US Edition 
Details of Lotus SUV revealed
Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales talks about the British sports car manufacturer's forthcoming rival to the Porsche Macan 4x4
Lotus’s first SUV will be the lightest and lowest on sale and a car that the company’s founder, Colin Chapman, would be proud of, according to current boss Jean-Marc Gales.
Gales confirmed back in April that Lotus was working on an SUV. But at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, he provided more details on this new model, which is due to go on sale in 2019.
“We are going for something that’s about the size of the [Porsche] Macan, but 200-220kg lighter,” he said. “It has to be true to Lotus’s heritage, which means it will be the lightest SUV on sale, the best to drive and the fastest through the corners."
Gales continued: "Our car will be very low for an SUV and will look a bit like a 3-Eleven [the track-focused sports car that Lotus unveiled at Goodwood] from the front. The side will be a bit like the Elite from 1974."
The Lotus SUV will resemble the 3-Eleven sports car from the front
Lotus is hoping to sell 10,000 examples of its SUV during the first year it's on sale, rising to 18,000 after a couple of years.
“If Colin Chapman was still alive he would probably build an SUV as well,” Gales said. “You can’t ignore such a large sector of the car market.”
In addition to introducing an SUV, Lotus has plans to renew its current sports cars. “There will always be an Elise, an Exige and an Evora in our range, but in the future they will have better ergonomics and be easier to get into,” Gales said.
“The next Elise has to do two things. The S version will be lighter, faster and more expensive than today’s car. But we also need to have a base Elise that’s only a little over £30,000."
For all the latest news, advice and reviews from Telegraph Cars, sign up to our weekly newsletter by entering your email here