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Lotus Cars and its Malaysian owner Proton have dismissed speculation that the glamorous, but long-underperforming, UK sports car brand is about to change hands.

The two carmakers’ bosses said there were no plans to sell Lotus, and acknowledged that rumours of a sale were beginning to hit morale at the carmaker, its relationships with suppliers, and sales.

Fellow Malaysian group DRB-Hicom bought control of Proton last month from state-owned holding Khazanah Nasional in a deal due to be completed by the middle of March.

This fuelled speculation that the new owners might seek to offload Lotus, midway through management’s ambitious plan to restore the brand’s “Bond car” heyday by launching five new cars.

But Proton’s boss said that while he could not speak for its new owners, his company was committed to Lotus, and was not about to get “cold feet and suddenly stop everything”.

“As management today, our plan as Proton and Lotus is to continue the business plan based on what we did before, unless the new shareholder comes in and tells us what to do next,” Dato’ Sri Syed, Proton’s managing director, told the Financial Times. “So despite what you hear – rumours based on management disposing this or that – no decision has been made.”

Last week, Genii Capital, which owns the Lotus Formula One motor-racing team, said it might be interested in buying Lotus. “I think if there is a way that we think the company can be bought and run successfully, then of course we would be interested,” Gerard Lopez, the group’s chairman, told Reuters.

But Mr Syed said that while Lotus was in regular contact with Genii about their Formula One co-operation, the two groups had not discussed a sale. Genii in 2010 teamed up with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone in a failed bid to buy Saab from General Motors.

Dany Bahar, Lotus’s chief executive, denied a separate report that he was seeking funding for a management buy-out of the carmaker. “Absolutely not – this is pure speculation,” he said.

Mr Syed said that the sale rumours might be coming from potential investors with designs on Lotus. “There might be some interested party who’s out there, for a long time since before this takeover,” he said. “But why they’re stirring the pot, I don’t know.”

Still, the notion that Proton’s new owners might be seeking to exit the investment is not implausible. Lotus has long been seen as an odd fit for an Asian mass-market producer based halfway across the world.

The UK manufacturer has a respected name in racing and enthusiast circles, but sold only about 2,000 cars last year, and earned more by consulting for other carmakers than it did selling its own cars.

It has had a series of chief executives and owners since it was founded in 1948, but has made a profit for Proton in just one year since the Malaysian group bought it in 1996.

At the 2010 Paris motor show, Lotus signalled its ambitions to take on Ferrari and Porsche when it unveiled prototypes of five cars it plans to launch this decade. The cars drew positive reviews, tempered with some scepticism about how many of them would ever make it on to the road.

Today, the company’s expanding site in semirural Hethel, Norfolk, has the feel of a work in progress.

Construction is proceeding on an extension of its factory to build engines, which it currently sources from Toyota, and new models like the Esprit. A new Ferrari-type brand shop touts jackets and bags bearing the company’s regalia, and the site has its own test-track and in-house driving school.

Lotus cars are priced at the lower end of the sports-car segment. However, the brand recently tested the waters for a more expensive model with the Lotus Évora GTE, which it sold in a limited edition in Asia, and is due to go on sale in Europe from May priced at more than £100,000.

The car, Mr Bahar said, showed that “with the right ingredients, this is absolutely a brand, a company that can succeed in this tough market”.

Proton’s boss reiterated his message that the Malaysian company intended to stay the course too.

It’s something that we started the journey [on], and something we’d like to stick [to],” Mr Syed said. “ We have owned the business for 13 years ... I think we want to keep it.”

By John Reed in Hethel, Norfolk, www.FT.com

1. This car uses hot press steel body which is stronger than cold press. It has a 1.6 liter turbocharged engine equal to a 2.0 liter engine power. The engine complies with Euro-five standards.2. A whole list of feature has been incorporated. This includes Vehicle Seek Lamp, Wiper Auto Speed, Auto side door folding mirror, Push Button Start / Stop, Sensors for Automatic Wiper and Headlamp and GPS Antenna for Navigation System.3. Additionally it has Impact Sensing Door Lock, Continuous Variable Transmission, Security Alarm System, Immobiliser and Central Locking.4. The automatic version has Shift Lever with Tiptronic Mode and Paddle Shifter on Steering Wheel for seven gear changes. ABS to prevent skidding and BA (Brake Assist) to increase brake pedal force.5. There are many others features which enhances the performance of the engine and driveability of the car.

