Lotus, the British racing team and erstwhile carmaker, had been sailing through troubled waters before Geely, the Chinese giant, acquired it earlier this year. Knowing what it is capable of, Geely wants Lotus to take the fight to the Ferraris and the Porsches in the luxury sportscar market.
Lotus will always maintain its legacy of building superlight cars that go fast. But, if they want to be a part of the big game, an SUV has become a must have. Back in 2006, Lotus had showcased the APX crossover concept and in 2015, they had partnered to build a rival to the Porsche Cayenne, especially for the high volume Chinese car market.
With the fresh infusion of funds, the Porsche Cayenne rival would certainly be back on the drawing table. Geely would certainly want to bring in the SUV expertise from its other brand, Volvo. The all-new CMA platform that underpins the new XC40 should be ideal to spawn the new Lotus SUV, given its size and weight.
We know these are all speculations, but with Maserati, Alfa Romeo and even Lamborghini now into the SUV fray, who would be a better competitor for all of them than a light Lotus SUV?
