With the introduction of the new Owners of Lotus, DRB - Hicom, the development of the new Lotus Esprit has been dramatically reduced. DRB have not made any offical comment on the developement of the Esprit.
The Dany Bahar Esprit was revealed (by Brian May and Naomi Campbell) at the Paris Motorshow on 30th Septmeber 2010. The car featured a mid-mounted 611bhp 5.0-litre V8. The top speed was to be 330 km/h and acceleration of 0-100 km/h 3.4 seconds, The Esprit was due in the spring of 2013.
New Lotus Esprit Technical Specification
Layout
2 seater, mid-engined, rear wheel drive
Engine Petrol, hybrid optional
Hybrid technology Optional KERS
Cylinder V8
Capacity 5.0 litre
Power/Torque 620 PS / 720 Nm
Rev limit 8,500 rpm
0-100 km/h 3.4 seconds
Top speed 330 km/h
CO2 approx (CO2/km) 250 g/km**
Weight 1,450 kg
Seats 2
Transmission 7 Speed
On sale Spring 2013
Price approx £110,000
Under Dany Bahar's Leadership of Lotus
Dany Bahar, Chief Executive of Group Lotus said "The Esprit is the ultimate supercar. In the past when people thought of the Esprit, they thought of the movies, Bond, Pretty Woman, Basic Instinct but this time around, the car is the star of the show." “One has to be very careful when taking on the challenge of reinventing such an iconic classic as the Esprit – everyone has an opinion. There’s a fine balance between acknowledging the greatness of the past whilst at the same time rapidly leaping forward to the future and ensuring that this car not only does the name Esprit justice but also the Lotus brand. I think we’ve managed to find the balance and in doing so created a new icon, a car people will find hard to resist.”
Dany Bahar continued in his speech “Not only does the Esprit look incredible but it has the performance to match. We’ve stuck to the Lotus core values of performance through lightweight and teamed them with future technology and exceptional engineering to ensure that the Esprit will be the leader of the pack. The design is aggressive, you have to see it to appreciate how low and wide the proportions are but it still retains a level of dignity, of class and most of all exclusivity. I’m very proud of this car.”
Click to enlarge
The Clay of the new Lotus Esprit
One of the final renderings of the new Lotus Esprit
