Lotus Unveils New Esprit, Elan, Elise, Eterne Sports Sedan and Concept City Car

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the Paris Motor Show in 2010, was the opening of six new models Lotus. Apart from the Elite GT (see here) that we have already discussed, the British automaker has revealed not a sport, not two, but five new models and concepts!

We will bring you more details and photos of each car separately, but in this case are the highlights:

2015 Lotus Eterne: Following in the footsteps of other sports car makers Lotus is ready to enter the segment of luxury sport sedans with Eterne. Scheduled for release possible in 2015, will Eterne compete with the likes of Aston Martin Rapide. Like all Lotus models future, the four-door sedan with an engine using Toyota / Lexus products, in this case, a unit of 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine delivering around 620 horsepower.

 



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2013 Lotus Esprit: The firm's flagship sports car will make a return in 213 and will be powered by Lexus-source 5.0-liter V8 producing 620-horsepower. A less powerful base model with 550-ponies is also said to be offered.

 



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2013 Lotus Elan: A new mid-engined sportscar that will be available as a two-seater or optionally, as a 2+2. Aimed at Audi's R8, it will feature a 4.0-liter version of the Evora's Toyota-sourced V6 with output ranging from 400 to 470 horsepower, depending on the version.

 



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2015 Lotus Elise: Set to replace the current Elise in 2015, Lotus' new lightweight and compact-sized sports car will benefit from a Toyota-sourced 2.0-liter four banger helped by a turbocharged to deliver somewhere around 320-horsepower.

 



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Lotus City Car Concept: Alongside its sport coupes and sedan, Lotus also showed a concept for a small city car based on Giugiaro's Proton EMAS study shown in Geneva earlier this year. There are no current plans to introduce a production version of this car - at least not yet...

 

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Lotus to Unveil 3 New Models in Frankfurt in Addition to the Production Evora GTE Special

Lotus is gearing up for the largest and most important automotive event of the year that takes place in Frankfurt next month with the presentation of three brand-new models, one special edition version and two new options for its current lineup.

The British company announced that one of the new models is the Elise S that replaces the Elise SC with a more capable 1.8-liter supercharged engine delivering 220-horsepower, while also returning lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

For the other two "new models", we’ll have to wait until the Frankfurt Motor Show opens its doors on September 13 to find out. However, Lotus did reveal that one of them will be "one of the quickest road cars" it has ever built while the other marks the return of the brand to "another adrenalin filled motorsport discipline".

The Evora GTE limited edition road car that is inspired by the race-developed version of the same name will join the three new Lotus models.

The British automaker originally planned to offer the GTE in a limited edition exclusively for Asian markets but has now announced that production will be expanded to all regions.

“The response to this model in China has been so incredible, within days we had sold out with 114 orders," said Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar. "In response we decided that the only logical step from a business perspective was to increase production and widen our reach."

The street-legal Evora GTE is powered by the racing model's modified 444PS V6 engine coupled to a sequential AMT gearbox. An abundant use of carbon fibre parts throughout the exterior and interior of the car including the doors, bumpers and rear wing, contributes to the 105kg (232 pounds) weight reduction over the standard model.

“What is unique about this car, is not just that it’s a serious race car – it’s a serious car. People get so excited when they see and especially hear it for the first time. It’s a very special car and will appeal to a very special type of driver – and they won’t be disappointed!,” commented Bahar.

Finally, Lotus will use the Frankfurt Show to exhibit two new options, including the introduction of the SPS (Serial Precision Shift) robotised automated manual transmission for the 1.6-liter Elise, and the IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) automatic gearbox on the Evora S which is powered by a 350-horsepower, 3.5-liter supercharged V6.

 

 

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Lotus unable to secure local government money

When Lotus ushered out a plethora of new concept vehicles at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, we were more than a bit surprised. Sure, many of the designs had no chance of making it to production, but even a new Elan or Esprit would cost the boutique automaker millions to build – money Lotus simply doesn’t have. Auto Express reports that the English Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has turned down the automaker’s application for a £27.5 million loan ($50 million U.S.). The money was reportedly sought in order to build a new plant in Hethel, Norfolk, that would have produced some of new models while also employing another 1,200 Brits. The BIS turned down Lotus in spite of the fact that the government body had already approved £450 million in loans to automakers like Jaguar and General Motors. The automaker is no doubt disappointed with the decision not to allow the loan, but Team Lotus isn’t going down without a fight. Lotus released a statement saying that the automaker was exploring all options, adding that a next step could be “submitting an updated bid for round two of the RGF (government loan), which is set to close on July 1.” What does this latest setback mean to Lotus? We’re not privy to the automaker’s financial statements, but we’re guessing Lotus really needs this money to build any and all of its new products. If it doesn’t get the proper financing, we’re thinking that there may not be any new Lotus models anytime soon.

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