Lotus has had a storied past, a range of owners and some less-than-exciting offerings, like the front wheel drive Isuzu-powered Elan. Proton, a mild mannered value brand owned by the Malaysian government currently holds the purse strings to the super-light, super-premium sporty automaker; and word on the street is that they are looking to find Lotus a new dancing partner.

Toyota

Toyota already supplies engines and other components for Lotus models, and has for some time. There have been leaks that Toyota has plans to bring the Supra back, and having the Lotus team develop it could take the new Supra to stratospheric heights. Not to mention a global reach and dealer network to sell and service the cars. The parts bin, oh the parts bin; of course much of it would have to be tuned and modified for Lotus use, but there sure are plenty of options to start with. After all, the initial rumors were that Dany Bahar wanted to expand the range using many Toyota engines, for starters the V8 currently nestled in the IS-F. Maybe the good folks at Lotus Engineering, the consultancy side of Lotus that is actually profitable, could be solely in charge of handling the F range of models, maybe even find a way to make the ISF reasonable price-wise.

All in all, shacking up with Toyota would serve both parties. Toyota would have a performance automaker to fill out their ever-so-beige line up, that could act as their exclusive tuning arm, and Lotus get access to a parts bin and a capital rich sugar daddy that never wants the fun to stop.

Jaguar Land Rover
Perhaps Lotus ought to join its British brethren under a unified banner, right? Jaguar could sure use the support in terms of sporting up their cars, and they have the right kind of clientele walking through their doors as is stands. They do not have the massive cache of parts to choose from like Toyota, but they have the right feel. Jaguar has pulled itself out from mediocrity into significance; perhaps it can do the same for Lotus. The general vibe coming from the Jaguar Land Rover camp is so electric that it could pass that along to Lotus and bring it up from the dumps as well.

The Jaguar Land Rover tie up would create a global premium brand that could compete with the best of them. But the development costs could outweigh the benefits.

Hyundai

Hyundai…again? Yes. They have a few V8s in their stable, and some really potent 4 bangers that could find a nice home in some new Lotus’s. Naturally this may seem less exciting than getting hitched to Jaguar Land Rover and less likely and less practical than Toyota, but I feel like a Hyundai-Lotus mash-up could grow both brands equally. Hyundai is awfully ambitious with some of its models, Lotus would just enhance what they offer.
I mentioned previously that I believed that Hyundai ought to buy up the Saab name plate after the existing brand dies. They would use the Saab name to outfit their current upscale Genesis, Genesis Coupe and Equus. If they indeed buy Saab and Lotus, they could package them together to dealers and create a premium car brand that really is nothing like anything out there and anything Hyundai could create by itself.

I like Lotus, but frankly if they do not find someone to acquire them and end up like Saab, I wouldn’t much care.

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