Lotus C-01 Motorcycle Announced

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

Lotus is best known for its lightweight, exotic sportscars, but it looks like the Lotus brand will soon lend its brand to a new motorcycle to be called the Lotus C-01.

The automaker is lending its name to this project but does not appear to be directly behind this new project. Instead, the new Lotus Motorcycles company is a joint project between former Volkswagen designer Daniel Simon, the Holzer Group and car racing team Kodewa.

The new company released a teaser image showing part of a carbon fiber fuel tank bearing the Lotus logo and the company’s black and gold racing livery. The company promises more pictures to come in the next few weeks, but for now, they provide a few hints about what to expect in the Lotus C-01.

The company describes it as a “hyper bike” with integrated racing technology”. It will use carbon, titanium and aerospace-quality steel. The engine specifications are a mystery, though Lotus claims an output of approximately 200 hp.

Simon is a former Volkswagen Group concept designer who also worked for Bugatti and created vehicles for films such as the Lightcycle from the 2010 film “Tron: Legacy”.

“With the Lotus C-01, we have only one ambition: to create a unique state-of-the-art machine that carries its brutal forces with elegance and style, a high-tech monster in a tailored suit,” says Simon. “The C-01, with all its top notch components and materials, is first and foremost emotional, heartbreaking, at times playfully retro, and always clearly a Lotus.”

The black and gold is an homage to Lotus’ iconic racing liveries of the past as well as its current Le Mans race car. Kodewa produces the Lotus T128 Le Mans Prototype racer and competes for Lotus in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“Lotus is a glamorous name with a rich history, and the C-01 celebrates it proudly: the shapes of the marvelous Lotus 49 were a main inspiration, and all color schemes pay homage to iconic Lotus racing liveries, such as the dashing black and gold,” says Simon who designed the Kodewa team’s livery. “The intersection of past and future never fails to fascinate, and so does the unique idea of the C-01.”

[Source: Lotus Motorcycles ( Facebook), Lotus LMP2]

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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