A team of designers from the Norfolk, England sports-car manufacturer have been playing a key role in the development of the Tesla Roadster. The question is can the two auto companies get any closer? Apparently, they can. Tesla Motors and Group Lotus announced yesterday they've slipped a wee bit closer in bed. The two just signed a manufacturing agreement to assemble the American EV performance car at Lotus' plant in Hethel, Norfolk — which means that "Electric Elise" will be even more "Elise" than we originally thought. A Lotus Group spokesperson said yesterday:
"We are delighted to be working with Tesla Motors. We are hopeful the car will be a big hit and shows the potential of electric-powered cars in the future."
Well they'll be getting a bit of a PR boost at the very least out of this one — and at a sales price of $100,000 and a target of 1000 vehicles to sell, they maybe even make a couple of bucks in the process.
Lotus to build US electric supercar [BizOnline]
Related:
Mechanical Resonance: The Tesla Motors Press Intro, Complete With Governator [internal]