Autoblog

Fresh spy shots have surfaced of the upcoming Lotus project Eagle coupe. Lotus released some teaser shots of the front suspension a couple of months ago and we've seen the prototype wearing the over-sized fender camo before. These new shots, however, give us the clearest view yet of the new 2+2 sports car. The Eagle is expected to be derived from the architecture of the Elise/Exige, although it will be longer accommodate a pair of 911-style pseudo-seats between the front seats and rear firewall. The four-pot engines used in the current models are expected to give way to a more highly tuned variant of Toyota's 3.5L V6 as used in the Camry and assorted other vehicles from the Japanese maker. The Eagle should get a proper name and shed the extra bulk at the corners in time for this summer's London Motor Show. Fans of Hethel products should be able to to get one around the end of the year.

[Source: Auto Express]

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Just days after we got our first spy shots of the upcoming Lotus Eagle 2+2 sports car, Lotus has now released an official image. Unfortunately it doesn't give us much of a clue as to what the car will look like, but we'll take what we can get.

This first shot shows the front module of the aluminum chassis of the Eagle. Like Lotus' recent designs, Eagle uses the Versatile Vehicle Architecture that consists largely of bonded aluminum extrusions. This approach lets the manufacturer utilize much of the same tooling to produce a variety of different vehicles by swapping out components of different lengths. The system also allows easy development of vehicles up to about 4,200 lbs. in weight and the same architecture will be used to produce other Lotus models over the next few years, including the new Esprit.

Typical of Lotus designs, the Eagle's front chassis module follows Colin Chapman's maxim of "Add Lightness" with a weight of just 55lbs. The front suspension consists of high strength forged aluminum control arms carrying 13.8-inch vented and cross-drilled rotors with special Lotus AP Racing four-pot brake calipers. Unlike the current Elise/Exige family, the larger Eagle will have a hydraulic assist system for the steering rack. Lotus is planning to give the world a first look at the complete car in July at the British Motor Show.


[Source: Lotus]