Confirmation as to the birth of these two new proposals, which will emerge more or less at the same time as the controversial crossover, was given by Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales. Which, in statements to the British Autocar, revealed some more information about what is to come.
According to the Luxembourg manager, the first of these sports will be a flagship proposal, a kind of Lotus Esprit for modern times, with a placement above the current Evora — a supercar perhaps? All pointing to it being available from 2020 onwards, “lighter, faster and better in every way”, than the latter.
The Esprit name may not be the one chosen, but what we know is that it will have an evolution of the current base of the brand, which uses an aluminum chassis — screwed and glued extrusions — with a front sub-frame that can be made of aluminum or materials composites and steel rear sub-frame.
According to Jean-Marc Gales, the new Lotus Esprit should present top characteristics in terms of “efficiency, aerodynamics, agility and braking capacity, aiming at a balanced product”.
It is not yet known which engine it will have, but Wales said that, at least in the immediate future, it will maintain its bet on Toyota engines, which will continue to be part of the British brand's products.
Remember that the manufacturer uses 1.8 l four-cylinder Toyota engines in the Elise, and a 3.5 V6 in the other models. All of them use a compressor (supercharger), with powers ranging from 220 hp in the Elise, up to 436 hp in the 3.5 V6 in the 430 versions of the Exige and Evora.
Second sport, successor to Elise?
As for the second sports car, for now with less known details, Wales only reveals that it will, in principle, be a two-seater, positioned a little higher than the Elise, “not least because the market is currently moving towards more segments. high”. Allowing you to fill the gap between the most powerful Elise (260 hp) and the base version of Exige (350 hp).In other words, it may not be a direct successor to Elise, allowing Lotus to charge higher prices, offsetting the high development costs of a new model.
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The crossover will really happen
Alongside these two models, Lotus has also planned the launch of what will be the first crossover in its history, designed based on technology developed by Volvo and with financial support from Geely. It is estimated to have only hybrid and electric powertrains, with Lotus having previously promised it would be the lightest crossover/SUV in its segment — the Porsche Macan is mentioned as the benchmark to shoot down.
And that, with an admittedly premium positioning, will allow the Norfolk brand to attack the main market for this model, China, which is “a huge market for the most luxurious and expensive cars”.