Lotus sale

There is a whiff of desperation about the news that Lotus’ Malaysian owners HiCom have instructed Britain’s most famous sportscar marque to sell off the family silver – like the James Bond Esprit – by auction at Coys Historic Festival this June.

Desperation because the return – likely to be a few hundred thousand pounds – is a drop in the ocean compared to the shortfall facing Lotus from the downturn in consultancy business from the Far East. Let’s hope short-term gain staves off long-term disaster and that Lotus continues uninterrupted productions of cars like the Elise. MF