Lotus CEO's remark that "sports cars over 1.8 tons are ordinary" sparks controversy over self-sabotage of its own LINE lineup

*This content was translated by AI.

Feng Qingfeng, CEO of the British sports car brand Lotus, made a shocking remark at a media event on the 2nd. He evaluated that all sports cars with a curb weight exceeding 1.8 tons are ordinary. This remark ended up undermining the eco-friendly LINE lineup that Lotus currently sells as its main product. The interview spread rapidly on social media, sparking controversy.

At the event, CEO Feng Qingfeng argued that the weight standard for high-performance sports cars should be set below 1.8 tons. He pointed out that in the era of electrification, high peak output figures hold little value. The reason is that horsepower is easy to obtain, but heavy weight ultimately degrades handling performance. He emphasized that even a high-output vehicle reaching 2,000 horsepower is merely an ordinary car if its weight exceeds 1.8 tons.

However, this remark created a contradiction that targeted the entire current eco-friendly LINE lineup of Lotus. All of Lotus's current battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) exceed 1.8 tons. The curb weight of the electric hypercar 'Evija', which delivers a peak output of 2,011 horsepower, is 1,894 kg. Although it is an ultra-high-end model with a starting price of 2.3 million dollars, it does not meet the CEO's standard.

The situation with other models is even more serious. 'Emeya', marketed as a 'Hyper GT', weighs 2,455 kg. The 'Hyper SUV' 'Eletre' weighs 2,600 kg, and 'Eletre X' reaches 2,625 kg. If the CEO's logic is applied as is, the entire high-performance eco-friendly LINE lineup that Lotus boasts of will be relegated to ordinary vehicles.

Currently, the only model among Lotus vehicles that meets this standard is the gasoline internal combustion sports car 'Emira'. Emira's curb weight is 1,460 kg. As a result, only Emira has become the only true sports car that passes the CEO's strict standard. All other latest eco-friendly vehicles, except for Emira, suddenly became ordinary cars.

In the industry, this remark is interpreted as hinting at a change in Lotus's future product strategy. Lotus recently partially reversed its strategy of a full-scale transition to pure electric vehicles. It plans to develop a V8 hybrid supercar with a peak output of over 1,000 horsepower and launch it in 2028. CEO Feng Qingfeng appears to have given a strong hint in advance that the weight of the next-generation hybrid supercar to be launched in the future will be significantly reduced to below 1.8 tons.

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*This content was translated by AI.