Five new Lotus sports cars

Lotus had promised it was going to unveil a few new models at the Paris Motor Show, and it didn’t disappoint. Along with a city car, five new sports car concepts were on display: Esprit, Elan, Elite, Elise and Eterne.

This product offensive is key to the Lotus strategy of moving upmarket. With Proton’s money and a new CEO, ex-Ferrari man Dany Bahar, the intention is to transform the company into a manufacturer of premium vehicles to compete with the likes of Porsche and Ferrari.

Ambitious, but in some respects the plan smacks of déjà vu. That’s because something similar was attempted in the past, with a range of models that included the previous generation Elite and Esprit. It didn’t work then, and consequently Lotus reverted to its traditional heartland - a family of small, lightweight sports cars that started with the original Elise.

Both public and press alike reacted well to those models (seemingly with the exception of the Europa, which was quietly dropped from the line-up earlier this year). However, financially they haven’t been too successful, with Lotus failing to be profitable for many years now.

Hence yet another change in direction, which will kick off with the new Esprit.

For more details of the Paris concepts, please see these posts:

2013 Lotus Esprit
2013 Lotus Elan
2014 Lotus Elite
2015 Lotus Elise
2015 Lotus Eterne

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts:

Saab 9-3 Aero Carlsson

Image
Saab has got experience of producing special editions in honour of rally driver Erik Carlsson, having previously named versions of the 900 and 9000 after him during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Now it has decided to do it again, this time to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Swedish driver’s first win in Britain’s RAC Rally, which was achieved at the wheel of a Saab 96. Thankfully, the company has resisted the urge to just bung some fancy alloys and a few other extra bits onto something like a mid-range diesel model. Instead, it appears to have resurrected the limited edition Turbo X from a couple of years ago, as the new edition similarly features a turbocharged 2.8 litre petrol V6, Saab’s XWD all-wheel drive system and a six-speed automatic gearbox. The result is the 9-3 Aero Carlsson saloon, which turns out to be a very rapid car. With 276 bhp (205 kW / 280 PS) and a healthy 400 Nm of torque, the 0-60 mph (96 km/h) dash takes just 6.9 seconds. But it’s in the mid-range t...
Read more

American spec Fiat 500

Image
Fiat has released the first details and images of the North American specification 500. The tiny city car will be available in Pop, Lounge and Sport trim levels, and is distinguished from the European version by its more aggressive front and rear bumpers, bigger grille and flared sills. Another unique feature is the engine. Fiat has decided to use the 1.4 MultiAir unit currently found in models such as the Fiat Punto Evo and Alfa Romeo MiTo. Perhaps it felt that using the forthcoming two-cylinder TwinAir in the American 500 would have been too much for markets there to take? There’s no word yet on what power output the MultiAir will have, although in its current applications it comes with either 103 bhp (77 kW / 105 PS), 133 bhp (99 kW / 135 PS) or 167 bhp (125 kW / 170 PS). Similarly, prices have yet to be confirmed, but hopefully both details will have been sorted out by the time the order book for the 500 hatch opens later this year. For convertible fans, the 500C is due ...
Read more

i10 N Line versus the Up! GTI

Image
Hyundai has confirmed specifications and pricing for its sporty i10 N Line. This new variant – which arrives at dealers later this month – benefits from some cosmetic tweaks, unique suspension components and a more powerful 1.0 litre T-GDi turbocharged petrol engine.
Read more