Lotus to start building motorcycles in new project

A new company called Lotus Motorcycles, a joint project of Kodewa, car designer Daniel Simon and the Holzer Group, has apparently been established to design and build the first motorcycle under the badge of the long-running sports-car manufacturer. The bike will be named Lotus C-01, and is being billed as a “hyper-bike” by the company.

The Lotus C-01 will have “integrated racing technology” and use materials like carbon-fibre, titanium and aerospace-quality steel. It will be powered by an “approximately 200 horsepower” engine.

Kodewa has recently built the new sports car Lotus T128 LMP LeMans Prototype and is running the Lotus LMP2 program in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The design will be penned by German designer Daniel Simon, a former designer for Bugatti Automobiles, who recently created the ‘Lightcycle’ in the 2010 movie Tron: Legacy and the ‘Bubbleship’ in the 2013 sci-fi movie Oblivion.

The development, production and assembly of the Lotus motorcycle will be carried out by Holzer Group, which is involved in the German Touring Car Championship DTM, German Rally Championship and Formula 1.

In the next few weeks, images of Lotus Motorcycles will be released and will give a first insight into what to expect from the new Lotus C-01.

The Lotus car business is having some tough times at the moment, as development of fresh models are delayed due to money issues. Already selling in Saudi Arabia, the car line-up is poised to enter the UAE market soon, although no specific dates have been announced.