Recently, overseas media reported that Lotus, a well-known British sports car manufacturer, announced that it will stop the production of its three products of Elise, Exige and Evora, which can be said to be very familiar to domestic friends and have very good evaluations in the car circle. According to official statistics, these three models have sold a total of 51,738 vehicles during their lifetime. With the discontinuation of these three cars, lotus currently has only one model on sale under Lotus. Three sports cars are discontinued? Is Lotus holding back a big move or is he really helpless?
Lotus has always focused on sports cars and racing cars, aiming to provide consumers with the purest driving pleasure. Of course, this paranoia also dooms it not to expand the scale of production, after several changes of hands over the years, in 2017 by Geely Holding Group from the Malaysia DRB-HICOM Group to acquire a 51% stake in Lotus, which also means that Lotus is currently a sub-brand of Geely.
From a product point of view, the appearance of each lotus car is very personal, and the low and flat posture makes it different from ordinary models when driving on the road, and has a very good vehicle recognition. In terms of mechanical quality, Lotus's technical heritage is very deep and has been recognized by consumers around the world.
Top-notch technology and excellent materials are used in each model to ensure that every Lotus model has the driving pleasure it deserves. It is precisely because there are currently few models that attach so much importance to driving that many people regret that Lotus has discontinued these three classic models.
Now, with the discontinuation of these three models, the brand's sales burden falls on the latest EMIRA. The car was officially unveiled at last month's Guangzhou Auto Show, with an official guidance price of 858,000, which continues Lotus's consistent sports car tonality in appearance, and adds more youthful elements to the details of color matching, wheel hubs, headlights and so on.
The sense of luxury in the car has been significantly improved, no longer the "rough" decoration of the past, after all, this car is a Porsche 718, and it is difficult to afford its price without making the carriage luxurious. In terms of power, the domestic engine is provided by The 2.0T engine provided by Mercedes-Benz AMG, with a maximum horsepower of 405 hp, a peak torque of 480 Nm, a transmission system matched with an 8-speed wet dual-clutch transmission, and an acceleration time of 4.3 seconds per 100 kilometers.
Of course, Lotus chose to discontinue these three cars not to make way for new cars, but to prepare for the upcoming global electrification. According to the plan, the European market is likely to implement more stringent "Euro 7" emission standards in 2025, when it will become more difficult for fuel vehicles to pass emission regulations, and driving-oriented models like Lotus will need to pay more money and energy if their performance is not "shrunk" due to regulatory restrictions.
In addition, Lotus has always been to take other car companies to improve the engine upgrade, and now more and more car companies announced that they will stop the development of new internal combustion engines in the future and gradually stop production, which is equivalent to "smart women are difficult to cook without rice", there is no supplier, everything is empty talk.
summary
As emission regulations become more stringent, the living space left for this niche fuel vehicle is getting smaller and smaller. Although we always say that we should look forward, some memorable models are still worth preserving. Of course, the new energy era does not mean losing the joy of driving, and I believe that Lotus can still retain its personality in the future.