sfo:

a financier with no understanding of the business would never put money in unless they were reckless

The history of the auto industry is littered with stories of people who invested in car companies only to find they were throwing their money into a bottomless pit, so it wouldn't be the first time that someone was reckless. Smiley 
To stay close to (Lotus') home, just look at the British government's investment in de Lorean, aided and abetted by Colin Chapman. 
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fritz