Lotus names new design chief to succeed Horbury

LONDON -- Lotus Group has promoted Ben Payne to head of design following the death of Peter Horbury at age 73 in June.

Payne was formerly chief creative officer at Lotus Technology responsible for the brand’s Chinese-built SUVs and sedans.

Based in Coventry, central England, he most recently led the design development team for the Lotus Eletre large SUV.

Payne joined Lotus owner Zhejiang Geely Holding in 2018, working at the company’s Geely Design facility in Coventry, later renamed the Lotus Tech Creative Centre (LTCC).

Payne will now also oversee all design for the Lotus brand, including its sports cars.

Payne worked closely with Horbury, a much-admired figure in the industry who held top design positions at Ford and Volvo during his career.

“Having worked extremely closely with Peter over the past five years, it’s an honor to be taking on this new role, and I am excited to further elevate the brand globally,” Payne said in a statement.

Payne has previously worked for Aston Martin, Bugatti and design consultancy Makkina.

Horbury was replaced as Geely head of design by former Bentley design chief Stefan Sielaff in 2021, but despite promising to take a step back he stayed to help guide Lotus design following Geely’s takeover of the British sports-car brand.

"I must say the Lotus projects that we've started, I am going to find it hard to let them go. They are so exciting," Horbury told Automotive News Europe in an interview in 2021.

Geely is overhauling Lotus to take it from being a niche manufacturer to global performance brand by 2028, challenging the likes of Porsche.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story included an incorrect photo of Ben Payne.