Lotus going Dutch? Spyker mulls acquisition
Poor Lotus is the orphan child of the automotive industry. The small British sportscar maker has bounced around owners so often, it would make your head spin trying to connect the dots. After company founder Colin Chapman tragically died in 1982, the company has been bought and sold by General Motors, erstwhile Bugatti entrepreneur Romano Artioli, and currently by Malaysian state-owned automaker Proton. Like GM and Bugatti before it, Proton has failed to capitalize on the Lotus name and is reportedly looking to offload it to an interested third party.
Next up to the plate is Spyker, the independent Dutch exotic carmaker that seems to always be looking for a way to up its prestige. Apparently purchasing a Formula One team – from Midland steel, who had failed to make a go of it – was not enough for Spyker. Having stated its interest in acquiring another prestigious mark, Spyker is now reportedly looking to buy Lotus.
The partnership would be utilized in bringing the upcoming D12 "super sport utility vehicle" to market, as well as future Spyker models, and part of production would shift to England as a result. That part makes enough sense, as Lotus has a long history of engineering consulting for a wide range of automakers. But what makes Spyker think it's got more fortune (in terms of cash and good luck) than General Motors, the Italian mafia (allegedly) and the Malaysian state government is beyond us.
Thanks for the tip, Sjoerd!
[Source: AutoWeek.nl]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lee Gibson 1:24PM (3/15/2007)
Lotus...SUV?
God, please no. Just...no.
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vectorbug 2:24PM (3/15/2007)
You know, I kind of want to see Spiker buy Lotus. Better than Proton =(
I just want Lotus to be a good place to work with great designers and engineers IN england, making cars fun again.
I mean seriously, many of us love cars so we actually have fun cars, but there are just so many people out there who have no idea that driving can be a memorable experience. Car companies like Lotus, Lambo, Spiker, Ariel etc...they keep cars cool and fascinating, rather than just a private alternative to the bus.
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John-Scott Smith 3:05PM (3/15/2007)
Lotus, I would buy you and let you run wild if I had the money :( How bout an nice IOU?
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Alex 4:06PM (3/15/2007)
Well said, vectorbug! I second that.
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1969 Elan 3:27PM (3/15/2007)
Actually, after Chapman died, the company was rescued by a combination of American Express and British Car Auctions before being sold, in part -- about 25%, if memory serves -- to Toyota. (The Esprit used first generation Supra turbo tail lamps until they were replaced in 2000, and Toyota parts found their way into a lot of Lotus cars pre-M100 Elan.)Rumor has it Lotus was sold out from under Toyota to GM -- without the approval or knowledge of the Japanese company's board member! GM "sold" it to Romano Artioli for something like $40 million in exchange for the same amount in contracts for Lotus Engineering. (GM was on the brink of bankruptcy in 1990 and had to get Lotus -- which it never usedto its advantage -- off its books.) Artioli played Proton off against Daewoo until the former ponied up $100 million for an 80% share. When the head of Proton died in a helicopter accident, all plans for Lotus to engineer and design all future Protons fell by the wayside, and the company was ignored, de-funded, and run by folks unconcerned with what Lotus had been and could be.
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thesawzall 4:59PM (3/15/2007)
They just need to keep their British identity. This would be one British manufacturer I'd be upset about if they lost the connection with their heritage.
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Jeff Banks 9:26PM (3/15/2007)
Who is Spyker anyway? I had never seen any of their cars before or even heard of them before I went to the LA Auto show. Running an F1 team costs billions of dollars, so where does their money come from? Lotus can't be cheap either.
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Danny 6:29AM (3/17/2007)
Lotus are already established as a brilliant and individual brand. What with building the all electric Tesla body and their recent deal with Zap I'd be amazed if there wasnt a queue for buyers. We're talking uber electric cars here in the UK that will blow everything else out of the water.
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