Lotus drops knowledge on future vehicles and Esprit development
The folks over at Motor Authority were kind enough to make the most recent Lotus industry newsletter available. In the PDF document (click 'read' below to go to the site and download), Lotus goes into detail about the development of the upcoming Esprit and outlines what future models will bear the green and yellow shield.
Three vehicles in total will find their way to production over the course of the next several years, and, as expected, all of which will make use of alum-in-i-um to lighten the structure. The three vehicles, pictured above, include a mid-engine super car, a front-engine, RWD GT and the rumored 4x4, seven-seat crossover, all of which will share the same platform.
The articles themselves are well worth the read, even if you're not interested in Lotus itself, they provide some broad industry information and some interesting technical tidbits for the consummate gearhead.
[Source: Motor Authority]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Alice 10:22AM (12/08/2006)
I love all the next generation car designs Lotus has, I just can not wait to see them in mass production and cheap enough for the average person to enjoy.And oh yea enviromentaly friendly to.
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Sasha 9:39AM (12/08/2006)
"First Vehicle: 7 seat 4x4 crossover"
PLEASE NONONONONO OH GOD PLESASE NO!!!
talk about diluting a brand...
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Brian 9:43AM (12/08/2006)
NOOOOOO!!!! NOT AN SUV!! NOT LOTUS!!! NOOOO!!!
nononononononononono
NO!
I am crying.
Not only that, they are all ugly
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Steve 10:18AM (12/08/2006)
I think Lotus cars have been ugly for a while now. But they are very functional... and quick. But an SUV??!! No way they'll do that... will they?
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JS 10:18AM (12/08/2006)
I concur with my fellow posters above that an SUV would do more damage and put them into a financial bind that they may never recover from as people are not interested in SUV's as much anymore. Stick to the beautiful roadsters, coupe's and super cars that you have graced us with over the years.
I think I can hear Chapman rolling in his grave now.
oh, and Autoblog...its Alu-min-i-um (pronounced Aloo-min-ee-um) not alum-in-i-um.
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GT_Arun 10:55AM (12/08/2006)
My thoughts mirror all the other posters. Lotus has always been about the driving experimence with performance/enthusiasts in mind. Of course we want the Esprit to come back... too bad it won't be a V8TT.
And an FR GT car would be great as Porsche is doing the same thing with the new 928... Going back to their design philosophies, Porsche and Lotus would create competitors for the Astons, M6's (possibly new 8-series), and SL's that would yield vehivles that are lighter and more oriented to performance driving, then luxing about in a 2-seater that outweights an F-150 but with 500hp on tap.
The crossover though? YIKES! I mean at this point, you have everyone from Mazda all the way to Audi and BMW building these things. Why would you want to enter that market with so many competitors that have production advantages as well as larger financial capability so that they can offset any losses incurred through their other vehicle sales. Plus that concept picture makes the 7-seater look like it only has two doors... that would mean a LONG time to get people in and out ;)
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Hollis 11:10AM (12/08/2006)
Lotus won't build a cross-over. That thing was a design exercise by Lotus Engineering to show what Lotus could do for other companies that would build cross-overs, ala building the Vauxhall\Opel versions of the Elise for GM.
Plus for the other cars, those are just drawings people. We all know that the end shape will come out a bit controversial, but likable and unique.
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Peter 11:27AM (12/08/2006)
#3:
From webster online:
aluminium
One entry found for aluminium.
Main Entry: al·u·min·i·um
Pronunciation: "al-y&-'mi-nE-&m
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from alumina
chiefly British : ALUMINUM
I used to try to correct the yanks about this too, until it dawned on me that that's what they obviously have all agreed to call it over there...
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