Stop the Speculating: A Hybrid Lotus Is in the Works, Perhaps Even Five

Stop the Speculating: A Hybrid Lotus Is in the Works, Perhaps Even Five

For reasons that mystify us, quite a few blogs today were speculating that Lotus might - might - be developing on a hybrid sports car.

One of the better blogs wrote: "The words of Lotus' head man Mike Kimberley support this notion when he says that the automaker wants to offer 'guilt-free, high performance motoring.' "

We hadn't seen that quote and the blog give any indication when and/or where it was uttered. But the fact is, Lotus Group CEO Mike Kimberley (pictured here) has been much more forthcoming than that.

In the September/October issue of "proActive: The official industry newsletter of Lotus Engineering," published and distributed last fall, Kimberley was asked:

"How important are biofuel/hybrid/electric vehicle projects for Lotus Engineering?"

His reply:

"Very important and increasingly so. Client confidentiality means I can't talk about particular projects or name names. We are working on three biofuels projects at the moment - we have a biofuel Exige that we have developed - it does 0-60 in about 3.8 seconds. We have five hybrid projects on the go and we also have six electric vehicle projects that are ongoing, not including Tesla, because we are not involved on the electrical side for that vehicle."

The real question isn't will there be a hybrid Lotus, but when. On that, the chief executive's lips remain sealed.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.