Lotus Engineering awarded major new business

Lotus Engineering has today announced that it has been awarded two new major contracts worth £45m for its vehicle and powertrain engineering services. "We are extremely proud to have been awarded this new business" commented Simon Wood, commercial director of Lotus Engineering. "Both of these programmes will lead to high-tech product launches in several years time. We are honoured that once again Lotus' innovative spirit has been called upon to best serve these customers." The first contract relates to the full design and development of a family of niche vehicles, each with the capability of being produced at the rate of 10,000 per annum. The programme will take advantage of Lotus' Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) technology, the details of which are still secret. Lotus' Active Valve Train engine "VVA is a technology that Lotus has researched and developed over several years. We are very excited with its potential. This technology will allow our customers to release a full range of niche vehicle variants, with minimised economic impact. VVA provides the ability to reduce engineering & facility investment and optimise bill-of-material costs." Wood adds. VVA is about utilising novel technologies to improve the economic model for lower volume and/or niche vehicle programmes. It utilises Lotus' well-known expertise in joining technologies, its capabilities in steel, aluminium & composite body engineering and a versatile approach to vehicle structures. The VVA vehicle engineering contract is worth £35m over several years. The second major contract utilises Lotus Engineering's well-known Powertrain technology. Lotus Engineering has been chosen to design and develop a new powertrain product variant that will utilise Lotus' patented Cam Profile Switching technology. "We have already successfully demonstrated certain aspects of this technology in today's market. Indeed the Porsche VarioCam PlusTM system utilises design elements licensed from Lotus Engineering." The engine variant will be installed in vehicles destined for sale in markets across the globe. The Cam Profile Switching powertrain engineering contract is worth £10m over several years.