Spy Shots: Lotus Esprit
by Damon Lavrinc on Sep 28th 2006 at 7:36PM 
The happy snappers under the employment of AutoExpress caught the new Esprit undergoing testing somewhere on the European continent. Although these are some of the clearest shots of the Lotus' redesigned GT, it still takes some imagination to see what lurks behind the plastic cladding (but it is pretty cool camo, in a post-apocalyptic, 80s movie kind of way).Possibly more important than the styling is what the Lotus' chase car is: a BMW X5. The importance of such a coincidence is the rumor that the new Esprit will share the Bavarian ute's 4.4-liter V8, mounted mid-ship.
Other speculations in the article that are worth noting include the rumored expansion of the Lotus lineup over the next few years. AutoExpress cites sources who claim that the sports car manufacturer is planning to offer up a hatch to the market, based off the Proton Satria. Probably named the Lotus Satria, it'll see the staple Lotus suspension and handling tweaks to bring it up to the high standard expected. Also, AE received information from otherwise tight-lipped Lotus insiders that a new mid-range model will be coming down the pike, slotted between the Elise and the Esprit. We thought that was called the Europa, but it looks like there is more on the way. We're okay with that.
[Source: AutoExpress]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chad C 9:50PM (9/28/2006)
It looks like the old Espirit, just with cardboard/aluminum/tin boxes over the nose and midsection and tail. Just look at the doors compared to the outgoing model; they are identical.
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Tim UF 10:27PM (9/28/2006)
looks a lot like the early/mid 90's bimmer 8series... dont know why
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That One Person 12:59AM (9/29/2006)
#1...they could be using a last generation Esprit as a test mule. By the looks of it, and I may be wrong, this car may be an engine vehicle. Or maybe suspension. There really is no need to build a whole new car when you could just take an old one and bolt on whatever.
But I am really looking forward to this. I saw a late model Esprit in Colorado a couple years ago and was just amazed about how cool it looked...
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DGTLLVR 1:25AM (9/29/2006)
Most likely a mule for some part/parts of the next car. They could be using the old door to further throw off any photographers. Either way, speculating that it'll be using the X5 motor just because someone took a picture of it driving near one seems a bit.... I'll not even bother giving a word, you all get my point.
I hope they bring something to the "Super Car" class of vehicles soon, that little world needs a bit of stirring up.
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pd 8:24AM (9/29/2006)
New issue of Road&Track is on future cars, and showed computer a rendition and it looked awesome. Early reports said would use old M5 V8 tweaked to 500 hp,now their saying the 4.8 litre with 400 h.p. Also the new PORSCHE 928 looked great.
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Skizzy 10:20AM (9/29/2006)
Does that first shot look almost too perfect? Almost like it was leaked by Lotus themselves? I mean the background setting and the angle of the car...it almost seems like a photo shoot than a "spy shot".
The second one, however, makes me want to be a lotus test driver real bad...just look at that beautiful scenery!!
And who know about the X5 thing, could just be a coincidence or not. I know lotus isnt a big fan of making their own engines so it does seem plausible. Oh, and the doors are definately off the old model but dont be fooled be a "wolf in sheeps clothing" as the underpinnings could be vastly different than the shell would otherwise convey.
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