Lotus Esprit Successor Spied

[Matra et Alpine]

Are pedestrians in the EU really stupid or something? Or do EU drivers not get the whole stopping at pedestrian crossings idea?

oh yeah that's the reason

Seriously our city roads and town streets are crowded.
On top of that ... yes, some dont' know the safe way to cross the road.
But see, it's illegal as well as immoral to kill people with cars even if they DO step out in front of you

What are the pedestrian accident rates in your locale ?
If you can convert 10% of the deaths to injury would it be worth it ??
Yeah, thought so ... same here

[aNOBLEman]

Can't tell too much with all the camoflage on it, but from what I can see the rear looks great and the front doesn't look too bad either. The BMW V-8 should do well but I wonder, if Proton gets bought by VAG, what a RS4 V-8 could do (Audi V-8s seem to be working very well for Spyker).

[Ferrer]

Can't tell too much with all the camoflage on it, but from what I can see the rear looks great and the front doesn't look too bad either. The BMW V-8 should do well but I wonder, if Proton gets bought by VAG, what a RS4 V-8 could do (Audi V-8s seem to be working very well for Spyker).

With the 420bhp V8 engine it would render the R8 pointless...

I bet it would have the 350bhp V8 if it had a VAG engine.

[aNOBLEman]

With the 420bhp V8 engine it would render the R8 pointless...

I bet it would have the 350bhp V8 if it had a VAG engine.

I would say that the R8 is more of a GT while this would be more of a hardcore drivers car. And besides, VAG has a good amount of brand overlap anyway.

[Ferrer]

I would say that the R8 is more of a GT while this would be more of a hardcore drivers car. And besides, VAG has a good amount of brand overlap anyway.

And that's why they have problems. They should try to reduce overlap instead of expanding it.

[aNOBLEman]

And that's why they have problems. They should try to reduce overlap instead of expanding it.

True, but in this low volume area I don't think that it will have as much of an effect as the overlap in their high volume cars. If they get rid of their overlap of high volume cars then the slight overlap presented here will be negligable. Also I still think that the Lotus will be more hardcore drivers car instead of more of a GT like the R8.

[Ferrer]

True, but in this low volume area I don't think that it will have as much of an effect as the overlap in their high volume cars. If they get rid of their overlap of high volume cars then the slight overlap presented here will be negligable. Also I still think that the Lotus will be more hardcore drivers car instead of more of a GT like the R8.

While I agree, remeber that Porsche has an incresing stake in VAG, so the mid prized driver focused cars will be covered by them. If VAG eventually acquires Lotus they should focus on doing what they do best, light no-compromise 4 cylinder sportscars.

[LotusLocost]

Ah...
It's good news that a new Esprit successor is on it's way..
It is missed by me at least.

I read all about the V8 talk, and which is better than the other..

And this gets my dreams rolling

Just a crazy dream and silly dream.
It would be this new chassis.. Stripped down for the track with all the good chassis experience of Lotus..

And then I would have a fuel injected Double Four Valve in the back...

I think I'll dream a bit about this one tonight

And yeah.. I'm wearing my Ronnie P t-shirt today

[aNOBLEman]

While I agree, remeber that Porsche has an incresing stake in VAG, so the mid prized driver focused cars will be covered by them. If VAG eventually acquires Lotus they should focus on doing what they do best, light no-compromise 4 cylinder sportscars.

You got me there, but the question then becomes: Will Lotus sell enough Esprits to effect Porsche's agenda?

[Ferrer]

You got me there, but the question then becomes: Will Lotus sell enough Esprits to effect Porsche's agenda?

I say probably not. But look at it this way, all the money spent to develop the Esprit could have been used to evolve the Elise/Exige into a better car. Then again the Esprit project is pre-VAG (it's not even sure VAG will buy Lotus yet) so the overlap doesn't apply here, at least just yet, and it certainly didn't apply when they started developping it.

However, while it might not affect Porsche's sales, a money losing Esprit, which could result in a money losing Lotus, could only deepen VAG's problems.

