Group Lotus unveils Exige S, flagship store

LONDON: Norfolk-based carmaker Group Lotus has taken the wraps off its new Exige S sports car as it also opened a Lotus Originals flagship store in the heart of the city’s West End here earlier this week.

The new car is the centrepiece in the state-of-the-art store, which is spread over 4,800 sq ft in a landmark building that once housed the famous Cafe Royal, a short distance from Piccadilly Circus. DRB-HICOM Bhd group managing director Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil said the 170mph high-performance two-seater coupe with a supercharged V6 engine would begin rolling off the production line at the company’s headquarters at Hethel, Norfolk, later this month. “These two major milestones mark the beginning of the way ahead for Lotus under the DRB-HICOM Group,” he said in his opening remarks at the pre-production launch of Exige S and the store.

The high-performance Exige S will begin rolling off the production line at Group Lotus’s headquarters at Hethel, Norfolk, later this month.

The sports car and the flagship store are the first major announcements since the company was taken over by the Malaysian automotive group, DRB-HICOM, earlier this year. DRB-HICOM’s unit, Proton, bought Group Lotus in 1996. Mohd Khamil reiterated and reassured that DRB-HICOM and Proton are fully committed in bringing Lotus up to the next level and to a brighter future ahead.

“Lotus is for keep. Do not listen to any speculation. It is something that is worth keeping it,” he stressed. Speaking to the Malaysian media on a three-day visit to Lotus facilities in the United Kingdom, he said, the Exige S would be made available in Malaysia as early as this year with the opening of Lotus’ first showroom in the country.

Mohd Khamil, who is also Proton executive chairman, said: “Malaysia will be Lotus’ second home.” “Malaysians will see some Lotus activities in the second half of this year. Lotus will make its presence felt in Malaysia in the coming months,” he said. Besides the flagship store, Mohd Khamil said the sports car would also have its own 3S centre and Lotus Originals store at strategic places in Britain.

Priced at more than £52,000 in the United Kingdom, the Exige S is from the Exige family of Lotus. Lotus, however, has more variants to offer in the future, coming from the other lines of the Elise and Evora.

As for the flagship store, it hosts a collection of Lotus Originals, which features a relaxed range of leisure clothing aimed at 25 to 45 year-olds. The store offers a collection of apparels reflecting the Lotus heritage, which has been inspired by its glorious racing days of the sixties and seventies. The Exige S and the store were officially launched by the Malaysian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Datuk Seri Zakaria Sulong.

-Bernama.