Filed under: Spy Photos, Sports/GTs, Supercars, Lotus, UK
2011 Lotus Esprit to feature BMW's 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8
When we last saw the Lotus Esprit in 2004, it was equipped with a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V8 rated at about 350 hp. Offering much more motivation than its early turbocharged 4-cylinder powerplant, the Esprit V8 was quick -- pedal to the floor, the two-seat coupe could punch through 60 mph in less than 5 seconds. Impressive as it was just a few years ago, there are more than a handful of cars (at half the price) that can shame the Lotus back across the Pond today.
To keep the upcoming 2011 Lotus Esprit at the front of the pack, it is rumored to be fitted with the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 found under the hood of the recently released BMW X6. The powerplant is rated at 400 horsepower with only light boost under the German's hood. Under the fiberglass cover of the future British Esprit, it will most likely be tuned to deliver nearly 500 horsepower. It will need every bit of power it can get, as the new Lotus will be competing with the Porsche 911 Turbo, Ferrari F430, and the new Nissan GT-R.
[Source: eGMCartech]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Lucas 4:39PM (2/16/2008)
"rumored?" Yeah, duh. Tell me something interesting...
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Richard 5:41PM (2/16/2008)
Too heavy to be a Lotus, old chap!
Ya?
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2004m3driver 5:43PM (2/16/2008)
Too much competition. This thing better be a looker.
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BMWdownshift 6:05PM (2/16/2008)
Now get that stupid Toyota Corolla out of the Lotus Elise and we are in business.
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Nick 9:01PM (2/16/2008)
The 2ZZ is a hell of a little engine, especially in those cars. I would kill for Toyota themselves to put that mill in a RWD car of their own (it's my engine of choice for my imaginary RWD Corolla revival).
ambientFLIER 8:15PM (2/17/2008)
The elise would be much better with the Honda 2.0 or 2.2 with 250hp.
josh 6:14PM (2/16/2008)
it's actually the celica GT-S motor, quite a difference than a corolla....
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ambientFLIER 1:03PM (2/17/2008)
Not really. The corolla had that version too, but with 170hp.
adrian 6:28PM (2/16/2008)
After all these years, Lotus should be developing their own engine.
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DS 6:53PM (2/16/2008)
didnt Autoblog post something before about teh new Espirit using Jaguar's AJ V8?
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Bruxell 7:40PM (2/16/2008)
After all these years? They had their own engine from the early '60s untill 2004! They need to develop another engine though if the Esprit is to distance itself from things like the Nobel/Farbio. It's one thing to use a proprietary motor issomething like an Elise/Exige, but the Esprit deserves better.
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Carlos 7:41PM (2/16/2008)
Why it's cheaper just to buy engines from someone else. You don't have to pay for engineering, don't have to worry about tooling, or manufacturing, and your only worry is that your suppliers quality, which BMW has a pretty good quality when it comes to engines, and if that cause a problem I'm pretty sure Porsche wouldn't mind lending their TTV8.
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Carlos 7:42PM (2/16/2008)
Theres also a huge difference between Noble/Farbio and Lotus. If you look at the quality of engineering of Lotus it's no wonder why a lot of companies go to then for suspension or chassis development.
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Glenn 7:54PM (2/16/2008)
Bruxell, dont be ridiculous. Back when lotus produced its own engine it was speculated that LOTUS was actually an acronym for "Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious". Lotus does suspension and chassis design, not engine manufacturing.
The best selling lotus ever by far, the elise, uses a toyota engine. There is no way lotus can match the quality in engine manufacturing of any large auto maker.
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V.Greene 8:01PM (2/16/2008)
Why should Lotus develop their own engine? They're good at making light, agile sports cars. As a fairly low output company, it's more sensible to buy engines than spend millions to billions on developing their own.
Like it downgrades a car to have a M-spec BMW motor anyway.
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ronnie schreiber 8:55PM (2/16/2008)
The quadcam engine in the previous ZR1 was designed by Lotus, and Lotus does consulting work on engine design as well as chassis (Aston Martin) and suspension design (too many to list). While undoubtedly Lotus has the engineering resources to design a first rate engine, the capital investment required means that buying engines from someone else makes more sense.
What I want to know is why Lotus has never put a V8 in the Elise. I'm told that the engine bay is large enough.
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geo.stewart 10:30AM (2/17/2008)
weight?
the elise and Exige are known more for their handling and precision. the speed gains would be marginal and the handling would tank.
ambientFLIER 1:03PM (2/17/2008)
I'd much rather have the Honda 2.0 or 2.2 in there with 250hp.
paul 10:00PM (2/16/2008)
Actually, for the ZR1, lotus only designed the revised top end. Lotus' "own" engines in the 60-80s were actually Ford/Cosworth or Coventry/Climax engines with revised heads. However, the 3.5 V8TT in the last gen Esprit was all Lotus. I met the man who designed it.
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digitalzombie 10:26PM (2/16/2008)
I thought it was an MR2 Spyder engine?
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