Although Toyota engines will still be used for now, Jean-Marc Gales wants to make use of other options available from Geely brands.
09 May 2018 | 4944 Views | By Richard Webber, Autocar UK
Jean-Marc Gales expects Lotus to still be using Toyota engines in the immediate future, but the Lotus boss is keen to embrace the powertrain options available from other Geely-owned brands.
Such co-operation is most likely to make use of resources developed by Volvo, whose technology is also being used by fellow Geely brands Polestar and Lynk&Co.
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Jean-Marc Gales expects Lotus to still be using Toyota engines in the immediate future, but the Lotus boss is keen to embrace the powertrain options available from other Geely-owned brands.
Such co-operation is most likely to make use of resources developed by Volvo, whose technology is also being used by fellow Geely brands Polestar and Lynk&Co.
Volvo’s petrol range now consists of a 152bhp 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo and several variations of a 2.0-litre turbo four-pot making between 187bhp and 306bhp, with the latter aided by supercharging.
It is expected that Lotus would use in-house expertise to boost performance from any Geely-sourced engines, as it does with the current Toyota units, but it seems unlikely that an unassisted 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine would provide the power required for Hethel’s top-performing sports cars.
Talking about powertrain options for the higher-riding Lotus that’s due within four years, Gales said: “Crossovers can be hybrid or full electric.” As for future propulsion choices in Lotus’s more familiar segments, Gales did not rule out electrification, saying: “There are some years left for combustion engines in sports cars, but maybe a mild hybrid would work.”
Gales is also open to using full-electric systems in that sector as the technology evolves. “The pace of development in an electric drive is incredible and batteries are also moving fast,” he said.
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