GROUPE RENAULT / LOTUS GROUP - As part of the Alpine Business Unit development, Groupe Renault and Group Lotus have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to study a number of areas of cooperation, including the joint development of an EV sportscar.
The Alpine and Lotus
teams will conduct a comprehensive feasibility study for the joint engineering,
design and development of an EV sportscar by leveraging the resources,
expertise and facilities of the respective entities in both France and the UK.
Alpine and Lotus will
also explore the development of a joint services offer combining their
engineering expertise. A collaboration to leverage Alpine’s motorsport platform
covering Formula One to Formula E and Endurance is also under study.
Laurent Rossi, CEO
Alpine, said:
“The signing of this MoU with
Lotus shows the lean and smart approach we’re implementing as part of the new
Alpine brand strategy. Both brands have an amazing legacy and we are most
excited to start this work together, from engineering tailored solutions to
developing a next-generation EV sports car. This collaboration along with our
transformation mark the beginning of a new era in which we’ll be taking the
Alpine name and line-up to the future. We’re putting F1 at the heart of our business,
leveraging our in-house expertise and best-in-class partners such as Lotus to
inject our cars with leading-edge performance, technology and motorisation”.
Phil
Popham, CEO, Lotus Cars, added: “Today’s
announcement is the first step in what is set to be a hugely rewarding
collaboration between our iconic brands. We are proud to be working with Groupe
Renault in this collaboration – sharing Lotus’ technical expertise and
abilities, and leveraging our long track record of successful collaborations.
Our companies have much in common – from a pioneering pedigree in
light-weighting, to championship-winning sportscars which perform as
impressively on the road as they do in the motorsports arena. It is a
natural fit in many ways and the co-development of an EV sportscar is hugely
exciting for our companies, our fans and customers around the world. The
joint-services element of our agreement will additionally make our engineering
expertise available to those wishing to engage our innovations.”