Partnerships and collaborations have become an increasing trend in the auto industry these days, and we need to look no further than the agreement struck up between Lotus->ke49 and Mansory->ke3403 to know that the trend is on the upward tick.

The British automaker and the Swiss tuner recently announced that the two companies will be working hand-in-hand with each other for a number of future projects.

While details are still slim pickings at this point, the partnership between the two will make Mansory the "official customization studio" of Lotus with the former working hand-in-hand to build and contribute "bodywork, trim, and special finishes" for some of the latter's vehicle offerings, including the Evora->ke3240, Exige->ke525, and Elise->ke1678.

According to Wolf Zimmerman, Lotus' Chief Technical Officer, the partnership between Lotus and Mansory was sealed to further bolster the profiles of both companies, giving the tuner an opportunity to build programs for the automaker, similar to what they did last year when they debuted a program for the Lotus Evora at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show->ke228.

"Mansory are leaders in their field, and having worked closely with them on the Evora GTE and the special editions we've unveiled recently, we now wish to take the partnership to an official level," he said. "Together, I am confident we will continue to produce outstanding sports cars, with the bespoke qualities that many of our discerning customers look for."

The official timetable for the first tuning program under this new partnership will be unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show->ke227 this coming September. Be on the look out for that bad boy because something tells us it's going to wickedly out-of-this-world.

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