Webber Becomes Sixth F1 Winner With Monaco Victory

Franchitti Earns Third Indy 500 Win

Hong Kong Witnesses First Aston Martin One-77 Crash
2013 Volkswagen CC Gets Sporty R-Line Trim

Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix Weather Forecast

Sarrazin Gains Final Seat For Toyota Racing At Le Mans
Indy 500 Carb Day Practice To Franchitti; Dixon Takes IZOD Pit...

Volkswagen Golf R Cabrio Patent Photos Revealed

2013 Cadillac XTS Configurator Launched

Proton's New Owners Ponder Lotus Sale

Kurt Ernst

Contributor BIO

Kurt has been fascinated by anything with wheels and a motor for a long time. Growing up, he spent his spare time turning wrenches and pumping gas in... More

LATEST ARTICLE
Is A BMW 1-Series Sedan In The Works?
The BMW 3-Series sedan, like many of us, has picked up a few additional pounds and inches over the... Read More

#2LEADERBOARD RANK
1588ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
81COMMENTS POSTED

1,618 views Jan 18, 2012

2011 Lotus Evora S

Enlarge Photo

When Lotus’ parent company, Proton, was sold to manufacturing, transportation and power-generation conglomerate DRB-Hicom, critics said that a sale of Lotus would surely be pending.

After all, the boutique sports car builder hasn’t turned a profit for Proton since its acquisition in 1996. While the brand carries a certain prestige, prestige alone doesn’t pay the bills.

Now comes word from Automotive News (subscription required) that DRB-Hicom is “open to options” regarding the sale of Lotus. That said, DRB-Hicom’s managing director, Mohd Khamil Jamil, admits, “We need to sit down with Lotus management and look at their plans before arriving at a definitive decision.”

Lotus isn’t commenting on speculation, instead reiterating Monday’s statement that, “As far as we are aware, the situation changes nothing for Lotus. Proton’s support in our development remains very strong and our focus is on the delivery of the business plan.”

Several companies reportedly have interest in Lotus, including China’s largest automaker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), which denied interest in the British sports car builder just last month.

Genii Capital, part owner of the Lotus-Renault Formula 1 team, is also said to have interest in buying the brand. Proton previously rejected reports that it was in dialogue to sell Lotus to Genii Capital, but things may be different under Proton’s new ownership.

No one knows what lies in store for Lotus in the coming months, but we certainly hope the storied sports car builder fares better than fellow boutique-brand Saab.