Group Lotus CEO Mike Kimberly calls the above car the biggest milestone that Lotus has achieved since the original Lotus Elise 13 years ago. This milestone car is currently known by its codename Project Eagle, and is a 2+2 sports car powered by a 280 PS Toyota 3.5 litre Dual VVT-i V6. 0 to 100km/h acceleration time is expected to be under 5 seconds.
No other photos have been officially offered other than the one above (though you will find leaked images after the jump), but the Lotus press release is generous with details of the interior which is said to feature a cockpit-like seating position, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, aluminium inserts, edge-lit switches and flush-mounted controls on the dashboard which glow with blue LED halos.
The standard 2+2 configuration can also be changed to a 2-seater configuration, with the rear space used for luggage. Space for the rear two seats will be enhanced by providing foot-room for the rear passengers under the front seats.
An Alpine-developed in-car entertainment and navigation system will be offered featuring a 7 inch touch screen LCD to interface with audio, removable hard drive-based satnav, Bluetooth handsfree and an optional reverse camera. The Alpine audio system will feature a technology called IMPRINT which can cancel out imbalances in the sound caused by it being reflected off different cabin surfaces such as window glass which creates echoes and carpets which suppress mid-range frequencies.
Look after the jump for more photos.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Paul – take a look here for 5 further photos including 2 interior shots:
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsGallery.aspx?AR=233975&EL=-1
What the benefit to Proton???
The cockpit looks excellent and whilst the exterior is good, i can’t help but think that it has hints of elise about it.
Lotus have spawned so many variants of the elise I really can’t tell from the looks of it whether it is just another “elise”.
It seems that they have abandoned the traditional Esprit looks and gone for a bigger grown up look of an Elise. No bad thing but certainly a big disappointment for Esprit fans.
I hope lotus every success with this new model.
Lotus + Europa + F430 ??
looks weird….
nad2r17 said,
July 17, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
nad2r17, benefit to Proton group would be the P&L. I don’t expect anything to cascade down to Proton cars, if that happens, that would dilute Lotus’ Eagle as a product. Maybe down the lifecycle, some features might make to Proton car but not sooner. Basic product lifecycle. Don’t kill the goose for the egg.
Why there is a Toyota engine in the Eagle?
LHQ, why not?
why is our proton so crap when the lotus are so fantastic to drive
While Proton owns Lotus, why we Malaysians can’t buy Lotus cars at a special low price (less taxes only mah)? Is the Govt blind?
They don’t build Lotuses in Malaysia dudes. Lotus prefers to keep production in Hethel where UK is the center of Motorsports. Its not just the heritage but also the concentration of specialist in automotive sports. Having an operation in Malaysia means having to close down Hethel ops. That would be a political suicide for Proton.
You pay monies to drive a nice car. That’s why auto makers are in the high end market. To get more money from what it actually costs. Duh.
what is this?
Elise + Europa + F430????
looks weird…..
Bob, don’t u understand malaysia car market??. Only 1 word, TAX, TAX & TAX lah, depend who you know, cronies. We pay so much tax for foreign cars (up to 300%!) compare to our neighbours, yet expensive petrol (not to mention road tax & toll). No need to build car here (Malaysia Tak Boleh lah). Why do u think Naza rise so fast?? So many people pay high taxes to drive expensive CBU sports car. I’m not saying pay RM100K to buy Lotus, don’t dream lah (maybe RM200K – RM300K). If govt lower taxes for Lotus, good for Proton & good for the public. Dig it?
MV Augusta – everybody seems to be competing with each other who can bash P1 the worst (best basher??) everytime news about it surfacing.
Lotus – seems like nobody cares or even recognised this is one of the few finest moves that P1 had ever made. People still grumbling ‘why P1 didnt make it cheaper for Msian to buy’lah, ‘what the benefit to P1’lah, bla bla bla.
Pity for P1, seems like whatever they’re doing, people will find ways to discredit them even when P1 scored. Their number plate should read “engineered to be bashed” instead :-)
I wish for P1 to progress much further especially in the dod-eat-dog world of international market (tho I still reserve my dissatisfaction of my current Savvy and Wira, and my previous Satria).
Malaysia Boleh.
Cheers.
