In 75 years, from obscurity to technical shock and then to prosperity, "constant innovation and constant change" has almost run through the whole history of Lotus. At the crossroads where fuel vehicles turn to new energy sources and automobiles turn to the new four modernizations, Lotus has once again implemented the consistent innovative spirit that has been continued from the past.
On March 29th, CP Lotus celebrated its 75th birthday-"CP Lotus Day". At the brand celebration and track carnival held in Shanghai, China for the first time, Lotus not only brought classic models in the fuel age, but also delivered the brand's first pure electric supercar Eleetre to the first car owners. Through this grand celebration, it shows that this sports car brand, which originated in Britain, was born in the track and will now take root in China, is putting aside its past glory, bidding farewell to the old times and heading for the second half of its 80-year revival plan.
Review: 75 years of glorious past
Counting these well-known sports car brands in the world today, almost all have one thing in common, that is, they will find their own technical route, design style or brand personality, and the most well-known characteristics of Lotus are undoubtedly the "lightweight", "aerodynamics" and "chassis adjustment" that the brand has been insisting on since its birth. As Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus, famously said, "Increasing motivation will make you run faster on the straight, while losing weight will make you run faster anywhere."
Seventy-five years ago, from 65438 to 0948, Antuoni Colin Bruce Chapman, who was still studying structural engineering at University College London, rebuilt an Austin Seven model 1930 in the garage with an electric drill and basic sheet metal technology. This car is the first car of Lotus Mark I, and the indissoluble bond between Lotus and lightweight and track begins.
The brand was born only eight years ago, and Lotus Mark 1 1 was born. In just one year, it won 148 champions, 134 runners-up and 99 runners-up, which made great contributions in the world racing history. Yes, its real name is the famous eleven people. It was also from Mark 1 1 that Lotus officially began to name each of its mass-produced sports cars with the word "E".
Looking back on the past of Lotus, we can't ignore its glorious history in F 1, whether it is jim clark, the first champion in the history of 1963 and the Lotus 25 racing car he drove, or the Lotus 38, the first champion in the same year of f 1 and the 500th champion of American Indians. Or ayrton senna, the god of moped, won the world championship twice in F 1, and the first racing car Lotus 99T with active suspension represented the peerless charm of Lotus in F 1.
The darling of the competition, the master of design and the pioneer of technology all witnessed the brilliant past of Lotus for 75 years. From these classic replica models parked on Shanghai F 1 track grid, it is not difficult to feel why Lotus can be called "the world's three super-running brands" together with Ferrari and Porsche, constantly breaking through the limits and leading the industry forward.
In the new era, Lotus still maintains the innovative spirit that the brand has adhered to since its birth, carries out drastic reforms, and strides towards a new era-a new era of electrification.
Based on the Present: Towards a New Era
Colin Chapman once said: "The courage of pioneers lies not only in innovation, but also in getting rid of the shackles of the past."
After experiencing the difficulties of brand development, automobile development will enter a new era of transition. Lotus is not lying on the credit book of the past, and there is no stagnation period of love. Since its establishment more than 70 years ago, it has found and determined its own development direction.
Lotus is committed to becoming "the first brand of pure electric luxury".
In 20 18, Lotus' 10-year brand revival plan "Vision80" was officially released, and Lotus announced a comprehensive transformation to electrification and intelligence, becoming the first brand in the world's traditional fuel sports car brands to transform to electrification. The ultimate goal of transformation is to become the first brand of pure electric luxury in the 80th anniversary.
Such a plan is grand and ambitious, but it also surprised the industry. However, the determination and action of Lotus still gave us a great shock.
Just one year after the release of Vision 80, the pure electric supercar-Lotus Evija, which refreshed the horsepower limit of production cars, met the world on 20 19. As the pioneering work of Lotus brand electrification, Evija with heavy battery pack still continues the brand's consistent "lightweight" soul, with a curb weight of only 65,438+680 kg, which opens a beautiful beginning between large battery and lightweight.
Then came the brand's last fuel sports car, Emira, which, as the finale of fuel, declared Lotus waving goodbye to the glorious past of its fuel era, and drew a perfect full stop for Lotus' fuel car era.
