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Lotus' new position: Much improved, if Volvo's experience is a guide

Out today is the news that Geely Holding will acquire controlling interest in British sports car maker Lotus Cars. While some 20 years ago the Chinese acquisition of a British automaker might have inspired grumbling from aggrieved Brits (and the handful of Lotus enthusiasts), the world has moved on. And so – thankfully – can Lotus. To suggest Lotus' business history has been checkered is to broaden the definition of "checkered." With its beginnings in the early '50s as a maker of component cars for competition, Lotus founder Colin Chapman – in a manner not unlike his postwar contemporary, Enzo Ferrari – was always hustling, living a hand-to-mouth existence in the production of road cars to support a racing program. Regrettably, Chapman never found a Fiat, as Ferrari did toward the end of the 1960s. Lotus had Ford in its corner for racing and as a resource for powertrains, and later benefited from the corporate support of both GM and Toyota for relatively short periods. Lotus Cars, however, never enjoyed the corporate buy-in that would have allowed Chapman to race and let someone else build the cars. Regardless of what Consumer Reports or Kelley Blue Book might have thought (if they had ...) about those early Lotus cars, a great many are now regarded as classics. My first knowledge of a production Lotus was when Tom McCahill, the 'dean' of automotive journalists in the US, tested an early Elan for Mechanix Illustrated. While we're still not sure, some 50 years later, how McCahill's XXL frame fit into the tiny roadster, he had nothing but praise for the Elan's athletic chassis and now-timeless design. In today's Lotus portfolio, the Elise and Exige continue that light, athletic tradition, while the larger Evora seems to strike wide – literally and figuratively – of the "less is more" ideal. With the Toyota-powered Evora, more is more. But in an eco-sensitive era demanding more of the original Chapman mantra – add lightness – there's little reason that Lotus can't regain relevance if given the financial resources. Geely's acquisition of Volvo, the fruits of which appear regularly not only in the news but on the streets, suggests the Chinese investment will provide strategic vision (along with money) while allowing Lotus talent to do what it does best: Create an exciting product. And while at various periods in its history the product has been worthy, Lotus in the US has been ill-served by a flailing dealer network.

Lotus teases its sleek Type 130 electric hypercar

Lotus has shown a teaser image of a new concept, which will usher in the automaker's electric era. The Type 130 hypercar concept will be shown later this year in London, but this aerodynamic teaser is the first glimpse at its shapely flanks. The Type 130 is said to be in "advanced stages of development." According to Lotus, the Type 130 will spawn a production version, which will be the brand's first all-new vehicle in 11 years. It will be partially bankrolled by Lotus' parent company, the Chinese carmaker Geely, which also owns Volvo. Despite that, the hypercar will not be built in China, but in England. An earlier Autocar article estimated the eventual price at around $2.6 million. Last month, news broke that Lotus is also bringing another new car to market, but that one is likely to retain internal combustion technology along with engineering ties to older Lotus architecture, as it forms a sort of "bridge" between current Lotus products and its future cars. Hence, it can't be called "all-new" in the same sense as a fully electric halo model can. Lotus also noted some of its "firsts" when informing the media of the upcoming concept, which it calls "the world's first full-electric British hypercar." The 1995 Elise was the world's first aluminum and bonded extrusion construction production car, while the 1957 Elite was a production first in the sense that it first brought the composite monocoque within the reach of customers. Between those, there was a lot of groundbreaking F1 knowhow: ground effects for the '77 Type 78 F1 car, carbon fiber for the '81 Type 88, and active suspension in 1983.

2017 Renault Alpine still looks like a Lotus

Two years ago, an oddly modified Lotus Exige was photographed speeding around the Nurburgring. While that car looked British, at the time Renault's engineers were reportedly developing the suspension for the future Alpine sports coupe underneath with some help from the folks at Ohlins. Now, our spies have spotted this weird Lotus-bodied mule out testing, and it might be a major hint that development for the reborn French brand is getting serious again. Unfortunately, it's hard to pull many details about the future Alpine just from this mule. Up front the air extractors are noticeably covered, and at the rear there's now a panel hiding the engine with just some small vents near the very back. The roof-mounted scoop appears to be the major means of sending cool air to the powertrain. Alpine has been back in the news as of late. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the brand's Celebration Concept was unveiled but without many real details. Then, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the car was filmed actually moving under its own power. Earlier reports suggest that a production version, possibly called the AS1, might come in 2017 with around 250 horsepower on tap from an engine mounted behind the driver. Engineers would keep weight as low as possible to make the most from that power. While no version in the US is likely, prices in Europe might be about the equivalent of $34,000 to $40,000.