Small Lotus now has the “Chinese giant” Geely as its majority shareholder. And considering the evolution of Volvo after being acquired by Geely, expectations about the future of Lotus have just skyrocketed.
The British sports brand is famous for its pursuit of unnecessary pounds and the referential dynamics of its products. In addition, Lotus services have been much in demand in the development of chassis, mechanics and even vehicles for other manufacturers.
Some more visible, such as the Lotus Cortina or Lotus Omega references, or more recently the Tesla Roadster. Others in a more subtle way, where sometimes a discreet “handling by” Lotus is added to the description of the models. And others even, in which we only discovered years later that Lotus was involved.
Examples of Lotus' precious intervention can be found in unknown models like the Isuzu Piazza, or better known ones like the first generation Toyota MR-2. The list continues with the DeLorean DMC-12 (the same as in the Back to the Future triology), the all-powerful Nissan GT-R (R34), or the hot-hatch of the parent Proton Satria GTI.
Volvo and Lotus
Rounding the circle too, Volvo has already turned to Lotus for help, with the British collaborating on the Volvo 480's suspension and dynamics development. And today we have Lotus and Volvo under one roof!
Roger Wallgren, responsible for the dynamic development of the new Volvo XC60, in statements to the Australian publication Drive, has already left the door open for Lotus experts.
Roger Wallgren, Team Leader Vehicle DynamicsWhy not? I don't see any problem using their knowledge. I think their knowledge can be applied in any scenario. We need to have a dialogue - we can exchange knowledge with them and vice versa.
Although it is too early to indicate specific plans where Lotus engineers are needed, Wallgren mentioned Geely's ambition for all its brands, including Polestar, Volvo's performance brand.
Roger Wallgren, Team Leader Vehicle DynamicsPolestar is a brand that will be used more - we won't let it sit around and do nothing. Sooner or later they'll probably see something.
See where we want to go? Nobody doubts Polestar's competence. We only recently learned that Volvo hid a record set at the Nürburgring with the S60 Polestar. But having Lotus on the team raises the potential and expectations even further.
Will we be able to see Volvo, or more specifically, Polestar, in the coming years, more active in the battle for the supremacy of “super saloons” or even high-performance SUVs? Or even see Volvo enrich its long history in coupés with a model developed in partnership with Lotus? Dreaming doesn't cost. And with Geely's money it costs even less.