Philosophie & Stratégie & Avenir de Lotus

[Corsugone]

Edito intéressant daté du 21 Juin 2011.

Lotus may just pull it off

You know, I think they might just do it. Dany Bahar and his multinational Lotus management team might pull off their extraordinary project to turn Lotus on to a proper, profitable, sports-car concern, based on the launch of five new models.

Sure, they've announced an even more expensive exploit in building their own V8 in time for the launch of the new Esprit at Geneva in 2013, but to me, it SOUNDS right. So does the idea of holding the new Elan until 2017, and renosing the Evora.

But the most impressive thing is the fact that the design and engineering heavyweights that joined last year to propel this radical plan are still there.

The event Lotus staged at Hethel this afternoon clearly shows that a great relationship exists between two unlikely principals, design boss Donato Coco and engineering wizard Wolf Zimmermann. Ex-Rolls, ex-Mini, ex-BMW boss Karl Heinz Kalbfell is still there - I thought he might not last.

There are several elephants in the room. Current sales is one (Elise sales are down to 800 a year) and finding buyers for the new models is another. But you've got to credit Bahar and co for their candor - they certainly need not have dealt with the reptiles who have been so critical.

The place is buzzing. New buildings are also being built at Hethel; the whole place hums. These are certainly not the incompetent or fly-by-nights some of us imagined.

I'm not quite ready to say they'll pull it off, but I certainly reckon they deserve to.

Steve Cropley
Autocar

[Corsugone]

[_nicolas]

Assez culotté venant de leur part...

[Corsugone]

Le nouveau super consultant Marketing de Lotus, Swizz Beatz, à l'oeuvre .... yo.

[Nagata-San]

Vont blinger les Lotus !

[Rnd94030]

Aïe aïe aïe...

[ze_shark]

Difficile de comprendre où Bahar emmène la marque avec ça.
On passe du glamour de B-list celebrities style Sharon Stone/Alex Baldwin assez BCBG à une image plus pointue qui devrait assez facilement aliéner une démographie qui a le pouvoir d'achat pour (tenter d'en) attirer une autre qui ne l'a pas. Je vois mal Sean Diddy, 50 cents ou Jayz shooter une vidéo avec une Evora sertie de diamants, et le coffre est trop petit pour y coincer quelques girlz.

"The best thing to do is for things to happen organically, for things to happen naturally, for people to have a natural connection," Swizz explained in a video, set to the tune of 'It's Me Snitches,' on Lotus's website. "I feel like the key is to infiltrate the market in a cool way."

Swizz, who is also currently Creative Director of Reebok, has received the official title of Vice President of Creative Design and Global Marketing for British automobile company Lotus.

Lotus has issued a press release explaining their rationale for Swizz' appointment via three bullet points:

"1. Like Group Lotus , he means business: He's a risk taker with considerable credentials including music producer, rapper, designer AND painter.
2. Like our cars, he's multi-award winning: This year he shared a Grammy Award with Jay-Z.
3. Like Group Lotus he keeps good company: This man regularly works with the likes of Bono, Kanye West, Beyonce and Alicia Keys."

Ils n'ont pas pu trouver mieux ? Par exemple un alignement sur l'essence de la nouvelle marque Lotus ? Qui se définit comme ... ?

Il y a quand même une grosse différence d'approche entre le positionnement d'une paire de Reeboks à 200 CHF et une Esprit à 200'000 CHF.
Je n'arrive pas encore à déterminer si ce que Bahar fait est génial ou complètement à la rue. Une chose est sûre, il part de loin. Le plan produit à 5 ans, les stars, le recrutement de Monsieur Alicia Keys. Ils ont recruté un staff impressionnant pour faire le boulot de fond, mais ils claquent aussi un pognon probablement considérable dans des investissements très discutables.

