The Lotus Evora has been revealed in all its glory, but a replacement for the iconic Esprit won’t appear until 2011, according to respected UK mag Autocar.
A report by the magazine quoted Lotus boss Mike Kimberley as saying the next-gen supercar “could be offered as a hybrid, possibly using a mix of Lotus and Toyota technology”.
The Esprit is one of the longest-running nameplates in the British marque’s history, with production spanning from 1976 to 2004 -- and over 10,000 examples were built during this period.
The wedge-shaped Series 1 Esprit (pictured) took its bows at the 1975 Paris motor show, where it wowed show-goers with its bold Giugiaro-penned lines.
It achieved added fame via the 1977 James Bond blockbuster The Spy Who Loved Me, in which 007 (played by Roger Moore) thwarted the baddies with the help of a gadget-laden amphibious Esprit.
Returning to the next-gen Esprit (it may wear a different nameplate), Kimberley told Autocar the proposed flagship is going back to the drawing board as Lotus put it on the backburner to concentrate its efforts on getting the new Evora (also pictured) to showroom-ready form.
According to the report, the new supercar will use the same chassis platform as the 206kW 2+2 Evora, albeit stretched in length and width and equipped with a new rear structure to house a longitudinally mounted engine.
The hybrid powertrain approach is in keeping with Kimberley’s stated goal of “guilt-free, high performance motoring” and comes at a time when carmakers are under the pump to reduce their average carbon emissions.
Even formerly uncompromising marques such as Ferrari have been forced to rethink their engine strategy in view of ever more stringent emission regulations, and the prancing horse, along with Mercedes and BMW, are increasingly looking into turbocharging as a means of extracting ample power without exceeding emission targets.
Meanwhile, Lotus is also reported to be developing additional versions of the Evora -- including a two-seater, a convertible and an automatic. And work is also advancing on S3 versions of the Elise and Exige, according to Autocar.
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