The UK-based, Malaysian-owned sports car maker displayed six brand new models (including the Giugiaro-designed Emas concept tucked away at the back of the stand), more than any other manufacturer at the show. Add the rather surreal press conference during which supermodel Naomi Campbell, Queen guitarist Brian May and Hollywood actors Mickey Rourke and Steven Baldwin all made guest appearances and it's no wonder the company has attracted more column inches than any other.
Director of Design Donato Coco, CEO Dany Bahar and CCO Andreas Prillmann speak about the new Esprit
Donato Coco, Design Director, Lotus Cars
New Elise is scheduled to arrive in 2015
Lotus Elan will launch in autumn 2013
Video of the new Lotus Elite
Not that the commentary has been entirely complimentary – the brand's upmarket realignment has resulted with the conscious abandonment of Lotus' key attributes: lightweight, affordable and efficient. A new design language was also thought necessary to complete the transformation, so CDN contributor, Nick Hull, caught up with Lotus Design Director, Donato Coco to find out more.
So Donato, why five concepts? Are so many necessary?
"They are not concepts. They are all ready for production. And why five? Because they represent the new Lotus range. We show them all on the same day because when you have the ambition to give Lotus its legitimate place and a new business strategy you cannot be taken seriously if you do not show something real, you cannot just talk about it."
When did you start on these new models?
"We started first sketches around October 2009 and the first scale models in January. Then it's been nine months working crazily, night and day. But it's been a good time."
Many people see with the original Elan or current Elise that there's a certain delicacy to the design, they look light on their feet. That's a big part of the appeal to owners. What do you see as the tools to communicate that in terms of design?
"You're right, it is important. It's one of the fundamental values of this brand. But remember, Chapman didn't really have the engine to compete with Porsche so he made the car lighter – it's clever. But we can't continue to produce cars that are simply at the limit of customer expectations in terms of quality, or so small that you need forceps to extract yourself from the cabin. We have to evolve the architecture to improve ingress/egress, visibility, safety and comfort without compromising the Lotus tradition. All this means a Lotus today simply can't be the same weight as an Elise."
But the zeitgeist of today is that many manufacturers are looking at lightweight and want to communicate that through design. This is exactly Lotus core territory.
"The yellow Elan doesn't look heavy to me. The package isn't so small and the use of convex and concave surfaces is as close as possible to the mechanics, trying to integrate maximum aerodynamics too."
What about the front end?
"I thought it important to revisit this form, to give more strength to the front end, a more sculptural approach. The grille cannot remain a 2D applied graphic as on a Jim Clark car, it needs to evolve. I looked at a Lotus Seven with its fuselage, the grille as a simple expression of that body section, the two separate wings and headlamps on top – that was the starting point for all the front ends you see here today."
Cutaway view of the Lotus Seven from the original owner's manual
Video of the new Lotus Elan
Jim Clark gives team boss Colin Chapman a lift in a Lotus 25 Climax, as they celebrate a first place win and clinch the drivers and constructors World Championship titles at the 1963 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Italy.
Lotus Eterne concept video
Russell Carr outside the Lotus design studio in Hethel, Norfolk, UK
Lotus Elise video
Is there something in this new form language that's essentially British, or that makes it different from simply being an Italian or Japanese car for instance?
"I don't know, today we live in a global world. This is a British company but I observed, a long time ago, that there was a lot of collaboration between English and Italian design. Think Michelotti Triumphs, or Giugiaro and Lotus. The important thing is to understand the brand, so that when you move the pencil around as a designer you have to understand what are the elements that make the brand famous and what's the personality of the founder. You need to approach that with humility, not preconceived ideas. Between a Ferrari and Lotus there's not a real difference of approach, just in terms of concept."
So, do you see much difference in approach between the two companies?
"No I don't think so. When you design a sportscar the approach is the same. You are conditioned by aerodynamics to translate the performance of the car, and with Lotus the light weight is as important as for Ferrari the car is red! That may seem a simplistic observation but really it's the same method of conception."
How do you split responsibilities with Russell [Carr], how do you work together?
"We work very well. Generally in this business one man replaces another man. Russell expressed the desire to stay and that's fine for me. We are still experimenting with our collaboration, he's helping me and now the role is a little bit different. It was a small company, now we've taken another dimension and he's welcome to stay as long as he feels comfortable. I didn't come with a team, I came alone, I give people the time to understand how I work. That's it."
Did you develop the concept architecture together with [Lotus CEO] Dany Bahar?
"No. He had the overall vision for each model, he knows what he wants. He wants to bring Lotus back to the glory days. There were clear targets for each model: The Elise targets the Boxster, the yellow Elan targets the 911, the Esprit the Ferrari 458, the Eterne the Panamera and the Elite targets the DB9."
Looking at these cars they have certain characteristics carried over from other Italian cars, such as the shoulderline like a California, the sill treatment like a Lamborghini Murcielago...
"Well, you're basically mentioning sports cars here. What makes the difference from normal cars is the morphology, the contrast between volumes, the intersection of one muscle with another. A car is just a few square meters of surface, for a sportscar the surfaces are exaggerated. It's not easy to find innovation."
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Lotus Elite - Paris 2010
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