1986 Lotus Esprit S3 Coupe 2-door 2.2l on 2040-cars

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Lotus Type 132 gets another teaser in before debut

Lotus has teased the Type 132 for what could be the final time before the battery-electric crossover debuts next Tuesday, March 29. Swinging for the fences with a special guest star that would help forestall the inevitable discord about Lotus making what will be a weighty crossover, Lotus enlisted Clive Chapman, son of company founder and legend Colin. Clive mentions Colin keeping a practical family car in addition to some variety of orthodox Lotus sports car, and says he thinks his father would have loved the chance to design something like the Type 132. Perhaps it's true. Yet, although Clive mentions practicality and towing and farming and a popular explosion of four-wheel-drive vehicles in the 1970s, Colin is never shown with one in the video. The best Colin does for practical is a Lotus Eclat, which everyone, even today, would likely accept as Lotus' version of a family car.  The video does offer one unquestionably honest bit, which is a silhouette of the Type 132. It's going to be sharp and racy, no doubt about that, and we like the look of it. Separate to the video, additional honest views of the Type 132 have been uncovered in another set of patent images. The Australian patent office let slip renderings of the CUV's exterior early this month, Spanish outlet Cochespias landed on images of the interior placed with a different patent office. They show some expected EV features like a flat floor and a two-level center tunnel with a floating console up top. They show us some expected luxury features like shapely and powered front sport seats, powered rear seats, and a full-width climate control vent design in front. They show some unexpected inclusions like a what appears to be a giant glove box door, and rear seat surfaces that could be a toss-up for comfort — but of the shut lines are accurate, those seats fold down in ways to make the most of the load bay. There's a large infotainment screen that allegedly lies flat on the instrument panel when not in use. And note what might be two cupholders on the center console, one of which might be tiny.  The slim extensions on the exterior views from earlier this month weren't just conceptual. The door panel in the interior renderings shows a blank square ahead of a speaker that should be a screen displaying the feed from the side camera. If anything, the only thing the drawings leave out is how long the vehicle appears to be, based on spy shots of the Type 132 testing in China last month.

Radford Type 62-2 John Player Special takes the coach-built sports car even higher

Radford revealed its Type 62-2 a month ago, and today the coach-building company is releasing its first 62-2 variant. It’s simply called the JPS, short for John Player Special. YouÂ’d be able to guess that just by looking at the car, though, as itÂ’s completely done up in the traditional John Player Special black and gold livery. This JPS Type 62-2 isnÂ’t just a livery either. ItÂ’s the most extreme version of the car, even more so than the Gold Leaf version of the standard Radford that improves matters over the “Classic” model. Engine output sees a sharp turn upwards from 500 horsepower to 600 horsepower in the JPS. ItÂ’s still using the 3.5-liter supercharged V6 youÂ’d find in the Lotus Evora (an engine Lotus borrows from Toyota), but this one is heavily modified. Radford says it uses upgraded pistons, new connecting rods, camshafts and an upgraded supercharger. Plus, itÂ’s running a more aggressive engine calibration. Hauling it to a stop are upgraded brakes — Radford uses carbon ceramic rotors and AP calipers. New and larger carbon composite wheels (18-inch front and 19-inch rear) from Dymag are fitted and wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. Plenty of appearance and aero changes are made to separate the JPS from the other Type 62-2s. Radford says itÂ’s either lightly massaged or made big changes to every area of the bodywork. YouÂ’ll notice a giant new splitter up front, larger side air intakes to cool the more powerful engine and a more extreme diffuser in back to produce more downforce. WeÂ’ll also note that the JPS “livery” is not a sticker package; itÂ’s all painted on, requiring hours and hours of work by hand. Pricing for the JPS hasnÂ’t been revealed, but itÂ’s guaranteed to be expensive. This special model will be sliced out of the total production of Type 62-2s. Only 12 of the 62 total cars will be the John Player Special cars, so theyÂ’ll be incredibly rare — Radford says itÂ’s currently taking build slot applications, so you still have a shot at buying one. If you want to see the JPS in person, Radford says it will be on display at this yearÂ’s Goodwood Revival. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Born-again Lotus Esprit will be a hybrid in more ways than one

Volvo parent company Geely is helping Lotus end its drought of new products. The storied British company is allegedly developing a mid-engined hybrid coupe it will position as a spiritual successor to the Esprit. The yet-unnamed model will slot above the existing Evora as a more usable and more refined alternative, according to sources who spoke to Autocar. It will ride on a modified Evora platform, but the two cars won't look anything alike; the upcoming hybrid will liberally borrow styling cues from the electric Evija hypercar.  The planned gasoline-electric powertrain will make the coupe a hybrid in more ways than one. The space directly behind the two-seater cabin will be occupied by a V6 sourced from the Toyota parts bin, and the electrified portion of the system will consist mainly of components provided by Volvo. An output over the 500-horsepower mark is likely, but more specific technical specifications remain guarded. What's nearly certain is that the Lotus engineering team will go to significant lengths to offset the weight added by the lithium-ion battery pack. Insiders described the coupe as a stop-gap between the current-generation Lotus models, including the Elise still sold in many global markets, and an array of upcoming sports cars that will ride on a new platform. Another one of the company's future models is an SUV — its first — built on Volvo bones and aimed at the Porsche Macan.  Lotus will introduce its mid-engined coupe during the first half of 2021, still according to Autocar, and sales will begin shortly after. It's too early to tell whether the model will be sold in the United States, but the company has previously indicated it wants to broaden its foothold in our market in order to grow, so we'd bet on seeing it here. This isn't the first time Lotus has tried to reboot the Esprit. In 2010, under the leadership of Dany Bahar, the company took the Paris auto show by storm when it unveiled five close-to-production concept cars including one that previewed a modern-day Esprit. The project was far too ambitious and none of the models shown in the French capital made it to production. In 2012, Lotus vehemently refuted rumors claiming it had canceled the Esprit, which was penciled-in for a 2013 launch, but hindsight is 20/20. Time will tell if two's the charm.