You don’t necessarily have to be a Lotus lover to find the Elise a cool car. The approaching farewell to the Elise is undoubtedly saddening for many. However, there is hope.
Lotus makes a clean sweep and uses the 1920s to arm itself with a new model range for the future. However, that also means saying goodbye to well-known names. At the beginning of this year, the bullet went through the church: the Elise and Exige disappear. The lightweight crack samples got another swing-out edition, but then it stops. Or not? Matt Windle, the brand new CEO of Lotus, says Automotive News know that Lotus is open to a follow-up to the Elise under the responsibility of another company.
In concrete terms, it means that Lotus wants to sell the Elise production line. In this way, another party can continue to build the Elise under license from Lotus. The brand previously did something similar to the Lotus Seven, the rights of which it sold to Caterham. “If the right project and the right party are found, I don’t see why it couldn’t be. It’s a great car,” said Windle. Things will have to be set up elsewhere: “… our factory in Hethel is being adapted for more fully automatic production, so there is no more room for the Elise.” According to Windle, that was also the reason that Lotus itself really can no longer continue with it, even though it has been considered. Who knows, maybe someone else will soon ‘save’ the Elise, or just maybe that is secretly already done.