[Corsugone]

Dans le clip ci-dessus associé à l'arrivée du nouveau messie, à 1'22", Gino Rosato, LOTUS GROUP Vice-President Corporate Affairs. Bien connu pour avoir été l'ex-bras droit de Jean Todt chez Ferrari. Comme quoi, il s'est s'entourer de type Brillant Dany



"I started at the bottom of the ladder as a jack-of-all-trade and gradually managed to win the confidence of my superiors like Jean Todt and Dany Bahar. Dany was Senior Vice-President at Ferrari and I had the unique opportunity of working with him for the last three years. We are all aware of Dany’s talent and his outstanding achievements at Red Bull where he developed a winning NASCAR and F1 strategy. He is now CEO at LOTUS and he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse!

“I will be Vice-President of Corporate Affairs for the LOTUS Group. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. With all the changes happening in the automotive industry, an offer like this is exceptional.

“At Ferrari, we had 8 F1 builder championships and 6 driver championships in addition to the extraordinary development of the Ferrari brand that I saw with my own eyes. Now I can bring that experience to LOTUS. I am proud about contributing to the revival of a brand as prestigious as LOTUS."

[ze_shark]

Si Bahar parvient à attirer toutes ces pointures (Rosato est une tête connue de la saga Todt/Schumi chez Ferrari), ça doit être qu'il a un plan crédible. Les packages de compensation sont une condition nécessaire, mais pas forcément suffisante.

[Corsugone]

Ou tout simplement l'envie d'occuper des postes qu'ils n'auraient jamais pu atteindre chez Ferrari, Bahar le premier.

[_nicolas]

En soit, le challenge est passionnant...

[Corsugone]

Steve Sutcliffe (Autocar) se paye Bahar et son nouveau pote, le crétin à casquette vu ci-dessus.

More hocus pocus at Lotuz

Steve Sutcliffe

In a frighteningly all-too-real press release issued last week, Lotus revealed that it has signed rapper Swizz Beatz as its new Vice President of Creative Design and Global Marketing. Below is the not-at-all-real follow up…

Following on from the appointment this week of Mr Swizz Beatz as VP of Creative Design and Global Marketing – Lotus now looks set to ‘batter’ the world of cars still further with an all-new machine known internally as the Fur-Q.

Powered by a ‘steamed’ V8 and riding on fur-ee-toooo inch wheels with spinners and Toeally phat tyres, the Fur Q could, claim our sources, be the ultimate rocket from Norfolk. (Dope.)

Hethel’s usually quiet and reserved engineers were, by all accounts, encouraged to ‘stroke the elephant’ when designing the Fur-Q’s underpinnings. Chassis guru Matthew Becker told bosses that he was ‘really chuffed’ with the way the prototype car steers, rides and handles – but unfortunately they couldn’t understand a word he was saying. The only handling that they’re concerned about, an insider claims, is of goods that haven’t necessarily paid for up front, naa-imean. (Flava.)

As yet, Lotus hasn’t unveiled a name for its new supercar, but rumour has it that head of global everystuff Mr Beatz is ‘positive’ about the project as a whole. ‘My vibe is special on this’ he said in a low, quiet, slightly unconcerned yet cringingly sincere voice. (Mash.)

‘When I worked with Bono and shared the helicopter Grammy with Jay Z and Alicia last year, I had the same feeling’ he declared. ‘This car is going to explode’ he said. ‘And I’m the detonator.’ (Figjam).

Meanwhile, CEO of Lotus Cars Dany Bahar is reported to have spoken with the Chapman estate about having the letter ‘t’ removed from the word Lotus, and replacing the ‘s’ in Cars with a ‘z’. (Caketrump).

‘I sat down with Beatz and we just decided, right there, that the T ain needed no more. I mean Lo-us Carz sounds so much more zeitgeist’ said DB, before dropping to his knees and thanking the Lord in heaven above – for a reason that wasn’t made clear. (Potnoodlez).

Si la presse Anglaise s'y met .....

[Corsugone]

Pas la peine d'un grand coffre pour glorifier une marque fétiche de nos amis rappeurs, la preuve avec Merco.

[Corsugone]

Gordon Murray rejoint Lotus, enfin une bonne nouvelle.

[_nicolas]

Ils leurs font quoi ? Bon, il ne s'agit "que" d'un Advisory Board...