Those are the words from the advisor himself. Wow! those are very high level specification coming out from our local engineers and designers which we should be proud. As you may aware, there are few sneak-shots of front and rear portion of P3-21A appeared at local blogs as seens below.

Full version can be read below:

1. I stopped using Proton cars after I stepped down. I wanted to enjoy the superior quality of the high-end European and Japanese cars.

2. Proton was known for its cheap cars. The assumption is that it can never produce cars of quality as represented by European, Japanese and even Korean cars.

3. The people at Proton are unhappy over this reputation. They feel it is wrong to think that they cannot produce high end cars. It is just that the company policy was to produce run-of-the-mill cars. The Malaysian public expect Malaysian cars to be cheap. Cheap cars just cannot have the quality and the features of the more costly imports.

4. Proton people want to show that given the support they can produce quality cars.

5. The other day I test drove their latest model on the test track at Shah Alam. I can verify and assure Proton customers and Malaysians generally that this new model can match any of the Japanese or European quality cars. It was such a pleasure to drive. A foreign friend who knows cars, tested the car and says it is up to the standard of the up-market cars from Europe.

6. This car uses hot press steel body which is stronger than cold press. It has a 1.6 liter turbocharged engine equal to a 2.0 liter engine power. The engine complies with Euro-five standards.

7. A whole list of feature has been incorporated. This includes Vehicle Seek Lamp, Wiper Auto Speed, Auto side door folding mirror, Push Button Start / Stop, Sensors for Automatic Wiper and Headlamp and GPS Antenna for Navigation System.

8. Additionally it has Impact Sensing Door Lock, Continuous Variable Transmission, Security Alarm System, Immobiliser and Central Locking.

9. The automatic version has Shift Lever with Tiptronic Mode and Paddle Shifter on Steering Wheel for seven gear changes. ABS to prevent skidding and BA (Brake Assist) to increase brake pedal force.

10. There are many others features which enhances the performance of the engine and driveability of the car.

11. There will be several models with less features than I describe. But they are all superior to the other Proton cars.

12. Naturally the price would be higher though probable cheaper than imports with similar features and quality.

13. I believe this is a great car and Proton can be proud of it. Malaysians can be proud of it too. The extra Ringgit you have to spend will be worth it.

14. The car will be available in three months time.

or you can visit our beloved Ex-PM blog at http://chedet.cc/blog/

This is another hot new story about our local automotive company, Proton. It has been prolong for very long time for Proton to come into decision of either having strategic collaboration, partnership or management buy-off. Shares has been moved up and down, but nothing change. Business remains as usual for Proton staff.

Today, Nadzmi (current Chairman of Proton Holdings) revealed his plan to StarBiz reporter in general if he won the bid to own Proton. You can refer to complete excerpts as per below.

What are your plans for Proton?

Besides the increased utilisation of the Tanjung Malim plant, Proton needs to transform itself to be a global player, and I believe the upcoming model codenamed “P3-21A” will be the global car that will transform Proton's DNA.

The car will be a completely different car with better material and design coupled with modern features. At the same time, we cannot price the car very high. One thing is for sure, Proton's DNA will shift to a higher gear with the plans in place.

Nadzmi: ‘Proton can be restructured through strategic business units.’

I hope to do a lot more tie-ups with other brands, as Malaysia today has a lot of capacity, with more collaborations and on a multi-franchise business model, it would be easier to control the local automotive industry.

We need to re-look the export markets for Proton, as previous strategies have been targeting smaller markets. Potential countries we need to look at are China, Iran, India and the Asean countries.

The potential engine collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) is great whereby it reduces Proton's investment of producing a new engine to only RM600mil from a projected cost of RM1.7bil to RM2bil. Mitsubishi needs only 100,000 engines annually, and we came in as a perfect partner due to the volume Proton can take, coupled with the strategic location of Malaysia whereby it is not prone to natural disasters, like Japan and Thailand.