How did the design project gets the name? Eagle? What’s is the association?
Can I name it Project “Burung Kakatua”?
Not bashing here, but I’d like to know the reason(s) behind the naming..
2 Dogs – you can go drive a Lotus for that price range TODAY. An Elise is Rm238,000 on the road, go get one quick! hahaha
Nice car nice design, hope not like Elise so danm user unfriendly.
nice…. good job…
Oh how I wish Proton could rebadge this car and price it at below RM150K.
by the way, the C-pillar from the side, looks pretty much inspired by the Ferrari Enzo.
not bad…
Thanks for the info Mattyboy. I don’t wanna buy now. Who knows when they finally decide to really lower the taxes by just changing the badge and call it….SUTOL and the price drops RM100K!!.
BTW Arch, we are not bashing Proton, in fact trying to improve their sales! Isn’t it ironic when Lotus is Malaysian owned but you hardly see any Lotuses on Malaysian roads. Aren’t the Malaysian govt suppose to help Malaysian companies?
2dogs…you should have engage your brain before putting your mounth into gear…go to the showroom and inquire….the sale is so brisk in malaysia that it is hard to pin one down…
roti naan..ask yourself, why is it the roti naan name prevails when the naan variety has doubled?…..for the same reason the lotus maintains the E in front of all its latest cars after the huge success of lotus elan…
normalauser…looks like ferrari C-pillar but its not…its lotus tech…as for rm150k…wishfull thinking…even with the current price pun susah nak dapt..
Untill today i cant see the reason why proton own Lotus, there is no benefit so far from Lotus to proton, even a technology transfer also not there. Its look like Lotus fully independent and not control by proton, thats why the can produce good car
I dont think campro engine is developed by Lotus, it could be proton monkeys, thats the reason the why the engine is damn lousy.
rajtheboss..the monkeys toil day and night just to earn the right to make a living…..if you are to think of these hard working ppl, irrespective of whether it is good or not, as monkeys …then what are u i.e. the poison pen writers, criticisers, those you do no more than scanned the blog and write…bafooon?
yeap it does have hints of a f430 there but that interior is fantastic. really looks like a cockpit, and that sloped center console, wow. lol.
maybe this is the next Proton Ultimate sports car. LOL.
The rear looks like the concept car from 8 years ago I think.
Lotus=known to shed weight. A sat nav=excess weight
For yours information….Lotus elise price is in the range of Porsche Boxster.Thats why not many people choose lotus because their cars is not practical for everyday driving.Lotus cars strictly for enthusiast.
I’m very aexcited about this. I have been searching for the spyshots but was not available then. Thank you Paul!
While I agree that Lotus cars are purely for enthusiasts, as time goes, I think it’s not wrong for Lotus to put some luxury and comfort into their models.
Thumbs up!
rajtheboss said…
u dun see any benefit lotus own by proton bcoz u r so ignorance….campro is actually a lotus design…all R&D is made by lotus with proton staff…not only that….nowadays every proton new models handling and suspension tuning is using lotus technology….lotus is famous for their elise tuneable suspension system…that why if u widen your perspective u can find many proton new model owners like savvy, saga and persona is very satisfied with the ride and handling of proton cars…its so lame that every thing related to proton is consider not good….even for this project eagle beauty
rajtheboss, r u stupid or what ? Campro engine is co-developed with Lotus. And there are other technologies/knowledge that Lotus gave to Proton, for example, on the suspension kinematics & compliance measuring system, dyno test, etc
For those who do not know, when proton bought Lotus, they did not just buy the rights to sell Lotus cars. They bought the whole Group Lotus Inc. Which means, proton also owns Lotus Engineering.
I am sure Proton have some part in the development of this new Eagle. Just be aware that Lotus cars are high end cars, not really mass produced (well the production of the eagle is only expected to be around 2000 units a year). So in terms of manufacturing tech, it will be different (more hand-made, etc).
Another thing is, although Proton owns Lotus Engineering, they still let Lotus Engineering to operate independantly. Meaning that, if proton wants whatever latest technology lotus have, they will still be treated like any other clients. That is why you don’t see aluminium bonded Gen-2, active valve Savvy etc.
This leaves no doubt as to where your talent actually comes from.