Lotus Elise is reportedly coming back to the U.S. markets. It may be good news for Elise fans, but this comeback won't happen until 2020, reports stated.
For just a few years, America was able to experience the notable lightweight feature of a fully-loaded, brand-new Lotus Elise sports car.
It first went on sale in 2004 and continued to become available until 2011, when the U.K.-based auto company had to withdraw the model from the market due to failure to comply with U.S. safety regulations.
Lotus continued to manufacture certain models appropriate for racetracks, according to Automotive News.
Recently it made some changes to the Evora so it could start selling again; but according to CEO Jean-Marc Gales, applying the same changes to Elise would be time-consuming.
"We'd need smart airbags, plus side airbags and to change the whole front crash structure. It would add 100kg," said Gales in an interview with Automotive News.
The company also warned that it is not in its priority list to replace Elise, emphasizing that it is currently working on a crossover, DigitalTrends reported.
The new, unnamed model has a size comparable to that of Porsche Macan, the report stated. It is expected that the new car will be a real best seller by the company and will help establish a market in China.
Exact details of the crossover are not available yet because it's still in development stages, but the maker promises that the new model will be faster and lighter compared to its main rivals.
Meanwhile, Lotus expects that the next Elise model will hit U.S. markets five years from now and will likely carry a 2021 brand model.
Year 2020 seems to be a long wait, especially for the many Elise fans; but at least it will give them something to look forward to and something to save up for.
