Lotus Esprit all but ready to go, but held back by management issues
11-26-12, 10:21 PM
#1
Lotus Esprit all but ready to go, but held back by management issues
Lotus Esprit all but ready to go, but held back by management issues
Brief and disappointing is this report from Autocar on the status of the Lotus Esprit: it is finally ready and sitting at the light, but the light might not go green for a long time. The good news is that from being a concept two years ago at the Paris Motor Show, the aluminum and carbon fiber revival coupe is "purportedly almost finished." It is powered by a twin-turbo, 5.0-liter V8 with something like 650 horsepower, boosted by a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) and shifting through a seven-speed paddleshift transmission. Even with all that, the UK price is said to be around that of a Porsche 911 4S Cabriolet, and the car only needs "signing off and minor tweaking."
The bad news is that former company owner Proton couldn't stay independent long enough to see through the company's ambitious five-concept-car assault – led by then-CEO Dany Bahar who was hired explicitly to lead such a campaign – and was swallowed up by Malaysian auto supplier DRB-Hicom. For a brief spell Lotus had to shut down production for lack of funds. Then the new owner cleaned house, sweeping out Bahar and, according to the Financial Times just one month ago, the Esprit and every other concept with it. Just after the FT piece came out, Lotus denied the Esprit had been canceled. Still, according to Autocar, the management whirlpool is keeping the Esprit "far from becoming a production reality."
If we're honest with ourselves, we'll keep in mind that the Esprit has been slipping into and out of a terminal ether for what seems like decades. None of us knows what is going on inside Hethel HQ, but the fact that there really is a lightweight, twin-turbo, 650-hp Lotus Esprit finally ready to be produced has to be, in spite of all else, very good news.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/26/l...management-is/
11-27-12, 12:06 AM
#2
Lexus Champion
I remember awhile back Lotus was like, We're gona make 11 new cars!", or something like that...lol! I'm really looking forward to ANY new lotus, and especially the Esprit!!
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09-26-14, 02:35 PM
#8
Lotus CEO confirms the Esprit is dead
It ain't happening 
http://www.worldcarfans.com/11409268...esprit-is-dead
Company will also eschew in-house engines
Lotus announced plans to offer a new Esprit nearly four years ago but the model has been in limbo ever since the company abandoned their aggressive product strategy spearheaded by Dany Bahar.
While the model was almost complete, Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales dismissed the possibility of seeing a production version. As he explained to Auto Express, "... the answer is no. I don’t want to focus on the past, but there are some technologies and supplier relationships that we can take forward from the [Bahar] projects."
Gales also downplayed the possibility of Lotus-built engines - such as the V8 featured in Esprit - by saying "We cannot and should not develop our own engine – most small car makes that have gone that route have disappeared." Instead, the company will continue buying engines from Toyota because they are "reliable, good and we can trust them."
The executive also said their short-term lineup will be based on the Elise, Exige and Evora. He declined to go into specifics but said we can expect a number of improvements including better performance and improved ride and handling characteristics. Gales went on to say a crossover could be introduced in three to four years and could eventually be followed by a sedan.
Lotus announced plans to offer a new Esprit nearly four years ago but the model has been in limbo ever since the company abandoned their aggressive product strategy spearheaded by Dany Bahar.
While the model was almost complete, Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales dismissed the possibility of seeing a production version. As he explained to Auto Express, "... the answer is no. I don’t want to focus on the past, but there are some technologies and supplier relationships that we can take forward from the [Bahar] projects."
Gales also downplayed the possibility of Lotus-built engines - such as the V8 featured in Esprit - by saying "We cannot and should not develop our own engine – most small car makes that have gone that route have disappeared." Instead, the company will continue buying engines from Toyota because they are "reliable, good and we can trust them."
The executive also said their short-term lineup will be based on the Elise, Exige and Evora. He declined to go into specifics but said we can expect a number of improvements including better performance and improved ride and handling characteristics. Gales went on to say a crossover could be introduced in three to four years and could eventually be followed by a sedan.
09-26-14, 03:29 PM
#9
Pole Position
Bahar's plan was really about luring in investors than actually engineering all those cars for production. It was more of a shout like hey we can be a premium brand and this is what we can offer if stars align. But then someone got cocky and dismissed Toyota as engine supplier because "potential customers" gave them feedback. It was such a short sighted decision and most likely the reason why Elise was canceled, they knew the powerplant was junk that would only get them into more problems instead of helping them to get out of them.
09-27-14, 10:57 AM
#13
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Lotus is even more dead than Alfa Romeo. They can't even bring up a new Elise/Exige to compete against the new 4C. The Elise/Exige is not bad, but really outdated, technically and stylistically.
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Hoovey689
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