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Lotus to layoff a quarter of its workforce

Lotus has issued a press release to day, wherein it indicates that a "need to both reshape its organisation and to reduce costs" may result in the loss of "up to 325" jobs. That's a fairly significant number of layoffs for any company, but considering that Lotus currently employs 1,215 people (per the company's bio in the same release), it could mean a full 25-percent of the automaker's workers could soon be sharpening their resumes.
CEO Jean-Marc Gales says in the statement that Lotus has "worked very hard to avoid the need to make this proposal," but admits that it is now "essential" to the future of the company. The chief indicates that post-restructuring, he expects Lotus to be a "leaner" and "more competitive" organization, one which - and we can all see a little silver lining here - is focused on "producing class-leading sports cars and innovative engineering."
The 325-job number appears to be soft at this point, with the statement indicating that some negotiation about which and how many posts will be cut is yet to come. Further, the company may "redeploy" some employees, and may even recruit new blood for "key roles," all with an eye toward running the strongest possible team going forward. Though, we imagine that the recruitment bit won't fly well for those employees getting the sack.

Lotus offers Exige S Roadster for sale, but not in North America

The first thing you need to know is that this is the Lotus Exige S Roadster, unchanged from the Exige S even in price and officially the fastest convertible Lotus has ever made. The second thing you need to know is that if you live in the US, you won't be getting this car.
Now that that's out of the way, the lack of a roof, rear wing and front splitter help make it 22 pounds lighter than the coupe, coming in a 2,565 pounds, and the supercharged 3.5-liter V6 in this topless blossom discharges 345 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. For historical comparison with a non-convertible, those numbers nearly match the 2004 Lotus Esprit V8 Final Run edition - which had twin Garrett turbochargers. Yet the Exige S gets from a stoplight to 60 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds, nearly a full second quicker than that Esprit. Fair play, though, the Esprit did weigh 3,040 pounds.
It will be fitted with a six-speed manual only, and cost 52,900 pounds ($79,667 US), 55,378 euros ($71,404 US) or 8,500,000 yen ($82,078 US), depending on where you live. Here in the US we'll be sticking with the track-only Exige V6 Cup and Cup R models. The press release below offers more on the fine points.

Lotus Emeya electric sedan revealed like a sleeker Eletre

The number of four-door models in the Lotus line has doubled with the reveal of the Emeya electric sedan. Not surprisingly, it looks very much like the Eletre SUV, just lower and sleeker. The yellow and black debut color just emphasizes that fact, too. What is a bit surprising is the surprising lack of concrete details on the car. We really do mean it when we say this looks like the Eletre. The Emeya utilizes almost the same lines at every point, from the pointy, angry nose to the curvy flanks. But on the whole, the lower height and less overall visual mass makes it a much more successful design. It also adopts the active grille shutters, diffuser and rear spoiler like the Eletre. One thing that does differentiate the exterior of the Emeya is the use of dual running lights on each end of the front fascia. The Emeya's interior again is a near carbon copy of the Eletre's. A single screen is the focal point with an angular dual-cowl dash board surrounding it. A small screen is nestled in the dash behind the steering wheel to provide basic driving information. Extensive use of leather and faux suede is featured throughout. Specifications on the Emeya are lacking detail. It will be available in a dual-motor all-wheel-drive configuration that can reach speeds topping 155 mph. The motors will also get it to 62 mph in a claimed 2.8 seconds. It can take advantage of 350-kW-capable fast chargers, as well. The whole car also rides on an adaptive air suspension. But actual horsepower, torque, battery capacity and much more haven't been given.  The Emeya will go into production sometime next year. Naturally, pricing hasn't been announced, either. Being smaller than the Eletre, it may end up being a bit less costly. Stay tuned for more of that information closer to production. Related video: