Bored again.. Esprit concept pics I hadnt seen before....

Victor Meldrew · Post by **Victor Meldrew** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:39 am

haggis catcher · Post by **haggis catcher** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:51 am

OOOOOOH nice

jamie · Post by **jamie** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 7:53 am

Was just thinking about how the market has changed - think the Esprit is going to have to be very good to do well - 911, V8 AM, R8 etc
Hope Lotus really is pulling out all teh stops to ensure it really is a beast

BiggestNizzy · Post by **BiggestNizzy** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:05 am

Very nice, I think it's biggest problem will be finish all the high end manufacturers have sorted out things like interior finish and reliability, all the things that for the low volume producer are more difficult as they don't have the money to invest in the tooling. The Esprit will have to offer that something special in a crowded marketplace to do well.

ryallm · Post by **ryallm** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:11 am

jamie wrote:Was just thinking about how the market has changed - think the Esprit is going to have to be very good to do well - 911, V8 AM, R8 etc
Hope Lotus really is pulling out all teh stops to ensure it really is a beast

Yeah, it is going to have to be really good. I have no doubt the Lotus handling boys will make it great to drive, but the fit and finish is going to have to be far better than Lotus have ever managed before if it is going to compete with the R8. The last rumour I read in Autocar was that it may even have an Aston V8 engine rather than a BMW or Toyota V8 - it will make a very nice noise if true

Mark

Scotty C · Post by **Scotty C** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 9:11 am

shooomer wrote:I expect it to be an anticlimax

Do you have you name down for one?

tuscan_thunder · Post by **tuscan_thunder** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 9:50 am

very Gallardo-esque.

Shame about the S2 Elise grille on the white car.

The Toyota V8 would be the best option I reckon - I'd be surprised if BMW let them have their V10 as this's surely got some overlap with the M6.

The Aston engine is, by all accounts, slightly underwhelming in power, torque and delivery. Sure the noise makes up for it somewhat but some funcy exhaust tuning would surely make the Toyota engine better?

scottyf · Post by **scottyf** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 10:19 am

ryallm wrote:
jamie wrote:Was just thinking about how the market has changed - think the Esprit is going to have to be very good to do well - 911, V8 AM, R8 etc
Hope Lotus really is pulling out all teh stops to ensure it really is a beast
Yeah, it is going to have to be really good. I have no doubt the Lotus handling boys will make it great to drive, but the fit and finish is going to have to be far better than Lotus have ever managed before if it is going to compete with the R8. The last rumour I read in Autocar was that it may even have an Aston V8 engine rather than a BMW or Toyota V8 - it will make a very nice noise if true

Mark

Fit and finish hasnt stopped the likes of Noble shifting a few cars, but granted to make it a commercial success it really has to surpass anything theyve done before.

I Just hope this isnt a sign of the direction project Eagle will go

The rear is very Aston!

Edin430 · Post by **Edin430** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:41 pm

supposedly the finished article....

hint of Lambo about it?

j2 lot · Post by **j2 lot** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:13 pm

supposedly the finished article....

That pic has been around for a while and IIRC was the design that Mike Kimberley said was not the new Esprit.

However the wheel do look similar design to the 08 Elise wheels. Its not a bad lookinh car but don't think nearly jaw dropping enough to have the impact that Lotus needs. Keith

The_Rossatron · Post by **The_Rossatron** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:54 pm

I think the reason they are all Gallardo-esque is because they are all photoshopped Gallardos

Rag_It · Post by **Rag_It** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:26 pm

just about to say, looks very Lambo-esque!

Lotus loosing direction?!

Rag_It · Post by **Rag_It** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 3:00 pm

not at all sir! However i am sure there is Lambo-esque pricing to accompany the design!

BiggestNizzy · Post by **BiggestNizzy** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 3:12 pm

Rag_It wrote:not at all sir! However i am sure there is Lambo-esque pricing to accompany the design!

Thing is it would have to be at least as good as all the other super/hyper cars in that price bracket and let's face it lotus no not have the budget to pull it off. everyone in that bracket has huge budgets and can use the car as a "design study" and afford to make a loss on it because information will work it's way down into base models made my same group manufacturers.

Can lotus produce a 911 beater for 911 money ?

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 4:27 pm

I'm sure I've seen the side air in-take somewhere before.