Lotus presents five new models for the next five years

Lotus has launched today at the Paris Motor Show a new era of the brand and with it has unveiled five new models that will reach the market over the next five years: the Esprit (2013), the Elan (2013), the Elite (2014), the Elise (2015) and the Eterne (2015)

Lotus had recently presented the Elite, but is now adding four other for models to its production schedule.

The British brand is showing the direction it will be taking over the next years, with the Elan being the first in the line. According to Lotus it has a muscular physique and keeps faithful to Lotus ethos “add speed, add lightness”.

Lotus Esprit: icon making comeback

For 2013 Lotus has predicted the return of one of the models that true Lotus fans have been waiting for quite some time: the Esprit.

According to Dany Bahar, Lotus’ CEO people should see the new Esprit as “a statement of superiority”. It continues the legacy from it’s ancestors and exceeds them. The new Esprit is expected to represent the “very essence of exclusive supercar driving.”

Lotus want to do justice to the name Esprit as they know that reinventing an iconic model such as this is a tough challenge. Bahar thinks that the brand has managed to balance the past and the future of the model and created a new icon that car fans won’t be able to resist.

“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.,” explains Dany Bahar.

The concept car showing in Paris is powered by a 5.0 litre V8 pressure charged engine with a power output of 620 PS. Thanks its lightweight design and performance, the new Esprit expresses the sensation of what it is like to own a Lotus supercar. With the Esprit, Lotus wants to redefine “ride and handling, performance, comfort and exclusivity.”

The performance look of the Esprit is expressed by the strong lines that form the vehicle’s sleek low body and is a good example of Lotus’ new design approach.

Elan giving everyday usability to Lotus

With the Elan continues to bet on the performance and the design that define the Lotus cars, but adds to it the everyday usability, thanks to technological innovations. The Elan will pay a very important role in the new Lotus lineup as it will have the task to bring new drivers to brand’s world.

The Elan is set to be released during the second half of 2013. The concept car presented in Paris is equipped with a 4.0 litre V6 pressure charged engine, which boosts 450 PS. Thanks to its low weight (1,295 kg) the Elan has a performance close to a supercar.

Innovation will also be part of the new Elan, as it will be featuring an optional hybrid technology with KERS.

According to Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, “If there was ever a car to make you drive the long way home, it’s the Elan. Perfect for both road and track, the Elan not only ticks all the boxes, it creates new ones too.”

“The Elan will convert people to Lotus, I would challenge people not to become addicted to driving it. It will also go a long way towards dispelling the old misconceptions about this class, that in order to have high performance you must sacrifice usability – those days are gone,” explains Bahar.

Elite: redefining “modern classic”

The Elite is predicted for launch in spring 2014. Lotus uses the dictionary definition for elegance to describe it. For this GT the brand is combining elegance, with Lotus’ core values and also some of the latest technological innovations it has to offer. The Elite features a slick retractable hard top and the optional use of hybrid technology with KERS.

Under the sleek lines of the Elite hides a front-mid positioned 5.0 litre V8 engine that delivers 620 PS. Drivers can expect the new Lotus to accelerate from o0 to 100 km/h in approximately 3.7 seconds.

Dany Bahar, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus, said: “There’s no denying that the Elite is breathtakingly beautiful to look at but it’s so much more than that, it’s a car that over delivers in all other aspects as well. One could say it’s a car of perfect contradictions, it’s compact yet spacious, high performing yet low emitting, lightweight yet still reassuringly solid.”

With the Elite many might say that Lotus should stick to small sports cars, but Bahar is confident and explains that “the decision to design something like the Elite lightly, it’s based on months of careful research and planning. It’s worth noting that total 2+2 production represented over 20 per cent of Lotus build between 1948 and 1996 (pre small car platform) and 11 per cent over all, this sector has been very successful for us in the past and now the Elite raises the benchmark higher still.”

The Elise

While referring to the model's historic place in the brand’s line-up, Lotus is keen to emphasise the novelty of the new Elise 2015. While its design aesthetics still resemble the lines of older versions, the styling and practicality have been revised.

The Elise is regarded as the brands entry-level car. Therefore, it is made to embody the characteristic Lotus driving experience and inherits the cheeky charm of its predecessors, its performance at lightweight and easy handling.

However, this heritage has seen quite an upgrade in power. With a 2.0 litre inline 4 pressure charged engine delivering up to 320 PS, the Elise 2015 should reach 0-100kph in under 4.5 seconds.

Dany Bahar, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus, states the intention behind the new Elise: “The design of the Elise 2015 is perfect for the target market, it’s young, strong, confident, verging on ruthless, it mirrors the engineering and technology. It’s the next generation Elise for a new generation of Lotus drivers.

The Eterne

According to the brand’s press statement, the new Lotus Eterne is redefining the concept of a sports car. It embodies elegance, style, sophistication and grace while at the same time being a display of pure power and performance.

The Eterne comes as a four door, four seater saloon sports GT, powered by a 5.0 litre pressure charged V8 engine delivering up to 620 PS. Lotus claims it tops the class in terms of  performance and efficiency as it features hybrid technology.

In the words of Dany Bahar, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus: “Similar to the Elite, it’s a car of perfect contradictions, it’s compact yet spacious, high performing yet low emitting, relative lightweight yet still reassuringly solid.”

Referring to the customer appeal of the Eterne, Dany Bahar pointed to its unique status as a deliberately developed four door sports car which stands alone, without a two-door predecessor.