Lotus on fire. In a good way this time.

Because I think we're all tired of the Double-Merc Topaz truck. And I'm sick of two posts a day, usually from Dunnas or Benfolio. But enough of that.

This news is so far only available on TopGear's website at time of posting.
So at the Paris Show, Lotus actually introduced FIVE new models, four of which were a complete surprise. Let's get on with the show:

Elite:
We all know this guy. We saw him. Lotus' answer to the Aston Martin DB9, Mercedes SLS, you get the idea.

So he's not a surprise so much. The next four are, in varying degrees of surprise.

Esprit:
The Lotus Esprit is back (finally!), this is your Ferrari 458/McLaren MP4/Lambo Gallardo competitor. Anywhere from 550-620bhp, naught to sixty (have to say it like that) in 3 seconds.


This one, I think is my favorite. I think I smell a Bond flick coming.

Elise:
We kinda knew this was coming, but I don't think anybody expected this. Your favorite little British roadster has grown up. It'll be more expensive, but more refined, and mature, and with a planned 350bhp top-line offereing, it'll be a beast.


Unfortunately, there's also some sacrelige going on here. Sadly, an unfortunate side effect of age is wieght gain. It's bigger all around, and heavier. And goddamnit, it's a COUPE. WRONG. I mean it's not a bad looking coupe. but still wrong.

Elan:
Another old nameplate returns, and another name affixed to a completely different type of car than it was originally, but that's not necessarily bad. This coupe (again? seriously, guys?) can be capable of nearly 500 hp, and will compete head on with Porsche 911, and...replace the Evora? Didn't that just come out?


but one has to wonder if this will overlap the Esprit somewhat?

Eterne:
So this one is completely out of left field. Lotus' four door saloo--- 'scuze me. four door coupe (uuurrrgh) intent on taking on the Porsche Panamera, and Aston Rapide. It comes with a Lexus-sourced V8 and will do sixty in less that four seconds.


It is as also, in the same vein as the Panamera and the Rapide, basically, a four-door Elite.

So now that Lotus as a whole, has "grown up", is this a good step in the right direction for them to make themselves into a proper British Supercar maker? But is the real question whether they're proper Lotuses? Are all the fun track toys gone? Is Chapman revving at 9000rpm in his grave?

Interesting. I thought the Elite wore the new styling theme reasonably well, but when you apply it to the whole line, it doesn't thrill me. It reminds me a lot of Honda concept cars from the past few years - I liked it on them, but Lotus is in a whole different category.

It may have been long in the tooth, but I really like the styling on the S2 Elise, and I thought the Evora was just about the perfect interpretation of that. Oh well. I feel like Lotus has got a bit CAD-happy with these cars - just because you can produce Class A surfacing with all kinds of concave and convex mixing on the same form, doesn't mean you have to.

The Elan in particular seems to borrow from Lamborghini, too.

i thought the elite's plate said cute

how many of these will actually get built though??

the esprit should be a monster

also, heavy lotus is a bad lotus.

next thing they'll go SUV and designer handbags....

none of those cars look heavy..guess time will tell...styling wise I think they look great

Dodge wrote:none of those cars look heavy..guess time will tell...styling wise I think they look great

http://www.insideline.com/lotus/elite/2014/2014-lotus-elite-to-debut-at-2010-paris-auto-show.html

PARIS — Lotus Cars says its new Elite, which will debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show later this month, will mark "the dawn of Lotus's new era." Dawn is a good characterization, since the two-plus-two is not slated to go into production until early 2014. The Elite on display at Paris is said to be a "production intent prototype."

The front-mid-engined Elite has a 5.0-liter V8 engine making 611 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque, good for a 0-to-60-mph time in the 3.5-second range. Top speed is 195 miles per hour. The engine is mated to a full-hybrid gearbox with integrated electric motors and KERS; a hybrid engine is planned to be optional.

It will also be available in a retractable-hardtop version. The Elite will weigh in at a relatively unsvelte 3,637 pounds, says Lotus.

Pricing is estimated to be about $179,000, including tax, when it goes on sale in spring 2014.

This might sound stupid but 550hp and 3700lbs are pretty un-lotus numbers.

Turbofrog wrote:The Elan in particular seems to borrow from Lamborghini, too.

