We're not getting an all-new Lotus until 2020. But there is plenty still to come from the two current aluminium chassis, including a roadster version of the Evora, an even more hardcore Exige and a likely update of the 2-Eleven track car according to boss Jean-Marc Gales.
Evora's 400hp V6 to feature in Exige S
The convertible Evora has been a long time in the pipeline but Gales confirmed it will arrive a year after the 400 goes on sale in August. We're told it'll have a two-piece carbon fibre roof that can be stashed inside the car behind the front seats. The stiffness of the aluminium tub means it'll mean little or nothing in the way of extra bracing.
Also in the pipeline is a more hardcore, lightened Evora to be called either Cup or Lightweight. That 400hp version of the supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine in the Evora 400 will also be going into the Exige S. That'll be part of a wholesale revision of the car along the same lines of the Evora 400.
The Exige S has been a big-hitter for Lotus since the supercharged 3.5-litre V6 version was launched in 2012 and has been vying with the Elise for title of Lotus's best-seller ever since. It's expected to overtake it now production of the automatic has started - indeed Gales told us the production line as of two weeks ago was solely Exige S automatics bound for Asia. A 400 version would be serious fun. "400hp and less than 1,150kg. It will be number one," he said.
A new V6-powered 2-Eleven is planned
Then there's a likely new 2-Eleven, which would feature the same 400hp engine, according to Gales. "Our customers have told us: give us something that'll be class-leading on every track day, so we are going to do that," he said. To jog your memories,
the 2-Eleven was a stripped-out, 670kg (in non-SVA mode) open-cabin special based on the Exige with a 1.8-litre supercharged engine, of which Lotus built around 250 from 2006. They cost £40,000 and are still holding much of that judging from
this £30,000 2008 car. "We can do something similar very fast - within 12 months," Gales said.
The Elise is the final one to undergo the Gales makeover, in around two years he estimates. He wants to strip 30kg from the car. They're also going to have to sort the aerodynamics, which aren't good due to the coke-bottle curve. Lotus head of design Russell Carr told us it was never designed for high speed. "Originally it was 120hp and all about acceleration and fun, but over the years we've got to 260hp it really starts to really push the air."
Elise range will also get updates
After 2020, and assuming the company is back in profit as Gales is promising (by 2017), then he says the Lotus philosophy of lightweight agility could be applied to any model, even SUVs. "When you ask me - what would a Lotus SUV look like, certainly it would be lightweight, have benchmark handling, efficient. I don't understand why they all need to be two tonnes, 1.8 tonnes. We could do one for 1.3-1.4 tonnes." He also dreams of a four-door. "Anything but a Panamera: it'll be very dynamic, very fast looking, very lightweight."
