Autoblog: Lotus to evolve from lightweight to luxury? (Esprit Rumor?)

laxmax613

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Yesterday Lotus did something rather... odd. The Malasian-owned British sports car maker sent the entire automotive world a high-res picture of Stonehenge and announced it represented the, "Dawn of a new era." We initially interpreted this to mean that the new Lotus Esprit would show up in Paris. We still think we're right about that part, but Lotus might have been letting a little bit more cat out of bag than they intended.

According to a report from Malaysia, Lotus owner Proton has hired a plethora of ex-Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin employees (including Frank Tuch, the former Director of Quality Management at Porsche) in hopes of transforming the brand away from Toyota-engined track day novelties (hello, Exige!) into a full-fledged Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin fighting luxury, high-performance brand. Of course that entails abandoning Colin Chapman's maxim, "Simplify, then add lightness," in favor of the German mandate to, "Complexify, then add steel." If you think the Italians are any better, realize that every new Ferrari ships with eighteen miles of wiring. But look on the bright side, the new cars (which will have some sort of hybrid-ness cooked in) could draw power from Chapman spinning his grave.

As we speculated yesterday, the new Esprit will need something resembling a V8 engine (at least) to not only fill the shoes of the old, long-loved Esprit, but also to compete with the world's best luxury/performance machers. Luckily for both Lotus and Lotus fans, engine-supplier Toyota has just such a motor in the form of the IS F's 416 horsepower, 371 pound-feet or torque 5.0-liter V8. Of course, if you want to play in the stratosphere with the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and/or Aston Martin these days, you're going to need at least 500 horsepower. But where would Lotus get an engine like that?

According to the report, the Lexus LFA's 552 hp, 9,000 rpm 4.8-liter V10 could be made available for Esprit duty, though it might be slightly detuned. Still, an aluminum and composite V10 is an aluminum and composite V10. While that might sound odd at first blush, Toyota (no doubt) spent a sick amount of yen coming up with the LFA's V10, but they're only building 500 (or so) LFAs. So why not recoup the pricey development costs elsewhere? Like say in a Lotus range-topper? The question then becomes: Does the world want a 500+ horsepower Lotus dolled up with enough electronic whizbangery to compete with Europe's finest? Only time and the marketplace will tell.


An esprit with the LFA's V10 sounds pretty sweet, but a GT-producing Lotus? don't sign me up just yet.


i'm not sure what Toyota might get from this deal as an engine producer, but Proton's move makes sense. They probably want a piece of the luxury game, but can't develop their own because their EU market presence is feeble as is.
 
I read through the whole article thinking "No, no, no, no, NO!". The whole point of Lotus is the "Simplify, then add lightness" theory. If they scrap that, one of the best brands in the business will be no more.
 
I read through the whole article thinking "No, no, no, no, NO!". The whole point of Lotus is the "Simplify, then add lightness" theory. If they scrap that, one of the best brands in the business will be no more.

True, while a Lotus with luxury does sound intriguing, it goes against the whole mantra of the brand, one which has made it into a successful niche brand.
 
I think the Evora is just enough, But they could possibly do a really impressive job at this. Hard to say.
 
The Esprit had appeal for posh people who buy more luxury things - it was used to signify Richard Gere being wealthy in that hooker movie - but was still Lotusy, maybe they can pull off that high wire act again?
 
fail...fail....and even more fail.

hopefully they won't name their next car the Colin.
 
Oh please, early Lotus cars were lightweight and simple because they had to be within the limits of the manufacturing facilities. "Simplify, then add lightness so we can build it quickly in a shed" would have been an appropriate completion of that sentence.

There seems to be a desire in North America to put Lotus is a little box with "crazy track day cars" written on the side and then whine (something you're very good at by the way...) whenever they do anything different that might actually advance their business model.

Are you going to be buying any of these cars?
 
was this directed at me?
 
The Esprit had appeal for posh people who buy more luxury things - it was used to signify Richard Gere being wealthy in that hooker movie - but was still Lotusy, maybe they can pull off that high wire act again?

That's it for me. The Esprit was light, but not stripped like the Exige. Going to full luxury GT territory may be a little too much, yes, but maybe they've hired all those guys in order to remember them how to build an interior using more than only aluminum and plastics. That V10 though sounds interesting. I see the move working for both : Toyota pays their bills and Lotus gets a powerfull and light (considering a V10) powerplant. I think it might work...
 
If they want to make an luxury Lotus, they should call it the Excel.

lotus-excel-side-2_202.jpg



(I cant wait to see it on Top Gear as Caravan :lol: )
 
I'm all for using that V10...but to actually descend into making luxury cars...I'm not to keen on that.
 
I see a Vauxhall Omega :p
 
I see a Vauxhall Omega :p

No you don't. You might see a Vauxhall Carlton or a Opel Omega, but you definitely don't see a Vauxhall Omega. Frankly I think the Lotus Carlton, Sunbeam and Cortina are the best road cars they have ever made.
 
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