2007 Lotus Elise

Lotus Gets Sensible (ish)

When Lotus showed five new cars at the Paris Auto Show last summer, the British Sports Car brand raised a number of eyebrows amongst the motoring press. Not only was Lotus abandoning its lovable but hugely unprofitable enthusiast/trackday niche , but it was also reaching for Ferrari and Porsche-style brand recognition while offering an ambitious but underwhelming (on paper anyway) vision of its future product lineup. Five new vehicles (three mid-engine, two front-engine, four two-door coupes, one four-door sports sedan) is a lot of development work, and initial reports that Lotus would use Toyota power including hybrid drivetrains didn’t create much for enthusiasts to get worked up over. Lotus has since backed away from using Toyota power , but developing engines for five new vehicles creates a whole new set of challenges. And, as it turns out, Lotus has wuietly backed away from the most ambitious elements of its plan, and the firm now plans to launch only two cars at first. Has Lotus turned the corner from hype machine to credible competitor?

In stark contrast to its splashy, celebrity-driven re-launch, Lotus’s recent change of plans has occurred without much fanfare. In fact, the news seems not to have percolated through the internet yet, as word comes to us from the pages of the print edition of evo Magazine. According to evo’s reporting, Lotus’s first all-new car will be the Esprit, a Ferrari 458/McLaren MP4-12C competitor with a Spring 2013 launch date. Lotus wants its mid-engined supercar to hit a weight target of 3,300 lbs, which would make it only slightly heavier than the ultra-light-weight MP4-12C, and more importantly, Lotus wants to sell the Esprit for some 20 percent less than the 458 and MP4-12C’s $250k-ish MSRP.

The Esprit will be powered by a naturally-aspirated V8, which Lotus is developing in-house. Wolf Zimmerman, who formerly oversaw powertrain and then vehicle development at AMG before joining Lotus, will guide development of this all-new V8 that he says will emphasize light weight and high-revs. Zimmerman does not favor dual-clutch transmissions (especially with a weight limit like the Esprit’s), and he’s looking at “several alternatives.” But perhaps the most interesting design feature of Lotus’s next-gen sportscars involves the placement of the (still undefined) gearbox, namely in a transaxle layout. This will allow the engine to bolt directly to the gearbox for the mid-engined Esprit, or to connect to a front-mounted V8 via a torque tube for the front-engine Elite GT car (due later in 2013). In either application, the gearbox will be mounted in the same position, allowing engineers to share key components between the two cars, including suspension, driveshafts and hub assemblies. This is one of the first bits of news from the new Lotus that in any way reeks of pragmatism, and is accompanied by Zimmerman’s pledge that he wants to build Lotus’s brand as much on a reputation for “intelligent engineering solutions” as stripped-out trackday racers.

2007 Elise Supercharged - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community

2007 Elise Supercharged - Factory Supercharger - Done By Lotus, then shipped out to the L.A Autoshow to showcase the new 2008 supercharged model, sent back to Michigan where it was sold at Auto Europe in Birmingham,MI - We purchased it from the original owner - 12,200 miles from new, in amazing condition - does need tires - have owners handbook and dyno printout - Grand Touring Package - soft top - leather seats - great buy...

Lotus Elise, All Models 1995 to 2007

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