On the same day, Lotus confirmed that it will launch four new electric models by 2026, Autocar has learned that the sports car maker has hired a new design manager to oversee the ambitious development plan.
Peter Horbury, who currently heads design for Geely Auto, will rise to become senior vice president of design for Group Lotus.
It’s a homecoming for the 72-year-old Briton, who has enjoyed one of the most distinguished careers in automotive design and won the Autocar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. While many are were expecting him to retire when he left Geely, the temptation to run a small business through a transformative product renaissance was obviously too great.
Prior to taking a leadership role at Geely in 2011, Horbury worked as a Design Manager for Ford of America and held two positions as Volvo Design Director.
Horbury’s new role will include overseeing Lotus cars, but also the growing Lotus engineering consulting firm that works for third-party clients.
Lotus Design Director Russell Carr, who led the team behind the enthusiastically received Emira, will continue in his current role. The Empire of Horbury will also include the growing Lotus studio in Coventry, under the control of Ben Payne, who will do much of the work on the wave of new models.
While Lotus’s next pair of SUVs and coupe-sedans will be produced in China, the company says all design will be led from the UK.
“I visited Hethel for the first time right after the Lotus acquisition in 2017 and followed the development of the new plans closely,” Horbury told Autocar. “I am excited to become a more important part of this future.”
German media say Stefan Sielaff, who stepped down as Bentley’s chief design officer in January, will take on Horbury’s former role as head of Geely Design, but we’re awaiting official confirmation on that.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-08-31 17:36:16
