RE: The New Era Of Lotus - Revealed

[zakelwe]

I like the Elise to Elan to Esprit full range now, but the front engined car and the 4 door should be left until they have success with those 3 I think, ie get those right and then expand further off the back of those.

Also, where does the current Evora fit in? The Elise would seem to have that part of the spectrun filled.

A 1100kg 300bhp Elise for M3 money sounds pretty exciting.

Andy

[otolith]

Twincam16 said:

I do like the idea of Lotus-tuned mainstream models, as princes among hot hatches and saloons, to give some GTIs some bloody noses. I hope they won't abandon that line of engineering.

I don't think that the new management would consider that appropriate to the exclusive and aspirational lifestyle statement made by the Lotus brand - the kind of people they want to buy into the brand would not appreciate seeing common people sharing their badges.

Typing that made me slightly nauseous.

[hardmouse1]

Strap me in for any of them!! for once there is a car that might be in price range!!

[moetmoet]

They look great but I cant help thinking its goodbye to the real Lotus :-( An elise over a 1000kg?!? When they are making other bigger heavier cars, why make the elise fat too? Shame.

[MDifficult]

Twincam16 said:

I do like the idea of Lotus-tuned mainstream models, as princes among hot hatches and saloons, to give some GTIs some bloody noses. I hope they won't abandon that line of engineering.

Leave that to Prodrive and Cosworth these days. Lotus deserve something bigger and better.

[Sonic Nonsense]

I'm slightly bothered that the Elise isn't a soft-top. Surely that's one of the delights of the thing.

Otherwise, looking great, despite the slightly too similar faces.

[Twincam16]

DJC said:

So the Evora coupe gets a shelf life of 5 yrs? Im sure the Evora drop top will continue alongside the Elan when it comes in.

Evolution of Evora chassis or new?

I wouldn't be surprised if the Esprit, Elan and Elise will all be based on the Evora chassis, and when that one model is replaced with these three, the Elan will step into it's shoes.

I think Lotus are currently viewing the Evora as something of a test-bed for all it's new ideas. Oddly enough the same thing happened with the Ferrari Mondial in the '80s - a not-quite-as-loved-as-the-others 2+2 middie, but under the skin it ensured that the technology for the 308 GTBi, 328, 348 and F355 worked properly before they were unleashed on the market as a whole.

I find it no coincidence that the Evora race car has a 4-litre V6 - that'll be transposed into the Elan but the time served in the Evora will iron out any flaws.

[Stitch]

RichB said:

bakerjuk said:

I have put as much effort as the designers into each of my new Lotus models.

Love that design for the new Elan, and delighted to see someone prepared to get away from the clichéd angular design cues that everyone is using these days. I'll bet that basic design could run for 10 years or more if they build it

Take a bit of Lambo Revon (or whatever it was called)

Add a bit of Audi R8.

Throw in a bit of the back end/rear deck of a F430 and the Panther Solo (remember that?)

Blend.

Teaspoonful dollop = Elise

Table Spoon = the one that is supposed to be the next size up

Serving spoon dollop = new Esprit

If this is the direction that they have decided to go, then I can't see the reason for Lotus to exist. There are already plenty of marques occupying this space.

Pagani got in on the act becasue they developed a hyper car that looks extraordinary and following Harry Metcalfe in Evo over the years it seems as though by owning a Pagani you are joining a very exclusive club (like being a Ferrari customer in the 50s but with an owner who actually listens to his customers!).

McLaren will probably make it because the car has such close links to the F1 team.

But I don't fancy Lotus's chances

[fatbutt]

Wow. What a lot of dull 'cookie cutter' cars. Squint and they all look the same.

No drama. Utterly generic, the lot of them.

What a shame, the esprit concept art promised so much more.

[cooldude27uk]

Shame about the spelling in the article..... but fantastic new range of cars.... which one would i have.... well that all depends on budget but bring it on LOTUS

[Fuelbrother DC]

[mainaman]

Ok,the Esprit looks nice,but apparently the 4.8 V10 was out of reach.The 5.0 V8 making 600+ BHP,is that a supercharged IS-F engine?

Also using the Evora platform and a bigger engine will probably mean 1500 kg Esprit.The original was 1200 kg...

[Twincam16]

otolith said:

Twincam16 said:

I do like the idea of Lotus-tuned mainstream models, as princes among hot hatches and saloons, to give some GTIs some bloody noses. I hope they won't abandon that line of engineering.

