Ateco has just announced its dealer network across Australia. The current glory model, Evora, is already for sale across the ditch in both straight two-seater and 2+2 forms at around A$150,000 ($188,000) and the ultra-light, stripped-out Elise is also available.
But the Lotus' heritage and style have failed to inspire too many big cheques out of our transtasman cousins of late, with fewer than 20 sold so far this year, while Ferrari has sold nearly treble that.
This lack of buyer enthusiasm is probably as much to do with a lack of marketing and profile as anything else, and as the company puts the finishing touches on a global relaunch it calls "New Era", the range, quality and image of Lotus is experiencing a level of change that is almost unbelievable in this economic climate.
Australia already has the naturally aspirated Evora that was launched last year. We will be seeing the sexy, stroppy and lithe supercharged "S" version, with a six-speed automatic version to follow.
Lotus' position in New Zealand has remained relatively unchanged in recent years, although a few relics of the previous distributorship can still be seen on Kiwi roads - mostly Elise and the odd Esprit from various eras, and the occasional Exige.
"There's been no formal, official importer," explains Rowe. "Our plan is to put that into place with the support structure that it needs."
The good news for these existing owners is that this support - which includes specialist technicians and parts availability - won't be reserved to subscribers of the New Era.
"Those people have already gone to the trouble - and it has been trouble with no official importer - of buying a Lotus," he says. "And they're very much the seeds of growth of the future. They are very important to us - as they'll be the people who'll talk to other people about the products they love."
The Elise and a very small volume of the aggressive race-bred Exige will probably be available alongside the Evora S this year.
The exact model and specification that Lotus will offer is still unclear, however Rowe did confirm that the Evora S will be sold at a far higher spec than base models in Europe, noting New Zealand buyers' appetite for add-ons such as parking sensors.
This global push for one of history's great marques is thanks to the deep pockets Malaysian parent Proton and the wild ambitions of Lotus' charismatic 38-year-old CEO Dany Bahar, who took over the three key facets of the company with a level of enthusiasm that has stunned the automotive industry and left many wondering if it is even possible to turn a company round in such spectacular fashion.
Lotus' bold-as-brass statement at last year's Paris Motor Show consisted of five new models: City Concept (now officially called Ethos), a return for Esprit, Elise, Elan and Elite, and a new four-door Eterne.
This was about as blatantly obvious as a statement of intent could be, especially as there was a time when it looked like the brand was going to drift into obscurity as its previous owner Bugatti got the speed wobbles and the market for handmade sports cars dried up.
When that happened, there was significant interest from many angles, according to Lotus global PR spokesman Alastair Florance, but not for the idealistic complete set - cars, motorsport and engineering consulting.
"Lots of companies wanted one or the other, but not all three - except Proton," he explained last week at the company's headquarters in rural Hethel, England, a thriving nanotropolis consisting of four houses, three farms, one church and a massive Lotus facility, complete with its own rebuilt FIA standard racetrack.
It's obvious that Bahar is taking this investment very seriously, as the factory is extended, buildings are springing up and the whole Lotus heart is finding a new beat.
Sales of current models aren't stellar, but there's huge upgrading of the Hethel factory; the sextet of concepts heading towards production through until 2017; an update to the non-F1 side of the motorsport base; cancelled contracts for existing dealers across the planet with far more demanding standards set for their successors; and additions to the Clive Chapman-run Classic Lotus facility - home to some of the best-kept heritage F1 racers in the world, and where an exceedingly well-heeled gentleman racer clientele gets its respective Loti fettered, some by the
Lotus races backLotus Evora
cars' original mechanics.
There's even a modular, Lotus-designed and assembled engine that can be anything from an inclined four, a V6 or a V8, to work with the new cars - it will be fired up on the dyno in three weeks.
To put it bluntly, they're not fannying about.
"In the last 18 months Proton have got behind the new era plan for Lotus and have recognised that this is the best opportunity to return Lotus to its rightful position," said Florance.
"He [Bahar] has referenced Porsche, Lambo, Lotus, Bentley, Ferrari and Aston as all being in the same boat. Great brands, great heritage, great passion, superb technology - all those brands, apart from Lotus, have had huge amounts of investment put in, and look where they are now.
"Lotus was left out, it's now the chance, the time, to return Lotus to where it was in the 70s and 80s, as perhaps the most glamorous of the sports car brands, with introducing sponsorship, the JPS girls on the grid, the Bond association and the pretty girls - that's where it's going to, it's happening and it's happening very, very quickly. And the world seems to be very receptive."
The world will need to be - production of the Elise-platformed Europa (a "niche of a niche" that sold only 500, says Florance) finished last year; production of the Exige for Europe is already done with and the US is due to stop soon.
Lotus, with its 1400 global staff, is producing around 2000 cars a year, and has a turnover of between £110 million and £120 million ($206 million-$224 million), according to Florance, who drolly adds "We're obviously looking to increase that".
Since masterful engineer and racecar designer Colin Chapman founded the company and started selling cars in 1948, there have been 90,000 Lotuses built. Of those, 16,000 were sold in the past 16 years.
The new era cars are, according to Florance "all going according to plan", although the stunning new Elan, with its aggressive stance and 4.0L V6, has been pushed back until 2017 from its earlier slated 2013 release, and given the current Evora more time on sale.
"A lot believed the Elan and Esprit were a bit close in concept and performance," he explains, "and that allowed us to continue with the Evora. Evora has got a huge amount of life and potential left - it's been a very successful GT racing car and we're learning a lot from that. So we delayed the Elan, because that was due to come out after the Esprit."
The New Era cars are certainly going to help the company's flagging fortunes, as is the well-developed and continuing customer racecar programme, further spurred by the upcoming Type 125 (essentially a Formula One car).
But around half of Lotus' revenue comes from the engineering consultancy - building bits for other car companies, developing technologies and lending expertise, hence the vehicles with "Handling by Lotus" and similar badging.
And think of some of the great Lotus collaborations - Lotus Cortina, Lotus (Talbot) Sunbeam and the fastest saloon on the planet for a great number of years - the 286km/h Lotus (Vauxhall) Carlton.
It's also a little-known fact that Aston Martin's Vanquish (and other cars on the same platform) use Lotus' bonded aluminium chassis system - the secret to its lightweight, incredible-handling sportscar line-up. And the all-electric Tesla is built on the Elise platform, and under the same roof, using the same gear.
With the technologies and products lining up under the New Era Lotus banner, the company has its work cut out for it.
Quality has been a massive issue over the years, but new factory systems have been introduced by ex-Porsche Michael Och, who says workers have a new-found sense of responsibility for their output.
Will this be enough to seriously take on the likes of Porsche, Aston Martin and Ferrari? The volume of cars out of Hethel is never going to match Stuttgart's output, but the type of cars that are being designed and built inspire a level of passion, and offer a level of on-road individuality that you'll never be able to match with a mass-produced sportscar - no matter how perfectly engineered.
