2014 Lotus Esprit

The legend is back! Lotus has unveiled today the new Esprit sports car. Described as the "ultimate Lotus," the new Esprit will go into production at the end of 2012, with first deliveries beginning in late 2013, early 2014. Lotus announced an estimated price of £110,000 ($175,000 at the current rates).

At the unveiling of the Evora S model in San Jose in June 2011, Lotus Cars USA PR boss, Kevin Smith, confirmed that the Esprit supercar would be getting Lotus’ in-house V8 engine and both a manual and a dual-clutch transmission. This V8 engine was originally said to deliver between 550 - 570 HP, but actually achieved 570 HP at around 9000rpm and 398 lb-ft of torque at a bit higher than 3000rpm. Lotus Chief Technical Officer, Wolf Zimmermann, says this engine can reach up to 630 HP at 9,400 rpm and 424 lb-ft of torque between 5,500 and 6,000rpm. The V8 weighs in at about 375 lbs, which is about 176 lbs lighter than the original 5.0L V8 Lotus was going to borrow from Lexus. It will be used for both the Esprit and, as confirmed by Smith, an even more exotic Elite.

"One has to be very careful when taking on the challenge of reinventing such an iconic classic as the Esprit – everyone has an opinion. There’s a fine balance between acknowledging the greatness of the past whilst at the same time rapidly leaping forward to the future and ensuring that this car not only does the name Esprit justice but also the Lotus brand. I think we’ve managed to find the balance and in doing so created a new icon, a car people will find hard to resist."

 Lotus officials has confirmed that the next generation Esprit will be powered by a 4.8 liter V8 engine. This new engine will deliver a total of 570 HP in standard version, but the company will be also offering a higher-tuned variant with an output of 620 HP. (Autoblog)

 Lotus has unveiled a new video in which they show the development process of their new V8 engine.

Specifications

• Layout  2 seater, mid-engined, rear wheel drive
• Engine Petrol, hybrid optional
• Hybrid technology Optional KERS
• Cylinder V8
• Capacity 5.0 litre
• Power/Torque 620 PS / 720 Nm
• Rev limit 8,500 rpm
• 0-100 km/h 3.4 seconds
• Top speed 330 km/h
• CO2 approx (CO2/km) 250 g/km**
• Weight 1,450 kg
• Seats 2
• Transmission 7 Speed DCT
• Drive RWD
• Start of production End of 2012
• Enters the market Spring 2013
• Price indication Circa £110,000