1991 Lotus Esprit Turbo Se Coupe 2-door 2.2l on 2040-cars

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Next Lotus Elise to draw from its roots

Recently-appointed Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales told Autocar that work on the new Lotus Elise, which is coming in 2020, is already underway, and thanks to growing sales, the automaker is set to make a profit for the first time in 20 years. Gales also dropped some details about the new sports cars' design philosophy and underpinnings. According to the report, the new Elise will utilize the same aluminum chassis technology found in the original Elise and won't bear any resemblance to the 2010 Elise concept. Instead, the upcoming vehicle will uphold its roots with a lightweight design that emphasizes driver involvement at an affordable price. The new Elise is rumored to weigh in at roughly 1,984 pounds, almost 384 pounds more than the original Elise. In order to meet US crash ratings, the Elise will most likely be wider, but have the same length as the current model. Power will probably come from a Toyota unit producing between 134 horsepower and 245 horsepower. The Elise is expected to come to the US where it will be offered with a manual and automatic transmission, which will both come from Toyota as well. Gales claims Lotus has more orders now than in any year in the last 10 years, with the US being one of the automaker's most important markets. Related Video:

This Lotus Evora 410 is a custom tribute to the original Esprit

We love the Lotus Evora, whether it's in the current 400 trim or new 410 trim, and now an enthusiast has ordered up perhaps the coolest livery. It's an Evora 410 in an Esprit tribute scheme. And it isn't modeled after just any first-generation Esprit, but rather the car featured in the James Bond flick, The Spy Who Loved Me. The car is a one-off commissioned by a customer through the Lotus Exclusive program, which offers buyers the opportunity to have the car customized with special paint, graphics, body work, and interiors. In the case of this particular Evora 410, the car has a white paint job and features a bumper and blacked-out grille. Extending from the top of the grille is a black stripe that bisects the body. These cues represent the black bumper and stripes of the Esprit. Another nice touch is the Evora name on the panels just aft of the side windows. They've been written in the same font as the classic Esprit. Lotus also points out that the bare carbon-fiber engine cover is meant to look a bit like the glass hatch of the original car. They're all simple, subtle touches, but they come together to create a classy and convincing tribute. Inside, things only get better. The upholstery features Tartan inserts that were popular and common on '70s sports cars. The shift knob is also now made from wood. They're joined by a heaping helping of black Alcantara and red stitching. Mechanically, this Evora 410 is effectively unchanged from the standard model. But as we said, that's fine since the standard model, with its 410-horsepower supercharged V6, is excellent. It should be noted though that, being a standard 410, it does not have the ability to travel underwater. As mentioned at the top, this car is presently a one-off built for a customer using Lotus Exclusive. So don't expect to start seeing these at dealer lots. However, you probably could still order a similar car through Lotus Exclusive. Or you could use the program to customize your Evora 410 some other way, say in black and gold like the John Player Special Lotus F1 cars, or maybe the company's green and yellow racing colors. All we're saying is, as cool as this is, don't let that restrict you from trying something new. Related Video:

Lotus reveals extreme new 3-Eleven at Goodwood

Lotus has taken the occasion of the Goodwood Festival of Speed to reveal the new 3-Eleven. Billed as the quickest, most expensive road-going series production Lotus ever, the new 3-Eleven picks up where the previous 2-Eleven left off. And that gave the British automaker quite a starting point. An extreme evolution of the Elise and Exige, the new 3-Eleven boils things down to the bare essentials and packs a mighty punch. It's built around an aluminum chassis with composite bodywork and a completely open cockpit. That gives it a curb weight of less than 2,000 pounds to embody Colin Chapman's ethos of "adding lightness" like no other modern Lotus we've seen yet. At its heart lies an upgraded version of the company's 3.5-liter supercharged V6, producing 450 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. That makes it even more powerful than the new Evora 400, and channels through a six-speed manual transmission, limited slip differential, and traction control. Other features include double wishbone suspension front and rear, Eibach springs, adjustable Ohlins dampers, AP Racing brakes, a Lotus-tuned Bosch ABS, 18-inch alloys up front, 19 inches the rear, shod with Michelin rubber. All of those goodies translate to a 0-60 time of under 3.0 seconds and a top speed of up to 180 miles per hour. It's even quoted to lap the company's test track at Hethel in 1:22. That makes it an impressive ten seconds seconds faster than the aforementioned Evora 400 – which is already six seconds faster around the circuit than the preceding Evora S. Production will be limited to just 311 examples, and is slated to commence in February 2016, with the first deliveries to begin in April. Any potential for North American availability has yet to be announced, but in the UK pricing will start at GBP82,000 (equivalent to $129k at current exchange rates). A more extreme Race version will be offered alongside the Road model, priced at GBP96,000 ($150k) before taxes or GBP115,000 ($180k) with, upgrading with track-focused features like a more aggressive aero kit, six-point racing harness, and a six-speed sequential gearbox.