2013 Lotus Esprit

Rumours have been circulating for a while about a replacement for the iconic mid-engined Esprit, and now it’s here, unveiled in concept form at the Paris Motor Show.


Promising to keep the core Lotus characteristic of lightness, the 2013 Esprit will be powered by a 5.0 litre V8 borrowed from the company’s preferred engine supplier, Toyota. However, for use in the Lotus it will be ‘pressure charged’ (which presumably means that either a turbo or supercharger will feature), allowing it to produce 611 bhp.




The styling is described as giving the car an ‘intense’ look and, as will be seen, it heralds a new design language that is used on all of the other new cars too. Generally it works well, although from some angles the kink in the roof line looks a bit odd.

With a projected price of circa £110,000, the Esprit will comfortably undercut supercar rivals such as the Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo. Its projected on-sale date is Spring 2013.

2013 Lotus Esprit Concept Specification
Layout 2 seats, mid-engined
Engine Petrol, 5.0 litre V8
Hybrid technology Optional, incl. KERS
Power 611 bhp / 456 kW / 620 PS
Torque 720 Nm
0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) 3.4 seconds
Top speed 205 mph (330 km/h)
Weight 1,450 kg
Transmission 7 Speed DCT
Drive Rear-wheel drive
Production starts End of 2012
On sale Spring 2013
Price Around £110,000

Related posts:
Five new Lotus sports cars
2013 Lotus Elan
2014 Lotus Elite
2015 Lotus Elise
2015 Lotus Eterne

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