Actually, I thought the Elan and Elise looked more Toyota-concept-like, and the Esprit looked VERY Lamborghini.
That being said, I don't dislike a single one of them, I think they all look pretty awesome, myself.
granted the weight might not still be heavy for a normal sports car, but for a Lotus they'll be comparitively heavy. There were interior shots as well, and those things look loaded. problem was I couldn't tell whose was whose, or I'd have posted those too.

Actually this is the Elan's interior:

It's not so bad as I thought before, but its still far from the Lotus norm--especially that digital display with the lap counter. It apparently has a predictive lap time counter that can tell you if you're running a good lap or not. And shift lights at the top of the steering wheel. They're actually using a lot of F1 tech in these now. a couple of these models are supposed to have KERS optioned on as well.

This is the Elise:


Elite, and probably by extension, the Eterne (I think):


The best I can get on the Esprit is this view through the window on a rear1/4 shot that just turned up:

no actual shots of the interior in this one.

I love the styling on all of them. Love love love them, especially the Esprit. The weight issue, though...I think the overall packaging of the cars will overcome the relative bulk in the eyes of buyers, but they won't be Lotuses anymore at that point.

When Ferrari got a budget in the 90s that allowed them to compete on technology terms, they changed from poorly built purist toys to paddle-shifting race cars. Lotus wants to do the same thing with Proton's backing and the efficiency of using Toyota engines. Although I don't believe for a second that even 3 out of 5 of these will see production.

ascona wrote:

Dodge wrote:none of those cars look heavy..guess time will tell...styling wise I think they look great

http://www.insideline.com/lotus/elite/2014/2014-lotus-elite-to-debut-at-2010-paris-auto-show.html

PARIS — Lotus Cars says its new Elite, which will debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show later this month, will mark "the dawn of Lotus's new era." Dawn is a good characterization, since the two-plus-two is not slated to go into production until early 2014. The Elite on display at Paris is said to be a "production intent prototype."

The front-mid-engined Elite has a 5.0-liter V8 engine making 611 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque, good for a 0-to-60-mph time in the 3.5-second range. Top speed is 195 miles per hour. The engine is mated to a full-hybrid gearbox with integrated electric motors and KERS; a hybrid engine is planned to be optional.

It will also be available in a retractable-hardtop version. The Elite will weigh in at a relatively unsvelte 3,637 pounds, says Lotus.

Pricing is estimated to be about $179,000, including tax, when it goes on sale in spring 2014.

This might sound stupid but 550hp and 3700lbs are pretty un-lotus numbers.

DB9 weight 3,880lb , 469hp

that puts the lotus pretty far ahead in lb/hp

Those are some pretty terrible interior renderings for the record, they look so cartoony..granted the body renders have some of the same lighting flaws

the Elise is the only render. from what i could tell the Elan and Elite were photographs.
And Swerve, all five are slated to see production. The Elite and Elise are go-ahead givens. but yeah, whether they actually do the other three or not is a different story, but I'd at least love to see that Esprit.

They all look way too similar for me

Turbojett wrote:the Elise is the only render. from what i could tell the Elan and Elite were photographs.
And Swerve, all five are slated to see production. The Elite and Elise are go-ahead givens. but yeah, whether they actually do the other three or not is a different story, but I'd at least love to see that Esprit.

Really? they all look like renders to me, maybe its just the aliasing due to size reduction

i wonder how long till they go tits up...

ascona wrote:i wonder how long till they go tits up...

seeing as they're owned by Proton, I don't think they'll let them.

More info on the Louts Five:

Apparently, the lot of them will be available with optional hybrid technology (Ouch on the weight). Ouch even worse on airing their projected performace parameters 3-5 years ahead of schedule, but i suppose it's for the better (for us) that we know.

Elan:


Lotus Elan Specification (pieced together from different information because some knob at Lotus just copied the Esprit's stats)
Layout: 2 or 2+2 seater, mid-engined, rear wheel drive
Engine: Petrol, hybrid optional, Optional KERS
Cylinder: V6
Capacity: 4.0 litre
Power/Torque: 450 PS
Rev limit: n/a
0-100 km/h: n/a
Top speed: n/a
CO2/km: n/a
Weight: 1,295 kg
Seats: 2 or optional 2+2
Transmission: n/a
Drive: RWD
Start of production: Spring 2013(?)
Enters the market: Summer 2013
Price indication: n/a
I have NO idea how they're going to fit a backseat in that thing.

darling Elise:


