Anyone who looked on with scepticism at the freak show that was the Lotus stand in Paris 12 months ago won’t have had their doubts quelled in Frankfurt. If this is a company that’s finally turning its fortunes round, it’s got a funny way of showing it.
New performance versions of the Evora aren’t going to change anyone’s perception of a money-losing firm. Neither will they reassure onlookers that a new management knows what it’s doing. Similarly, does a car maker really need to have its own money pit in the shape of a Formula One team? The only way that folly helped Spyker was to prepare people for its failure when it took Saab over.
While Lotus has been making itself look a bit silly, Morgan quietly gets on with the business of making cars at a profit. It doesn’t make grandiose claims, try to reinvent itself, or spend a vast amount of cash on its image. I know which company deserves to be taken more seriously.
