Skip to main content

Lotus Cars Will Get a Massive Cash Injection to Compete With Porsche

lotus cars
Lotus Cars/Facebook

For all but a brief period early in the company’s history, Lotus Cars has always been on the brink of financial ruin. Despite the automaker’s rich motorsport history (including seven Formula One wins) and long list of brilliant road cars (like the Lotus Seven, Elan, and Elise, to name a few), scandal and missteps always seem to plague Lotus’ health.

Recommended Videos

Today, Lotus Cars is hardly a blip on the automotive industry radar. In Europe, where the brand sells three models — Evora 400, Evora Sport 410, and 3-Eleven — Lotus found buyers for just 783 vehicles last year. In America, the company’s last reported sales year saw just 80 new car deliveries. To put those figures into perspective, Porsche’s 718 Cayman (a direct competitor to the Lotus Evora) sold three times more units in the U.S. in 2017 than Lotus Cars’ global sales the same year.

Lotus isn’t riding on the struggle bus, it’s driving it … for now. Last year, China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. (known simply as “Geely”) purchased a 51 percent stake in Lotus Cars, with its Malaysian partner, Etika Automotive, taking the remaining 49 percent. Until now, we’ve been waiting to see what Geely would do with Lotus — especially considering the transformation it has put Volvo through in the past few years (Geely also owns Volvo). Now the pieces are coming together.

According to Bloomberg, Geely plans to increase its stake in Lotus and drop about $1.9 billion into the brand. “Geely is fully committed to restoring Lotus into being a leading global luxury brand,” the automaker said in a statement. The company will specifically target Ferrari and Porsche in its plans for performance luxury vehicle domination.

That giant chunk of cash will reportedly be directed to building new production facilities and research centers in the United Kingdom. It would also make sense for Geely to expand manufacturing in its home Chinese market. What production cars will this investment yield in the future? If we look to Lotus’ claimed rivals, we can guess Geely is planning a sporty crossover or two, a new convertible (most likely a next-gen Elise), and a four-door sedan.

Miles Branman
Miles Branman developed a passion for cars early on thanks to a neighbor’s collection of rare and exotic vehicles. What…
Aston Martin unveils Palm Beach Edition DB12 Volante
Q by Aston Martin Palm Beach Edition DB12 Volante
aston martin unveils palm beach edition db12 volante  14

Aston Martin Palm Beach has joined forces with Q by Aston Martin to craft an extraordinary vehicle: the Palm Beach Edition DB12 Volante. This stunning car beautifully merges the unparalleled artistry of British craftsmanship with captivating design elements inspired by Palm Beach's vibrant lifestyle. Each aspect of this limited-edition model is meticulously designed to celebrate the charm of its surroundings while amplifying the elegance of Aston Martin’s high-performance 670 horsepower open-top Super Tourer.

The highlight of the Palm Beach Edition DB12 Volante is its striking Frosted Glass Blue exterior paint, a color that pays homage to the rich and varied blues of the Atlantic Ocean. The innovative use of glass flakes within the topcoat creates a dazzling shimmer that evokes the warm rays of the South Florida sun, making it a real head-turner on the road.

Read more
The Ford Ranger Raptor may actually be the perfect “third car”
Don't buy one for the practicality, it's built for fun.
Ford Ranger Raptor 3/4 view in snowy woods

Pickup trucks like the Ford Ranger Raptor are traditionally practical vehicles designed to perform hard work and take a bit of a beating. But in recent years, they’ve gotten larger, more luxurious, and less industrial. This has led to utility vehicles tumbling into entirely new categories, with some being decked out like borderline limousines and others kitted out for street racing.

Over the winter, I took a Ford Ranger Raptor for a spin and made an interesting discovery while doing so. It wasn’t the vehicle’s prowess as a pickup truck that snagged me—in fact, I think there are far better options in that department—but the almost childlike sense of enjoyment I got from ripping around in this ridiculous beast. I decided I would actually have one given the chance, but as more of a toy than anything else. Allow me to explain.
What is a third car anyway?

Read more
F1 fashion: limited edition movie merch and Cadillac F1 team partners with Tommy Hilfiger
F1 teamware lets fans show support for real and fictional teams
F1 Movie merch sampler.

There were two announcements related to F1 teamware this week, both related to F1 teams that aren't in the 2025 season. Teamware is a big deal with Formula 1 racing fans who show their support by wearing team colors at Grand Prix races worldwide, where grandstands are packed with spectators sporting hats, shirts, and all manner of apparel in Ferrari red, Red Bull blue, and McLaren orange. Mixing media and reality, building on the trend, F1 recently started selling limited edition apparel with the APXGP logo of the fictional F1 team in F1 The Movie,  due to launch later this month.

In a related note, fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger announced on X a new apparel partnership with the upcoming 2026 Cadillac F1 team. Hilfiger has a long history of partnering with F1 teams.
Limited edition merch from F1 The Movie

Read more