Lotus fails to blossom

LOTUS is delaying the launch of its new M250 sports car by at least two years to redesign it for the US market.

Unveiled at the 1999 Frankfurt motor show, the M250 was due to go into production next year - but the car's launch has been pushed back to 2004 or 2005, according to the London Times newspaper.

Lotus took 1500 advance deposits worth over $8000 each for the car, but these will now be refunded.

The British sports car specialist is in the midst of a restructuring process to boost production and firmly entrench itself in the North American market, where it has previously dabbled.

A recent management shake-up resulted in the axing of three top executives and Terry Playle being appointed the new CEO of the Lotus group, which will soon comprise three entities - consultancy engineering, car manufacturing and a new commercial division aimed at developing dealer networks and marketing programs.

Lotus Cars Australia general manager Chris van Wyk said: "We were at Lotus two weeks ago and we understand the reasons why the M250 was delayed".

"It makes it difficult in the short term, but it (M250) will be a better car when it gets here.

"We might have struggled to homologate the M250 here the way it was. The aim now is to build world cars from day one."The M250 is powered by a mid-mounted, 185kW, 3.0-litre V6 engine driving through a six-speed manual gearbox.

Mr van Wyk said the M250, which would be positioned between the Elise and Esprit, would enable Lotus to enter a new segment.

The M250 is designed to be a more practical proposition than the Elise, offering sufficient space for the "95th percentile US male".

Mr van Wyk said it would offer performance to match a Porsche 911 at a price around $145,000 in today's money.

The M250, if re-engineered to comply with North American laws, could help lift Lotus sales to 15,000 a year, according to company insiders.

Lotus built 2900 cars last year but this is likely to increase to 6000 this year with the addition of the Elise-based VX220 Speedster built under contract to General Motors.

Elise launch behind schedule

A SUBSTANTIALLY updated version of the Elise was due here mid-year, but its launch has been delayed due to the "internal difficulties" experienced by the car-maker.

"The new Elise is running behind schedule - we'll be lucky to see it by Christmas," Mr van Wyk said.

"We're six months behind schedule and running extremely short on stock, but UK dealers are also out of stock and they are beating the drum hard as their summer approaches.

"Australia is a low priority by comparison, so we will have to grin and bear it as we have nothing to sell. We have 45 orders for the new car even though we are not doing marketing activity until we know the production schedule.""The price of the new Elise will go up $10,000, which will inhibit the market, but the car is more liveable than the current model.

"We used to lose 90 per cent of our customers because air-conditioning was not available. Getting in and out of the car was also difficult."The new Elise will be available with air-conditioning while a lower sill and relocated doorpost - 40mm forward - make for easier entry and egress.

"And the roof used to take four minutes to raise and lower, but this has been halved in the new car," Mr van Wyk said.