A new marque will soon be offered to Irish motorists. Lotus, the famous British sports car maker, has confirmed that it is to start selling cars in the Republic within months.
Lotus had been looking for an Irish dealer for some time. However, the search was stepped up after a dealer in Northern Ireland, the only one representing the marque on the entire island, stopped selling its cars.
The company confirms that it now expects to appoint a Dublin-based dealer to sell its Elise and Exige models by January. "We're looking to appoint a dealer to represent the brand in Ireland," said a spokesperson. "We plan to do this by the start of next year, although if we find the right people there is no reason why we can't be in Ireland sooner."
Lotus plans to make its Irish dealership, which is expected to be a current franchise dealer or an independent dealer with sports car retail experience, one of its "silver dealers" who will sell at least two of its cars every month.
"We want to give keen motorists the opportunity to get behind the wheel of our cars without having to come over to Britain to buy them," added the spokesperson. "We also want to provide existing customers with a service and repair facility in Ireland."
In a similar move to other EU countries, Lotus plans to have a one-to-one relationship with its Irish dealer. This means it will not appoint an importer and distributor but will, instead, handle such operations itself from Britain. "We've always found it good to have a direct relationship with our dealers throughout Europe. We prefer that close working relationship."
Most Irish sales are expected to be the company's famous Elise line-up, all powered by 1.8-litre petrol engines although with varying power outputs. Leading the Elise pack is the 111R, which has 189bhp on tap and will reach 62mph in 5.2 seconds. Then comes the Elise 111S, which has 163 horses under the bonnet. The most popular model, however, will be the 120bhp Elise.
Lotus also expects Irish enthusiasts to be tempted by its latest Exige model, which was unveiled at the Geneva motor show. The six-speed Exige is powered by a Toyota-sourced 190bhp, 1.8-litre VVTL-i engine and, confirming itself as a true sports car, will reach 60mph in under five seconds.
Lotus says that specification levels on both models will be the same as in Britain. Prices have yet to be fixed, but it's expected that the Lotus line-up will start from around €46,000 and reach in excess of €60,000.