Lotus Elise to live on?

This year will see the Lotus Elise’s 25-year production run come to an end – alongside its Exige and Evora stablemates – Lotus Cars managing director Matt Windle recently confirmed that the model could potentially live on under a new manufacturer. That is if Lotus is approached by a partner it deems viable.

While speaking with Automotive News Europe, Windle stated that the tooling, which no longer fits in with Hethel’s sizeable expansion and automation plans, could be up for grabs in a similar deal to those previously done with Caterham (Seven) and Kia (Elan M100). It’s also conceivable that the well-regarded bonded aluminium platform could underpin a new low production design, as seen before via the Vauxhall VX220 and Tesla Roadster.

No interested parties have been named yet, though many sources have listed both Lotus partner Radford and Caterham Cars’ new owner, and Japanese Lotus importer, VT Holdings as potential buyers.

Would you like the Elise to receive a stay of execution under a new manufacturer, or would you prefer to see it bow out as a Lotus this year?