New Esprit

[Paula&Marcus]

Hi All,
look this is what the new Esprit maybe looks like:

[karluk29]

yeah its in the other post matey, and it looks
errr SHITE for a esprit, be nice as a elise s3 though

[teigan]

uh oh. i don't think they're crying wolf this time. that is the model i saw many months ago, shown me in the form of blueprints for a lotus engineering collaboration with their commonwealth partner. i recognise the body panels. i was told the parts were for the final approved esprit.

[teigan]

uh oh. i don't think they're crying wolf this time. that is the model i saw many months ago, shown me in the form of blueprints for a lotus engineering collaboration with their commonwealth partner. i recognise the body panels. i was told the parts were for the final approved esprit.

[deecee]

I liked it better when it was called the Mazda Miata...

[pitstopete69]

looks like an update exige to me.

[kylie]

I dont like it, its too much like an Elise, rounded and just looks like every other new shaped car being released out there. Its lost that "supercar" look. The look we all went for when we bought our Esprits of today. What I mean is wide body, low to the ground, slender lines, hard angles around the windows making it a unique timeless shape. Its not what I was hoping for.

[J1mmyD]

Am I the only one thinking that this is far too small to be the actual replacement, or continuation rather, for the Esprit?

This looks barely lareger than an Elise (going on the doors). The Esprit needs to be a wedge with plenty of detailing, a monster of an engine squeezed right in the middle, leather and wood all over the inside rather than the more spartan elises/exiges .... and more than anything, this lotus needs to be reliable.

There's still people who remember Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious.

(And I love Lotus .... I really do .... PLEASE make another good one!)

[anonymous-user]

J1mmyD said:

... leather and wood all over the inside ....

Plenty of that on the Jaguar and Bentley forums. There was no wood trim in my Esprit and there's none in the Corvette, although the Esprit did contain a fair amount of plywood and the Corvette has a balsawood floor.

Ok, so that's a bit unkind but IMO the best Lotuses are all about lightness and balance rather than brute bhp and bling. Elise created a whole new market sector of its own and IMO the next Esprit needs to pull the same trick.

[J1mmyD]

I understand what you're saying - Lotus has always had the most success with light, nible, swift and well balanced cars. It's what they do well and long may they continue to do that.

The thing is, the Esprit is different. The Esprit is the marque's lead product. If Lotus expect a customer to pay £75-90,000 for a car it needs to be something more than the spartan Elise or Exige. They need to be supplying an interior that is at least as good as the TVR. They have to compete with that; with the baby Aston and with the Nobles, Corvettes, Porsches and even the Ferraris of this world. (Admittedly, a lot depends on the end price).

I just hope that they can find a number for TVR's switchgear manufacturer rather than Rover's old one. This is what Lotus had (which was OK in it's day):





But this is what they have to go up against from a car costing less than their projections:

[sumbloke]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO !!!!! THIS IS NOT THE NEW ESPRIT !!!!! Check out the forums on Lotus Esprit World.....it's already been debunked by a very good source.
Just ask any of the lotus staff that have seen the final(or near final) clay model and they'll tell you that that orange over-inflated exige in the photo is nothing like the esprit replacement. Admittedly, it would make a nice Exige III but it will NEVER be an Esprit replacement.
Ahhh, the joys of Photoshop and a furtive imagination........