NEIL DOWLING. Aug 2011.
A TOYOTA badge on the engine and doubtful quality are two major issues that the boss of Lotus says need to be urgently redressed.
“I recognise that convincing people to pay pound stg. 100,000 ($155,000) for a Lotus with a Toyota engine is difficult,” Lotus CEO Dany Bahar says.
“We need to have our own engine and we need to improve quality to justify the higher prices of new models and to compete with companies like Porsche.
“We are the benchmark for ride and handling.
“Now we have to deliver premium quality.”
Bahar says Lotus is working on a V8 engine that can be easily adapted to become a V6 or an inline four-cylinder.
Lotus sources a Toyota V6 engine for the Evora and a four-cylinder engine for the Elise.
“Toyota designs engines for high-volume applications in mass-market passenger cars,” he says. “Whatever you do, it is difficult to tweak that engine for a proper sports car.
“So we have to make our own. But if, for example, the four-cylinder engine we make doesn’t work, we will be prepared to go to an outside manufacturer.”
On the issue of quality, Bahar says Lotus makes very driver-oriented cars.
“We will continue to make that car for that owner,” he says.
“But though we won’t change the Lotus DNA that has existed for the past 15 years, we have to recognise that customers want a car that is more versatile and built with a higher degree of quality to justify the high price. We have to deliver premium quality.
“If we decide not to develop, design and make some components in-house — for example, the cabin for which we were never famous — we could choose the right supplier.
“We are prepared to outsource components, like dashboards, to improve quality to the same standards of others in the premium segment.”
Bahar says that while improving quality is expensive and taking risks is demanding, it isn’t “rocket science”.
“I recognise that convincing people to pay pound stg. 100,000 ($155,000) for a Lotus with a Toyota engine is difficult,” Lotus CEO Dany Bahar says.
“We need to have our own engine and we need to improve quality to justify the higher prices of new models and to compete with companies like Porsche.
“We are the benchmark for ride and handling.
“Now we have to deliver premium quality.”
Bahar says Lotus is working on a V8 engine that can be easily adapted to become a V6 or an inline four-cylinder.
Lotus sources a Toyota V6 engine for the Evora and a four-cylinder engine for the Elise.
“Toyota designs engines for high-volume applications in mass-market passenger cars,” he says. “Whatever you do, it is difficult to tweak that engine for a proper sports car.
“So we have to make our own. But if, for example, the four-cylinder engine we make doesn’t work, we will be prepared to go to an outside manufacturer.”
On the issue of quality, Bahar says Lotus makes very driver-oriented cars.
“We will continue to make that car for that owner,” he says.
“But though we won’t change the Lotus DNA that has existed for the past 15 years, we have to recognise that customers want a car that is more versatile and built with a higher degree of quality to justify the high price. We have to deliver premium quality.
“If we decide not to develop, design and make some components in-house — for example, the cabin for which we were never famous — we could choose the right supplier.
“We are prepared to outsource components, like dashboards, to improve quality to the same standards of others in the premium segment.”
Bahar says that while improving quality is expensive and taking risks is demanding, it isn’t “rocket science”.
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