I don't think that the new management would consider that appropriate to the exclusive and aspirational lifestyle statement made by the Lotus brand - the kind of people they want to buy into the brand would not appreciate seeing common people sharing their badges.

Typing that made me slightly nauseous.

I see what you mean, but I didn't necessarily mean the 'Rising Sun' roundels and a complete re-engineering under the skin, but the more subtle dark green and gold 'Handling by Lotus' badge, currently gracing some Protons. Lotus are massively respected as an engineering concern, this is widely-known amongst the industry, but many companies keep this involvement secret - perhaps they could allow one manufacturer to make these ties better-known?

Failing that (in fact, regardless as they're good-handling, good-looking cars that get an inexplicably bad press over here and 'sorting' them would be fairly easy with better cabin materials and some forced induction), Proton need to beef up their 'HBL' reputation with a Corsa VXR rival.

[Lightningman]

fatbutt said:

Wow. What a lot of dull 'cookie cutter' cars. Squint and they all look the same.

No drama. Utterly generic, the lot of them.

What a shame, the esprit concept art promised so much more.

+1

Let some kid loose on a CAD package with an LF-A, etc as fodder to work from and hey presto, the new Lotus line-up.

As for the excitement about them being from the UK; I'm sorry but Lotus are now as British as curry

[Twincam16]

mainaman said:

Ok,the Esprit looks nice,but apparently the 4.8 V10 was out of reach.The 5.0 V8 making 600+ BHP,is that a supercharged IS-F engine?

Also using the Evora platform and a bigger engine will probably mean 1500 kg Esprit.The original was 1200 kg...

Given the comparable weight gains of its rivals, that's still relatively light.

[EK993]

I think everyone has to accept the reality that the market that Lotus operate in has changed. The Elise appeals to a certain type of person - the type that posts on PH. The larger share of the market are the Boxster / Cayman more mainstream, some creature comforts and the inevitable increase in weight that goes with that. I applaud Lotus for this, and think it was a necessity if they are to continue to operate. Lets face it, the Elise is pretty much played out now.

I loved my Elise, however if I was in the market for anything other than a weekend fair weather car would not have bought it. I can seriously see myself getting an Elan as a daily driver, and on the face of the details we see here today would opt for one over a 997 or similar alternative.

Regards the Elise being over 1000kg - isn't that already the case? I am pretty sure my SC was heavier than that with full touring pack - and that only had 220bhp. So why the moaning?

This is great news for a British manufacturer - why don't the Brits get behind them rather than moaning that it isn't an S1 Elise. Those days are gone now. If Lotus disappear we will have no choice other than Caymans / Boxters / 911's....

Edited by EK993 on Thursday 30th September 17:52

[Sir_Dave]

They've lost the plot.

The new Elise will weigh 1095kg!! And will make up for being a fatty by having 316bhp.

Oh, & judging by the pictures, their entire range will look the same. A mish-mash of Honda S2000, various Aston's, a gallardo & a Honda Insight.

Do not want.

[Fuelbrother DC]

Sir_Dave said:

A mish-mash of Honda S2000, various Aston's, a gallardo & a Honda Insight.

And for that, I am angry. Expected something new. Like when the (Ur-)Esprit came out.

[EK993]

Sir_Dave said:

They've lost the plot.

The new Elise will weigh 1095kg!! And will make up for being a fatty by having 316bhp.

Oh, & judging by the pictures, their entire range will look the same. A mish-mash of Honda S2000, various Aston's, a gallardo & a Honda Insight.

Do not want.

Regards the weight - see my post above - the current Elise SC is close to that weight already.

What would you have wanted to see from Lotus in a new lineup?

I think this range is one of the most exciting to be announced for a long time. We look at the press releases of the McLaren and 458 Italia, chances are that very few of us will be in a position to buy one - whereas with the new Lotus range you can say that its within reason to get one.

They look exciting inside and out, look like they have the performance to match, and are attainable.

I'm excited.

[danp]

otolith said:

Twincam16 said:

I do like the idea of Lotus-tuned mainstream models, as princes among hot hatches and saloons, to give some GTIs some bloody noses. I hope they won't abandon that line of engineering.

I don't think that the new management would consider that appropriate to the exclusive and aspirational lifestyle statement made by the Lotus brand - the kind of people they want to buy into the brand would not appreciate seeing common people sharing their badges.

Typing that made me slightly nauseous.

Thought they were gonna do a hatch? well according to AE.. it may be true!

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/...