Not only that, we have a whole ecosystem of engine development in Malaysia. While an engine block could stay for 20 years, the cylinder heads and the engine management system are major improvements that we can make to increase the efficiency of the engines.

There will be more tie-ups as MMC is also keen to share its electric vehicle mechanism with Proton.

While the Hawtai collaboration presents a good opportunity for Proton to write back some of its investments on model development.

The fully amortised models that we have developed like the Waja and Exora, we can sell these designs to Hawtai as it lacks the models while it invested about RM3bil in an automotive plant.

If I can find a second home for these sunken investments in the form of the models that we have developed and amortised, it will provide another stream of money for Proton.

What do you think of Proton's current model line-up?

The present model line-up is an attempt to correct the past mistakes, like the introduction of the multi-purpose vehicle, the Exora. Despite its late entry into the market, it is still better than never, and now the present line-up is more reflective of market demand.

Do you think privatisation is the way?

I think I will take it private if you ask me what I am going to do, because you have to restructure the whole organisation.

To me, in the car industry, especially when you are producing economical class vehicles, you can't go for high profit and huge margins with low production. We are competing in a high-production low-price segment, where margin is very competitive and investment cost would be the key.

If you have a small volume, you would not have the capacity to amortise your development cost, which as a ballpark figure stands at about RM600mil to RM700mil per model, and this is only the investment cost for the body and engineering excluding the investments for engine.

How can Proton be restructured?

Proton can be restructured through strategic business units (SBUs), which would be easier for the group to look for talents, whereby we would seek experts in their specific field like manufacturing, marketing and engineering. It would be a lot easier to find a chief to handle the daily operations.

These SBUs could then be engaged by third parties to do jobs not exclusive to Proton, for example the manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim. Proton can raise its utilisation rate by having tie-ups with other brands to assemble or manufacture their products.

I know the business. Contrary to what some might say ... that Proton needs a global OEM to turn the company around, Proton is essentially a brand with Asian roots.

How would it fit into the portfolio of a global OEM with its collaborations with MMC and other joint ventures?

It would clash with the interest of Proton whereby OEMs like MMC would not be willing to collaborate further as they would run the risk of exposing trade secrets to third parties in the form of another global OEM in the picture.

Interestingly, it has been posted at paultang.org with additional statement.

What do you think about Proton's future and Nadzmi's future after reading this? Well, we do not know.

As for Proton, these feedback from Nadzmi does not give any new strategy. In fact, SBUs idea has been suggested for Proton since last year. Generally, this management buy-out means continue the business as usual while having few cost reduction and re-structuring activities as usually happened to newly-owned company. At certain level, Proton relationship with Group Lotus might be at stake due to 'additional' statement posted at paultan.org. I am wondering whether the statement was coming from him, because he can do the 'cut-off' now since he is the current Chairman, right?

As for Nadzmi, if the management buy-out is a success, he can easily get the fund form the banks (foreign or local). It is not difficult to get funding from the banks. Why? Because they will make money either if Nadzmi's plan fail or success. If success, they got their money back with interest. If fail, bank can sell ('lelong') Proton (one and only auto company with RND capabilities in ASEAN region) to third parties with high return easily! Worst case, if Nadzmi lose his bid for buy-out, his chairman position will be taken by someone else, either from DRB-HICOM group or NAZA.

Anyway, these interpretations are just another interpretations..

Courtesy information from StarBiz

BMW has announced the third bodystyle in its 6 Series lineup with the introduction of the 6 Series Gran Coupe. It’s the latest entrant in the fast-growing luxury “four-door coupe” segment, and the first one ever for BMW. Although no Asian region availability has been announced, three model variants have been named so far.

The 640i uses a 3.0-litre inline-six cyclinder engine with twin-scroll turbocharging technology that produces 320-horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. The 650i, meanwhile, uses a 4.4-litre V8 with two turbochargers, making 450-horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque. The third powertrain, found under the hood of the 640d diesel, is a 3.0-litre 6-cylinder engine with two-stage turbocharging, creating 313-horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque between 1,500 – 2,500 rpm.

