More images of the the Lotus 'Eagle' released
Click above for more shots of the Lotus Eagle.
Lotus gave up some initial details about the 2+2(ish) tentatively known as the "Eagle" yesterday, and now Autocar has procured a few more shots of the coupe ahead of its unveiling at the London Motor Show next week.
Just to put the Eagle's dimensions into perspective, its wheelbase is approximately 275mm (about 13 inches) longer than the Elise/Exige, or slightly shorter (80mm) than the Porsche 911. The extra space makes for a more livable cabin for at least two of its occupants and allows Lotus to use the international automotive metric for measuring capacity – it can fit one golf bag in the boot.
As previously reported, a 3.5-liter Toyota-sourced V6 will send 276 hp and 250 lb.-ft. of torque through a Toyota-derived six-speed transmission that's been re-engineered by Lotus with a new clutch and a revised gear set. The Eagle's weight is estimated at just over 3,000 pounds.
According to Autocar, Lotus plans an eight-year life cycle for the Eagle, and a convertible version will be released two to three years after sales begin in May of next year.
Gallery: Lotus "Eagle"
[Source: Autocar]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
ML 12:09PM (7/16/2008)
I like it. It looks like Lotus has been eyeing the Tesla (and decided that it looked better than their own car) because this new Lotus looks like a Tesla cousin. Nice job Lotus!
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Temple 2:17PM (7/16/2008)
Being that Lotus has a hand in Tesla, its likely sharing parts and panels between the two cars to reduce costs.
TJ 12:13PM (7/16/2008)
Definitely a cross between an Elise and an Artega GT....
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Torrent 12:29PM (7/16/2008)
I see that, too.
Kumail 1:54PM (7/16/2008)
and a little bit of tesla
styleguy 2:00PM (7/16/2008)
@Kumail
The Tesla is a Lotus with a battery pack
DavidT 5:09AM (7/17/2008)
Agreed TJ does look alot like the Artega. If only the had made the M250. It looks far better than this does. I'm just down the road from the Lotus factory and have been a fan since I was a boy but this is the first truly disapointing Lotus, even the Europa looks better than this.
The M250 looks so much nicer, check it out if you don't remember: http://www.exoticcarsite.com/pictures/Cars/lotus/m250/lotus_m250-1.jpg
carsteve 12:16PM (7/16/2008)
Give it more power.
Not Camry V6 power.
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why not the LS2LS7? 12:16PM (7/16/2008)
3,000lbs.
An Acura TSX weighs about 3150 and it is not only an actual 4 seater, but a 4-door.
This doesn't really feel like a proper Lotus to me.
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1337 12:23PM (7/16/2008)
agreed.
zamafir 12:28PM (7/16/2008)
x2. Audi, GM, lots of people dont' have issue extracting around 270hp and 250 lb ft of torque from a 2.0L turbo, what the hell's going on here. Looks like lotus want's to continue the flop streak started by the europa.
georgiablue 12:17PM (7/16/2008)
First of all, those pictures are terrible. The resizing makes them all blurry.
Second, a little bit of a disappointment that they couldn't crack the 3,000lb mark. I guess it's still relatively light compared to many other cars in its range, but not exactly "lightweight," imo.
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ckm 1:32PM (7/16/2008)
re: pictures are terrible
That's true of ALL Autoblog re-sized pictures. It's because their webmaster or whoever uploads the pictures apparently doesn't know how to resize pictures in an image editor.
Instead, they just set high and width tags so your browser resizes. Which results in a double bad, as you get a crappy smaller picture but you are still downloading a huge ass large image....
snM3 12:18PM (7/16/2008)
Sounds like a good Cayman S fighter to me. A little less power and around the same weight, but I'm assuming it'll be around the same price. I'd rather go with the Porker, but that's just me.
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1337 12:17PM (7/16/2008)
Why does the Lotus's Toyota 3.5L V6 have one less horsepower than the Camry's (267 vs 268 hp)? Also, the Lotus weighs barely 500 pounds less than the Camry ("just over 3000" vs 3483, according to Toyota website specs on Camry SE V6).
Given that Lotus usually achieves stellar handling by building 2000 lb road-legal go-carts, I fear for the handling of this 3000 lb car. The Lotus Eagle should be a Toyota Camry Solara, not a Lotus.
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emery 3:36PM (7/16/2008)
Not the Lotus of past history. The term "light weight" has always been synonumous with Lotus. This is not light weight at all albeit a very nice car. Just give it more power!
Michael D. 12:19PM (7/16/2008)
Elegantly aggressive, Toyota reliability with nice power-to-weight, great features and content - what's not to like!
This will nicely bridge the gap between the popular Elise line and the upcoming new-generation Esprit!
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TJ 12:27PM (7/16/2008)
"Toyota reliability"
that's not saying much anymore....
carsteve 12:22PM (7/16/2008)
Lotus,
I like you. You are one of my favorite car companies.
I'm disappointed.
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Paul C. 12:26PM (7/16/2008)
Is it just me, or does it look very similar to the Tesla?
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