lutz reportedly said something different).
The separation led to the expected suit and countersuit, Lotus going after Bahar to get its money back, Bahar filing a $10.6-million suit againt Lotus for wrongful termination and potential bonus money. The case was set to go to trial next month but both parties have settled, the terms undisclosed, a DRB-Hicom statement saying only that "the parties involved in the legal suit have signed a Settlement Agreement and Release... and have agreed to withdraw their claims against each other."
Now that that bit of housecleaning is all cleared up, can new CEO Jean-Marc Gales please get our Esprit?

Lotus Advanced Performance division wants to make your dreams come true

Lotus took a big step in its quest to position itself as a British alternative to Porsche by launching a division called Advanced Performance. Run by a former Aston Martin executive, Lotus Advanced Performance will design and build one-off and few-off models, among other tasks. Most high-end and specialty carmakers operate a program that gives customers some degree of freedom in terms of customization. Lotus was, until now, largely an exception to this rule. It hopes to make up for lost time by giving its Advanced Performance division a surprisingly long list of responsibilities. First the department will be responsible for building "ultra-exclusive and unique vehicles" that will not be part of the firm's regular-production line-up. One of these (shown in a sketch above) looks like it draws inspiration from classic Formula One cars. Details are few and far between, but the massive rear wing speaks volumes about the kind of halo cars we'll see in the not-too-distant future. What's unclear is whether Lotus will take customer requests. We've reached out, and we'll update this story if we learn more. Designing limited-edition models and developing race cars will also fall within the scope of Advanced Performance's responsibilities. And, it's the door that buyers who want to customize their car will need to knock on; they'll be able to select different paint colors, trim materials, and upholsteries. Optional extras and a range of Lotus-branded accessories will also emerge from Advanced Performance's headquarters. Immersing customers and enthusiasts into the Lotus world is important as well, so Advanced Performance will organize tours of the brand's production lines, organize driving academies around the world (including on the Hethel test track in England) and prepare "money can't buy" opportunities for clients. There's no word yet on what these experiences will look like; more information should emerge later in 2022. Lotus put Simon Lane in charge of its Advanced Performance division. He's a good choice: his resume includes leading Aston Martin's Q division, whose list of responsibilities looks a lot like Advanced Performance's. Q notably brought us the V8-powered Cygnet in 2018 and the one-of-a-kind Victor unveiled in 2020. Some of its other projects have been more tame: it gave the DBX a long list of carbon fiber parts. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Xcar tosses the Lotus Evora 400 around in the rain

Lotus appears to be blooming again after a rocky period, and the company is launching the Evora 400 here in December for $89,900. Xcar just got a hold of one of these updated coupes on a rainy day to find out if it can be a Porsche competitor. With 400 horsepower, the aptly named Evora 400 tops the Porsche Cayman GT4 by 15 ponies, and with a purported sprint to 60 miles per hour in 4.1 seconds, the Lotus also nudges out the Porsche by a tenth of a second. So on paper, the two coupes are quite comparable. Of course, Xcar also digs deep into more subjective factors, like how it actually feels behind the wheel. If you think you prefer a little more wind in your hair, the company is developing an Evora 400 roadster, too. Rather than an actual droptop, the roof will reportedly consist of two, removable carbon-fiber panels. It'll arrive on these shores in the coming years as part of Lotus' re-emergence.