[aNOBLEman]

I say probably not. But look at it this way, all the money spent to develop the Esprit could have been used to evolve the Elise/Exige into a better car. Then again the Esprit project is pre-VAG (it's not even sure VAG will buy Lotus yet) so the overlap doesn't apply here, at least just yet, and it certainly didn't apply when they started developping it.

However, while it might not affect Porsche's sales, a money losing Esprit, which could result in a money losing Lotus, could only deepen VAG's problems.

That's true. A better Elise/Exige would be very nice (reducing the weight anyone?).

Also if VAG does buy Lotus does anyone think that they will use Lotus to tune engines/chassis for high performance models?

[lightweight]

That's true. A better Elise/Exige would be very nice (reducing the weight anyone?).

Reducing the weight is a good thought, but it's hard to think how this will be done, since the Elise started as a 525 kg concept, evolved into a 750kg S1 and ended up being a 950kg Exige S2.

I really like the car, but the best thing that could happen would be to stabilise the weight of the 111R, so as not to increase its weight in the coming years.

Realistically I don't expect weight to be reduced (makes disappointed face expression)

But to be fair with Lotus, in the last years they had lots of projects running (Elise, Esprit design, 111r launch, Americal spec Elise), so it is harder for them to focus on weight saving.

They traded a bit of their core values of light weight in order to gain market share and economic benefits. For me they did it in the best possible way, since their products are still top notch.

BTW whatever happened to the Lotus Track Day Car???

[Jack_Bauer]

Yeah I agree that the weight gains of the Elise from its inception have been a necessary evil. I believe the S2 chassis tub itself only gained about 4kg over the S1, the extra 100kg+ came from the heavier Toyota drivetrains compared to the K-series, extra sound deadening/cabin refinement etc, and of course the front and rear crash protection so vital for launching in the US market. The choice seems to be either having a heavier but more refined car, a lighter but more hardcore car, or a light AND refined car using fancy materials (which will drive the cost up significantly). I'd take the first option everytime as a longterm ownership prospect.

Everything seems to have gone quiet on the Circuit Car concept. It's still on the official Lotus website, but doesn't look like it's been updated since the early press releases. The hardcore, trackday market seems to be pretty saturated at the moment anyway, with the likes of the Atom, Brooke, Radical et al battling out with the ubiquitous Caterfields etc. I don't really see much point in Lotus focussing too much attention on it really. Once things are cleaned up with regards the (possible?) takeover they ought to focus on the next-gen Elise and the new Esprit before fannying around with niche 'halo' models IMO. They are the meat and drink of Lotus' business and they really need to hit the spot in an ever more competitive market place.

[McReis]

Just a crazy dream and silly dream.
It would be this new chassis.. Stripped down for the track with all the good chassis experience of Lotus..

And then I would have a fuel injected Double Four Valve in the back...

I think I'll dream a bit about this one tonight

And yeah.. I'm wearing my Ronnie P t-shirt today

Stop drinking, you fool!

[lightweight]

Once things are cleaned up with regards the (possible?) takeover they ought to focus on the next-gen Elise and the new Esprit before fannying around with niche 'halo' models IMO. They are the meat and drink of Lotus' business and they really need to hit the spot in an ever more competitive market place.

You are right saying that the Elise/Exige & Esprit are the meat of the brand, but I have to disagree on the niche models.

Producing a limited number of Circuit Cars will be hold only benefits:

- No cost, since the Circuit Car study has already been made
- Making the most of their investment on the supercharged engine.
- Brand improvement from the product
- Easy production since all it takes is th rollcage and body panels
- High profit per vehicle sold
- All limited edition cars will be sold undoubtedly

The only disadvantage I can think of is fear of lesser performance compared to Atoms and other cars, but they are track day specials, whereas the Circuit Car will be based on the Elise.

IIRC the 340R was introduced about a year before the launch of the S2 Elise. Its design was like a preview of the S2. Maybe the Circuit Car is a similar strategy concerning the S3 Elise. Creating a press fuss with its introduction sometime in the future and then after a while releasing the S3 Elise. This way the brand will get increased amount of coverage for an extended amount of time. And then After a year or so they release the Esprit

Am I dreaming too much?