Lotus’s Dany Bahar is confident that the driving experience on the new Esprit will be more involving than that of the Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP4-12C. These are just some of the supercars that Lotus aims to compete directly with their new V8 supercar which is slated to be launched in 2013, Dany Bahar asserts that the Esprit will “have the character and emotion” that he says is lacking in the McLaren.
The car will be developed at the Nürburging and Idiada circuits. It will also have a portion of its development at Lotus’s Hethel headquarters, where a project for a new test track is nearly complete. The Esprit is the first Lotus to be powered by the company’s new V8 engine, which has an output of 570bhp. The Lotus V8 weighs 80kg lighter and is smaller by 40% than the Toyota-sourced V8 initially meant for the Esprit.
This model is also expected to be using Formula 1 KERS-style technology; however, Bahar said that these electronic systems would not be used to aid the driver but only for boosting the driving experience.
