Lotus reaches landmark
Lotus has reached a production landmark with 40,000 examples of its technologically advanced ‘small car platform’ being produced.
The ‘small car platform’ and its production flexibility is defined by the various models based on it, which have included the Lotus Elise, Exige, Europa, 2-Eleven, 340R and racing variants.
In being the first carmaker to use extruded and bonded aluminium, Lotus claims to have revolutionised the industry and it has become a method that is being widely adopted amongst the rest of the motor industry. Lotus also continues to refine and develop its own lightweight structure currently weighing just 68 kg.
Speaking of the landmark, Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Group Lotus plc, said, ‘The small car platform was a landmark development in 1995 and developed at the right time in the company’s history. Yet, in an environment of continuous improvement, while a correlation exists between today’s platform and the first of the lightweight, bonded and extruded aluminium structures, it has altered radically. It remains a benchmark in lightweight and efficiency and is as advanced and market-leading today as it was 20 years ago.’
The small car platform underpins the current Elise and Exige models, with the same aluminium extruded and bonded technology used in the new Lotus Evora 400.
