Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales has a plan to save the company that will see nearly twice the number of Lotus cars being sold here each year.
In an interview with Car & Driver, the executive explained that for now Lotus will focus on offering derivatives of its current lineup that will be competitive with newer cars. The Evora will go on hiatus for the 2015 model year, but only to return in 2016 with a completely re-designed interior, more power and revisions that will make it easier to get in and out of.
Gales didn’t go into detail with C&D about how much more power the 3.5-liter Toyota-sourced V6 would make, but he said that among the Evora’s rivals, “there will be nothing faster on-track than these cars—and nothing more fun.” The most powerful iteration of that engine in a Lotus car currently makes 350 hp.
SEE ALSO: Lotus Evora to Make US Comeback in 2016
For now, the company plans to rely on its existing vehicle architecture with the provision to make significant modifications to the platform including altered wheelbases.
When the revised Evora begins arriving in the U.S. in 2016, Gales will be aiming to sell roughly 500 per year in this market, or nearly double what the company did here last year. The lofty goal factors into his target to boost global annual sales to 3,000 compared to the total 1,200 it reported in 2013.
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[Source: Car and Driver]