Latest news from a DRB-Hicom insider claims that the Lotus Espirit project might be back on. At the 2010 Paris Motor Show a concept Espirit was shown and then all went quiet, now this 007 special will be making a comeback.
In its concept form, the Lotus Esprit was powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine that generated 620 hp and 720 Nm of torque. With this engine, Lotus said that the Esprit sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of 205 mph or 330 km/h. The engine was bolted to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, while the power was delivered to the road through the rear wheels.
The high-revving engine (9,000 rpm) was developed by Wolf Zimmerman, Lotus’ chief technical officer (a former Mercedes AMG employee) and according to him, it could be scaled down due to its modular design. As a result, it was planned to be used by the Lotus Elan and Elise in 6 and 4-cylinder versions.
Currently, Lotus uses engines developed by Toyota in the Exige S and Evora (3.5-liter V6) as well as the Elise (four-cylinder engine used also by the Corolla). Due to increased sales in the last couple of years, Lotus’ faith might change as the numbers are prompting Malaysian owner DRB-Hicom to invest more cash and increase the product lineup for the global market.
