Will VW buy Lotus?

This might seem like speculation, but it is very likely that VW is planning on acquiring Proton or maybe Lotus from Proton. Proton, the Malaysian auto manufacturer, owns Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering. Currently, Mitsubishi is a large stake holder in Proton, but recent developments have hinted that VW is interested. Just last month, Proton announced that it would not stop VW from acquiring or investing in their operation. This was preceed by another announcement where VW and Proton would enter into a strategic partnership in the Asian market. Of course, speculation over whether Lotus will become another feather in VW's hat begins to fly when Proton comes into the picture. Does VW really need Lotus? Proton would provide a nice manufacturing base for VW.