By ‘dawn of new era’ does Lotus mean it’ll be competing with Ferrari, Aston Martin?

The other day Lotus sent the media a little email titled “The dawn of a new era.” At first, we thought Lotus would finally show the next-generation Elise or will show some other groundbreaking lightweight setup for its future models. Well, insiders are suggesting something else.

Apparently, “the dawn of a new era” means that Lotus is working on a significant shake-up of its roots in hopes to push upmarket to take on the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche. The restructuring will drop founder Colin Chapman’s ‘lightweight’ formula for a more expensive, more upmarket theme.

True Lotus fans don’t grab your torch and pitch fork just yet. The company’s current range is expected to survive the new philosophy but new models will be added to the lineup.

While Lotus is going to keep things under the cover until the 2010 Paris Motor Show, owner Proton has outlined a plan that will make Lotus profitable within 5 years. Lotus has not made profit for Proton since it purchased the company in 1996.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: AutoCar