Preparing for the Future, Lotus Unveils New Logo
While Lotus Cars’ world premiere of the Evija hypercar was easily the biggest announcement made by the company in the past ten years, another major announcement slipped in beneath the radar this week. Apparently, Lotus has a new logo.
Whilst browsing the brand’s latest press releases, we noticed it had uploaded some new photos of the Evija and a gaggle of snapshots from its new partnership with the Norwich City Football Club. Despite European soccer sponsorships holding this author’s interest about as well as a sieve holds water, something looked a little off about the Lotus emblem emblazoned on the Evora and Exige models parked outside of the renamed “Lotus Training Centre.”
Why Lotus decided to bury its new branding announcement deep within a press release about its favorite sports club is anybody’s guess. Perhaps it felt the changes to the logo weren’t extreme enough to warrant a separate announcement.
The changes are subtle and harken intentionally back to the original badge its models wore though the middle-to-late 20th century. We doubt anyone will have difficulties with the changes. The new emblem ditches the serif font and curvature of its predecessor in favor of a minimalist appearance. The metallic outline is similarly missing, with the singular bit of flash stemming from a touch of negative camber on the T.
Lotus founder Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman is also still honored on the badge. However, his mark has likewise been toned down by going sans serif. Conversely, parent company Geely did not find itself with a place on the new logo — which is probably for the best.
“We’ve looked back at the original Lotus roundel and thought about Colin Chapman’s philosophy — to simplify and add lightness,” explained Simon Clare, Lotus’ Executive Director of Global Marketing. “We’ve applied that to create a new roundel, taking the weight out of the lettering and adapting the spacing. We’ve also straightened the word ‘Lotus’ so it’s consistent with the Lotus wordmark.”
We think this will look just fine on a jersey, hat, or jacket — though perhaps not quite so cool as the John Player Special emblem.
[Images: Lotus Cars]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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How many times have they reinvented themselves without delivering accompanying revolutionary product? I'm starting to think of them as the Cadillac of exotic cars.
I am rather ambivalent about the change. I think it looks basically pleasant. I don't think it looks particularly modern. I find the new logo reminiscent of the mid-1960s more than today's era. A strong flavor of the 1968 John Deere logo.