PARIS SHOW: Shock! Five new Lotus sportscars unveiled
New model roll out from 2012 with five new models to be offered along the way, and a new distributor possible for Australia2010 Paris Motor Show News Special
Lotus caught the Paris motor show by surprise by unveiling five new concept cars in a star-studded launch in the closing minutes of the first day.
The British sportscar maker, owned by Malaysian car maker Proton since 1994, enlisted the services of models, rock stars and car industry czars to unveil what it called its "vision of the future".
Model Naomi Campbell, Queen guitarist Brian May, actor Mickey Rourke and others were on centre stage while former General Motors executive Bob Lutz, now apparently a Lotus consultant, was beamed in to the press conference via satellite.
It is a welcome return to form for the struggling sportscar maker whose recently introduced Evora sports car, a rival to the Porsche 911, has failed to ignite sales.
Just six Evoras have been sold in Australia since the model went on sale at the start of the year. Lotus has sold four times as many Elise sports cars in the same period.
New Lotus CEO, former Ferrari executive Dany Bahar, said that 20 to 30 years ago, Lotus was "spoken in the same breath as Ferrari" but the company had lost its way in recent times.
He also said that Lotus' motorsports heritage "is second to none except maybe Ferrari".
But, he insists "all that is about to change".
In what seems to be the most concerted revival effort to date, Lotus whipped the covers off five all new concept cars that will start to appear in showrooms from 2012 – with a new model every 8 months or so after that.
The Lotus Esprit name returns and it is the car expected to head the new model onslaught. Powered by a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 borrowed from Lexus, it is equipped with an F1-style kinetic energy recovery system that saves fuel and boosts power. With a performance time of about 3.2 seconds for the dash to 100km/h it is expected to be the fastest-road going Lotus of all time.
It is expected to be followed by the Lotus Elan, which is loosely based on the Esprit but is powered by a supercharged 4.0-litre V6, also borrowed from Toyota.
The Elite, meanwhile, is a more upmarket, convertible version of the Esprit and Elan. Although it appears to share the same underpinnings, it is aimed at being more of a grand tourer, complete with folding metal roof. But it also gets the supercharged 5.0-litre from the Esprit.
Meanwhile, in 2014 the long awaited replacement for the classic lightweight Elise is due to be released. Powered by a turbocharged or supercharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine (the type of forced induction is yet to be finalised), it is inkeeping with the Elise's approach to do more with less.
Given the Elise has been around since 1996, it is well overdue for replacement. Indeed, it will have almost clocked up its 20th birthday before being superseded.
Finally, Lotus seems not to be able to resist the urge to build a four-door sports car of its own. If it's good enough for Porsche, Maserati and Aston Martin, then it's good enough for Lotus, said one company insider.
The Lotus sedan, to be called the Eterne, is also expected to be powered by supercharged 5.0-litre V8 matched to a seven speed dual clutch automated transmission. The extra weight (1850kg) means the 0 to 100km/h time has been blunted slightly compared to the Esprit – but at 4 seconds it is still extremely rapid.
A group of Australian dealers was in Paris to witness the unveiling and meet with senior Lotus management who had travelled from Malaysia to attend the show.
Former boss of Lotus Australia, John Stretton, who is now back at Lotus head office, told reporters at the show it was unlikely there would be any changes to the Lotus dealer line-up in Australia.
"However, there may be a change to the distribution, although nothing is yet confirmed," he said.
Lotus has been distributed by Proton Cars Australia, an emerging budget brand.
There are three main independent car distributors in Australia: Syme Darby (Peugeot), Inchcape (Subaru) and Ateco (Fiat, Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and Great Wall Motors).
The boss of Ateco Neville Crichton was spotted near the Lotus stand. When asked if he was about to take over the Australian distribution of Lotus cars he said: "We look at a lot of things but nothing is locked in at all".
Lotus Esprit
On sale: 2012
Engine: 5.0 supercharged V8, 550bhp (620bhp R) plus optional KERS system
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, rear-wheel drive
Length/width/height in mm: 4550/1950/1250
Performance: 3.2sec
Weight: 1495kg
Lotus Elan
On sale: 2013
Engine: 4.0 supercharged V6, 400bhp (450bhp R) plus optional KERS hybrid system
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, rear-wheel drive
Length/width/height in mm: 4450/1900/1280
Performance 3.5sec
Weight: 1295kg
Lotus Elite
On sale: 2014
Engine: 5.0 supercharged V8, 550bhp (620bhp R) plus standard KERS hybrid system
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox with integrated epicyclic hybrid transmission, rear-wheel drive
Length/width/height in mm: 4600/1900/1320
Performance: 3.5sec
Weight: 1680kg
Lotus Elise
On sale: 2015
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo or supercharged, 300bhp (350bhp R)
Transmission: Six-speed manual or automated manual, rear-wheel drive
Length/width/height in mm: 4000/1850/1250mm
Performance: 4.5sec
Weight: 1095kg
Engine: 5.0 supercharged V8, 550bhp (620bhp R) plus standard KERS hybrid system
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox with integrated epicyclic hybrid transmission, rear-wheel drive
Length/width/height in mm: 5000/1900/1430mm
Performance: 4sec
Weight: 1850kg
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