Has Lotus Produced A World-Class Sports Car Under Dany Bahar?

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Despite all the righteous indignation regarding Lotus and their legendary outburst – which I still maintain is a brilliant PR stunt to get their message out and subvert the armchair-racer blogger cartel – it appears that the British sportscar shop has made a real world class sports car under the leadership of Dany Bahar, the supposed Antichrist for “real enthusiasts of the marque”. The kind who may be able to buy an Isuzu Impulse with Handling By Lotus.

Writing for Pistonheads, Chris Harris dubs the new Exige S, which mates the Exige with the 3.5L Supercharged V6 from the Evora S, as “…fast, capable and very desirable.” “At last, from within the madness,” he continues, “Lotus has produced a world-class sports car.”

While arguments on both sides have been endlessly beaten to death, I am still not willing to write Lotus off just yet. As TTAC contributor and Elan owner Ronnie Schrieber has pointed out in the past, Chapman himself was an astute marketer and his cars got heavier and more luxurious as he advanced in age. EVO Magazine also seems similarly impressed with the new Lotus direction, stating (perhaps a tad prematurely) that the new Esprit may be better positioned to fight the Ferrari 458 than even the sublime McLaren MP4-12C.

I hope that the British press is right. Not only do I want to see Lotus survive and thrive, but I want to see all of the self-appointed marketing and engineering experts and other outlets eat a giant plate of crow when their prognostications turn out to be totally wrong. Vindictive and facile? Perhaps. But anyone who knows Anthony Colin Bruce will tell you that he was no saint either.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

More by Derek Kreindler

Comments
Join the conversation
5 of 21 comments
  • -Cole- -Cole- on Apr 25, 2012

    Not only do I want to see Lotus survive and thrive, but I want all 5 models.

  • Carlisimo Carlisimo on Apr 25, 2012

    Wait... HAVE they produced a good sports car under Dany Bahar? Honest question. I thought it was still all vaporware. Did they finish one?

  • TonyJZX TonyJZX on Apr 25, 2012

    Do the shareholders and board of directors like Danny? That's all that really matters. I think we as enthusiasts want CEOs who are larger than life and not a part of the MBA type 'soft sciences'... Danny seems to be the marketing type who has been thrust into a position that isnt the boffin type that we expect for Lotus.

  • Panzerfaust Panzerfaust on Apr 26, 2012

    I must admit I'm an agnostic on the whole Lotus branding/Bahar flap. What this car does show is that Mr. Bahar understands economy of scale.

Next