Lotus Elise Specification

Layout: 2 seater, mid-engined, rear wheel drive
Engine: Petrol with start/stop option
Hybrid technology: Mild hybrid, i.e. start/stop technology
Cylinder: 4
Capacity: 2.0 litre
Power/Torque: 320 PS / 330 Nm
Rev limit: 7,800 rpm
0-100 km/h: 4.3 seconds
Top speed: 270 km/h
CO2 approx (CO2/km): 150 g/km (with new technology)
Weight: 1,095 kg
Seats: 2
Transmission: 6 Speed Manual, DCT optional
Drive: RWD
Start of production: Early 2015
Enters the market: Spring 2015
Price indication: Circa £35,000


Esprit: (it only looks like this 'coz it's badass)


Lotus Esprit Specification

Layout: 2 seater, mid-engined, rear wheel drive
Engine: Petrol, hybrid optional, Optional KERS
Cylinder: V8
Capacity: 5.0 litre
Power/Torque: 620 PS / 720 Nm
Rev limit: 8,500 rpm
0-100 km/h: 3.4 seconds
Top speed: 330 km/h
CO2/km: 250 g/km (using optional hybrid technology)
Weight: 1,450 kg
Seats: 2
Transmission: 7 Speed DCT
Drive: RWD
Start of production: End of 2012
Enters the market: Spring 2013
Price indication: Circa £110,000

Elite:
Startling newsflash: The Elite is, in fact, a folding hardtop convertibe (Again, OUCH on the weight!)



Lotus Elite Specification

Layout: 2+2 seater, front-mid-engined, rear wheel drive
Dimensions
Length: 4.60m
Width: 1.90m
Height: 1.32m
Engine
Type: Petrol, hybrid optional
Hybrid technology: Hybrid gearbox with integrated electric motors and KERS
Cylinder: V8
Capacity: 5.0 litre
Power: 620 PS
Torque: 720 Nm
Rev limit: 8,500 rpm
Performance
0-100 km/h: 3.5 to 3.7 seconds
Top speed: 315 km/h
CO2 Emissions: 215 g/km (using optional hybrid)
Weight: 1,650 kg
Seats: 2+2
Transmission: Full Hybrid transmission
Drive: RWD
Start of production: Early 2014
Enters the market: Spring 2014
Price indication: ca. £115,000

Eterne:

(no new shots of this one...)

Lotus Eterne Specification

Layout: 4 seater, front-mid-engined, rear wheel drive, all wheel drive is optional
Engine: Petrol, hybrid optional
Hybrid Technology: Hybrid gearbox with integrated electric motors and KERS
Cylinder: V8
Capacity: 5.0 litre
Power/Torque: 620 PS / 720 Nm
Rev limit: 8,500 rpm
0-100 km/h: 4.0 seconds
Top speed: 315 km/h
CO2 approx (CO2/km): 220 g/km (using optional hybrid)
Weight: 1,800 kg
Seats: 4
Transmission: Full Hybrid transmission
Drive: RWD, AWD optional
Start of production: Early 2015
Enters the market: Spring 2015
Price indication: Circa £120,000

A better title would have been:

Lotus on fire: And this time it's not the wiring

have you not just copied the elan's exact specs for the esprit??? theyre identical

they were identical on the site too. I took them off their respective pages one at a time.
Edit: Ah, but the people who wrote that up goofed. Those are the stats for the Esprit. I'll try and fix it as best I can from the information given in the Elan's press release.

<2900 lb, 450 hp mid-engine RWD sports car? I'm way more interested in the non-duplicated Elan specs...

went to paris a week and a half ago, and here are some real life lotus pictures.

also, i can't take pictures for shit. live with it. at least i post pictures.

Where all the black people at?

they outside burning cars

but srsly? we don't have black people in europe.

I prefer the old, unique Elise. The new one looks like a melted California. Well, it looks like an Elise with a melted front and California headlights.

Now Lotus is threatening to leave England. Would this no longer make it a British Car?

Meh I don't know...

These cars are all starting to look too much the same. Compare the general looks to a Lambo, Audi R8, and some Ferrari's to see the general sameness.

Lotus use to have a much more original look, for instance the past Esprit (which is a car I always liked the look of) and Elise.

I'm sure these will be nice cars but none of them inspire me in any one way. Sorry Lotus.

it'll be tough, but hopefully they'll get over it.

Clockbreaker wrote:it'll be tough, but hopefully they'll get over it.

It better be damn well tough for Lotus to get over it.