The new Lotus Elan and Lotus Esprit models are too similar to each other. The models, presented at the 2010 Paris Motor Show as concepts, have undergone a survey process at Lotus with both fans and customers saying they’re not different enough. Criticism was also aimed at what is perceived as a “heavyweight” future Elise model.

According to Autointernationaal.nl, designer Donato Coco is already at work to distinguish the Esprit and Elan, although it will be a race to the finish as the models have been planned for a 2013 debut. Both models are set to get more personality but it’s looking increasingly difficult for Lotus to forge its new identity if customer and fan reaction is this.

The models presented at Paris last year showed a new direction for Lotus, with additional “family” models and a broader appeal to the entire line-up. Lotus designers are at work on the Evora restyling, which should carry that model through to 2013, and the Elise and Elan vehicles should now get a different vision.

The Elise has been rumoured to weigh about 1,100 kg and should be equipped with a four-cylinder engine with 320 hp. We have been critics before of Lotus CEO Dany Bahar’s seemingly excessive focus on marketing a message that wasn’t backed up by a clear product direction. But now it looks like Lotus will be hard at work at the drawing board to make the product offering the core of the message.

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We always had a niggling suspicion that there wasn’t as much substance as style to the new Lotus company and brand launch plan being pursued by CEO Dany Bahar. And reports from Autocar confirm as much, an in interview with new advisory board member Bob Lutz. The former General Motors head and long-standing figure in the automotive industry now sits on Lotus’ new board of what it describes as “industry experts” - there to advise on how best to run the company.

Lutz gives Lotus at least a 60 percent chance of being successful in achieving its plans to launch five new models, gear prices towards the 100,000 pounds figure and sell six to seven thousand models a year. Not being “industry experts” as such ourselves (at least not at this level), the figure initially sounds low in percentage terms - about what you would need to pass a school exam. But it’s probably conservatively optimistic and highly realistic in real business terms.

Lutz says: “People keep asking me if I’m sure the new plan will work, and of course I can’t guarantee that. It’s a risk. But I’m quite certain it stands a better chance than the Lotus status quo, which for sure would eventually lead this great brand into terminal decline.”

Continue reading: Lotus showbiz and future business plan: 60 percent chance of success

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We can’t help wonder if Lotus isn’t complicating things. It’s an iconic brand, okay. It’s going through a change, fine. We can cope with that - we like Lotus. But the new “The Lotus Metamorphosis” campaign leaves us out on a limb, really. It’s one thing to use art for art’s sake, it’s quite another to use modern, conceptual art to explain a brand image.

Lotus CEO Danny Bahar is doing an enthusiastic job, if nothing else, but sometimes a brand is not about the funky campaign you can create. It’s a slippery thing, with each afficionado having his or her own reaction. While Lotus is trying to be creative, we think they should stick to the creativity purely for the hell of it. Because these images don’t go that far in trying to indicate Lotus’ future direction and really, they shouldn’t need to.

Bahar says:

“Lotus is currently going through a complete metamorphosis and at times it can be a real challenge to communicate the transition of a brand, especially one as iconic as Lotus. The passion people have for our brand can be both a blessing and a curse, everyone has a strong opinion – for this reason, we are always looking for creative ways to reach out to the world.

Continue reading: The Lotus Metamorphosis: art takes on Lotus icon

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