This sports car brand entered people's field of vision with an electric gesture, and played the real movement of the revival plan with a new car.
On March 29, 2022, the world's first show, Lotus's first pure electric luxury SUV——Eletre. Today in 2023, it has been the first to deliver to users in China.
In a short period of five years, Lotus has completed the innovation of technology and products, and realized the transformation from the traditional fuel field to the electrified and intelligent track, and from the sports car to the pure electric intelligent life car. Behind this, there are powerful empowerment from China, Britain and Germany, including Wuhan Global Smart Factory, British Design Center, Frankfurt Science and Technology Innovation Center, and the concerted efforts of the Lotus team. Today's Lotus has consolidated the brand foundation of the new era, and the curtain of the second half of Vision 80 is slowly unfolding in front of us.
Facing the future: the second half of the 80 vision
The global listing and delivery of Eletre show us the determination and determination of Lotus in the face of the changes of the times and technological changes. Now, as the 80-year revival plan of Lotus Vision enters the second half of the next five years, we will surely see more "determination" of Lotus.
"2023 is a decisive year for the Lotus brand". At the 75th anniversary celebration of the brand, Mao Jingbo, president of CP Lotus China, was outspoken. "We will achieve brand rejuvenation, create champion products, and launch a brand-new Lotus user experience, and truly establish brand resonance from trust to love to appreciation in the hearts of users. "
Over the past five years, Lotus has accumulated a lot of money and is ready to take off. In the next five years, we will see the strategic acceleration and "proactive attack" of Lotus.
The first is the product. From 2023 to 2025, Lotus plans to launch a brand-new pure electric vehicle every year, laying out more products that meet daily driving scenarios, and quickly forming the product matrix advantage of pure electric smart life vehicles. Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Lotus Group, revealed in an interview with the media that Lotus has planned a "3+3" product strategy, that is, three sports cars plus three domestic cars. In addition to Evjia and Emira, an electric sports car will be launched in 2025; In addition to Eletre, a coupe will be launched at the end of 2023, and a cross-border product between SUV and sports car will be launched in 2024. He said that Lotus will "achieve the revival goal of' Vision 80' with the product lineup of' 3+3'".
After the product, it is to integrate resources and help the globalization of the brand. Previously, Lotus Technology has reached a merger and listing agreement with LCAA, a subsidiary of LCatterton, a world-renowned consumer brand investment company. Based on this measure, the capital injection of Lotus has been accelerated, thus further accelerating Lotus's reshaping of electric supercars in the global market. In addition, Lotus has also realized the resource integration of R&D center and factory, and will promote the global marketing development model in the future, and realize the global sales of products by integrating the global sales network.
More importantly, as a brand born for "driving", Lotus in the new era still puts "driving" and "driver" in the most important position. At the scene of Lotus Day, Feng Qingfeng also released a global brand proposition of "for drivers". He said: "In the era of electrification and intelligence, our initial intention remains unchanged, and we are eager to provide a unique brand spirit, user value and intelligent experience for the' drivers' in the new era, inject new connotations into' drivers' and achieve an epoch-making lotus."
Yes, no matter in the fuel age, or in the wave of electrification and intelligence, Lotus was born only for drivers, providing drivers in all ages and fields with the belief and value of controlling the wind. This is the original Lotus Mode-Value-Driven Brand Upward, besides the popular routes of "user-defined brand", "product-defined brand" and "brand-empowered product".
In that era when everything seemed to be the latest, Lotus chose to return to driving and return to the "driver" itself. Lead the market development with innovation, and drive the brand revival with value. As Mao Jingbo said, "What we want to do is to give our customers a different driving experience".
Feng Qingfeng, as the "helmsman", is also full of confidence in the future of Lotus. "My confidence mainly comes from brand charm, the empowerment of brand value, the breakthrough of intelligent technology and the interpretation of luxury in the era of electrification."
75 years have passed, 75 years have passed. Lotus, literally translated as "lotus", means "nirvana" in Buddhism. Now, Lotus has ushered in its new era of "Nirvana". And we also have reason to believe that in the future of electrification and intelligence, in the second half of Vision 80, Lotus in "Don't forget your initiative mind" will definitely bring us more surprises.
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