All engines will be mated to BMW’s 8-speed automatic transmission, and the 650i specifically will be available with the automaker’s xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive system. All models will use BMW EfficientDynamics fuel-saving features such as auto start-stop function and ECO PRO mode. BMW says the Gran Coupe builds on the styling of the current 6 Series coupe and cabriolet, while adding exterior features such as L-shaped electroplated bars between the air intake and foglamps, twin round headlights with three-dimensional light rings, an “elegant take” on the Hofmeister kink, and “Gran Coupe” lettering on the C-pillar. A full-length third brake light is placed above the rear window, and the aluminum doors use frameless side windows. Adaptive LED headlights will be available as an option.

A long wheelbase (113 mm longer than the coupe) and set-back passenger compartment gives a “fresh interpretation” of the three-box design, according to BMW. Much of the extra length and greater wheelbase is for the rear seat passengers, who will get increased leg room. The interior features a “4+1″ seating setup, with backrests that can be folded in a 60/40 split for a total of 1,265 litres of storage capacity. With the rear seats in the upright position, BMW says the trunk can hold up to three 46-inch golf bags. A through-load system can also fit longer items, such as skis, without having to fold down the rear seats. Optional features include a Bang & Olufsen surround sound audio system, soft close automatic function for doors, heated steering wheel, four-zone automatic climate control, and heated rear seats. BMW’s iDrive infotainment system comes standard on all 6 Series Gran Coupe models.

An M Sport package will also be available at launch, and will upgrade the vehicle with sporty add-ons such as an M aerodynamics package with bespoke body components for the front end, side skirts and rear apron, exhaust tailpipe in dark chrome, black-painted brake calipers, LED foglamps, a sports exhaust system for the 650i, and 19 or 20-inch light-alloy wheels in M double-spoke design. The interior gets M Alcantara/leather sports seats with blue contrast stitching, an M leather steering wheel with multifunction buttons and gearshift paddles, door sill finishers sporting the M logo and an M driver’s footrest.

Safety features are numerous and include BMW Parking Assistant, Surround View, Collision Warning with braking function (in conjunction with Active Cruise Control), Lane Change Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Speed Limit Info, the anti-dazzle High-Beam Assistant, BMW Night Vision with pedestrian recognition and the BMW Head-Up Display. The Gran Coupe will be built at BMW’s Dingolfing plant in Germany alongside the 6 Series coupe and cabriolet, 5 Series, and 7 Series.

Courtesy information from autonet.ca

Volkswagen, the German automaker debuted a new “Temporary Autopilot” (TAP) program that can control a car semi-automatically at speeds up to 80 mph. It combines existing driver-assist functions found in many cars nowadays, like adaptive cruise control and side monitoring for safer lane-changing, with a radar system, laser scanner and ultrasonic sensors.

When in TAP mode, the car maintains a safe distance from the vehicle ahead, checks the lane markers to keep the car in the center, and automatically slows down when approaching a bend in the road. The goal is to prevent accidents caused by inattentive drivers, according to Volkswagen. The driver still maintains control and can override the car’s actions at any point, however.

Volkswagen is not the only manufacturer which is developing the Autopilot function. Even non car manufacturer company in Silicon Valley, GOOGLE also developing autopilot drive car using their own system which they might integrate with GoogleMap. Let see what another Germany company is doing..

Audi also is having a few set of pilot test using Audi TTS Quattro. As we can see in the video below, it is not a very advance technology. It doesn't require any specific guideline along the roadway. It is the normal road which that technology can understand, in order to provide autopilot drive. Very interesting.

This is just the latest step in a growing trend of cars that can park themselves, drive themselves, communicate with other cars on the road and other smart grid functions. Looks like the state of Nevada, the first to pass regulations governing driverless cars, is on the right track. Nevada is the first state that encouraging this technology to be used as a pilot test at their state. The regulation for the autopilot has been drafted by the Nevada Department of Transport (DOT) and going to be implemented soon!

When can we see one kind of these test being done locally by Proton? Can't wait.. But, I guess this technology development cost is too expensive for our local car manufacturer. As a suggestion, Proton need to collaborate with international University experts if they are willing to explore this kind of features.

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