Lotus Esprit - Axed (Spy)

[Touareg 2.5]

We haven't heard much about the Lotus Esprit lately but it looks like the company hasn't completely given up on the model.Speaking to Motoring, Lotus' brand manager of Australia and New Zealand said "A lot of people who grew up idolizing that car are now capable of purchasing such vehicles. There's a very strong affiliation in people's minds and because of that I think that would be a very strong case for something like Esprit to come back."

Alastair Manihera went on to say the company hasn't committed to building the car but "DRB-Hicom see a very long-term future approach, otherwise they wouldn’t be making the investment we're looking at. As to what that investment entails, I can't talk about [that] at this stage."

Lotus has remained quiet about the Esprit but previous reports have indicated development work was almost complete before it was halted. The company had even teased the car's V8 engine which was expected to produce at least 470 HP (425 kW).

It remains unclear if the company would finish the development of the engine but Manihera said "It was supposed to be a modular [engine] platform so you could break it down to six or four cylinders theoretically speaking, but again the factory is evaluating various options, on existing and future lines.

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[Touareg 2.5]

Cassata nuovamente la Esprit

[h=2]Company will also eschew in-house engines[/h]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.

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