The Lotus press launch at the Paris Motor Show was one of the most anticipated and audacious of the entire event. A huge crowd gathered around the pavilion long before the 4:45 pm unveil and since many of them didn’t know the identity of the five cars under the wraps, there were plenty of speculative chatter.
It started off with a video about how Lotus under founder Colin Chapman excelled in motorsports, winning races (F1, Indy, saloon car, rally) and building great driver’s cars, all using the legendary “performance through lightweight” formula.
Then Lotus CEO Dany Bahar introduced the cars one by one, as they were unwrapped by famous faces such as Stephen Baldwin, Queen guitarist Brian May, supermodel Naomi Campbell and actor Mickey Rourke alongside Proton bosses Datuk Syed Zainal and Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Salleh.
The reborn Esprit was first. This is a car that best demonstrates the company’s statement of intent. And what is that intent, I hear you ask. Well, since we landed in Paris, the top men from Proton and Lotus has been telling us that with this new management and their new vision, plus this range of new cars, the company wants to be back where it belongs.
CEO Dany Bahar said that 20 to 30 years ago, Lotus was spoken in the same breath as Ferrari and that Lotus’ motorsports heritage “is second to none except maybe Ferrari”. And the Esprit is the supercar that will take the battle to the best from Ferrari and Porsche. Vital stats: Supercharged 5.0-litre V8 with 620 PS and 750 Nm, 0-100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, 330 km/h top speed, weight 1,450 kg.
Next up was the Elan. Looking much like a scale copy of the Esprit (no bad thing), the Elan should be taking on “junior supercars” like the Ferrari California and Porsche 911 GT3, reflected by the 450 PS rating from its supercharged V6. The targeted performance figures of 0-100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and top speed of 310 km/h owes a lot to the low kerb weight of below 1,300 kg. Hybrid and KERS are options.
The car that has been synonymous with Lotus over the past 15 years over two generations is due to be replaced in 2015. Enthusiasts, especially those who have experienced the magic of an Elise before, might worry after hearing terms like “the Elise has matured” or “Elise has come of age” (actually used by Lotus), but Hethel promises that the pure, fun and agile character of the car will be preserved. Just that it won’t have a spartan cabin that’s hard to get in and out of anymore. Weight is up (expected to be below 1,100 kg) but there’s plenty more poke too, about 320 PS from a 2.0 turbo four. This is no longer a basic sports car.
Moving away from the core sports car family is the Elite, the only car in this five that was revealed before the show. It’s a Lotus, but also a refined and comfortable GT. Unlike the above three, this is a front engined car (rear driven, as with all Lotus cars) that will come with a retractable metal top.
As you can see from the gallery later, the interior is lavishly trimmed while the exterior metal is very elegant. The new signature lines on the profile is the most obvious on the Elite, and its face is the least brutal of the lot. Classy it may be, but this thing has near Esprit performance. Very nice.
The final show stopper is the Eterne. The only car not to use an old name is also the only here with four doors. Using a long wheelbase version of the Elite’s front engine-RWD chassis, the Eterne is meant as a super luxe rival to the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera. Using the same 620 PS/720 Nm supercharged 5.0 V8 as the Elite, it’s expected to weigh 150 kg heavier that the Elite at 1,800 kg.
Nine months to come up with five cars for one motor show is unheard of and mightily impressive. But why five at a go? Design chief Donato Coco says that it’s not enough to talk about great ideas and just show one car. “We have to show the world our intent,” he says, adding that Lotus already has “one leg in the production phase” by starting wind tunnel aero testing.
Just bear in mind that none of the figures and engines mentioned here are set in stone – the show cars are not running prototypes and every number here is a target rather than a sure thing. What we can tell you is that there will three different chassis being used for the five cars – small mid engine, big mid engine and front engine.
The engines are most likely to be sourced from Toyota, but with mods for “more life and more emotion”. Don’t trust us, trust Lotus’ new technical chief Wolf Zimmermann. He was previously the product and engineering boss of Mercedes-AMG, a company famous for its thundering engines.
Feast on the live gallery after the jump. Hope you like what you see!
Lotus Esprit live gallery
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1565]
Lotus Elan live gallery
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1562]
Lotus Elise live gallery
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1563]
Lotus Elite live gallery
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1564]
Lotus Eterne live gallery
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1566]
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wwwwooooowww veryy sexy maaa…aiman nk satu!
perhaps they can consider remove the tax of lotus in malaysia to bump up the sales. since we own it anyway.
eheh.. fat chance. The Americans will do the bumping up of sales, thank you.
Then everyone from Porsche to Toyota will scream “UNFAIR” and go complain to EU, WTO etc….
in supercar context, i think the design r pure suckz…i prefer design like LFA, SLS, looks more elegant yet sporty…
superb!
LFA??? SLS??? Both are super suck for supercar.. Coz they look like sportcar.. Nothing ‘super’ about that design… Supercar must look extreme or exotic.. At least Honda NSX have that…
Dem hot… Superb… Look like they have a strong line of cars… This is just like what happen with Kawasaki.. After super low-profile in 90s, they give a big surprise to the world.. Remember when they introduce Z100 and Zx6 in early 2000s.. That moment is the superb comeback for ‘the green mean machnie’.. They are a king of the road in 70s and 80s, absent for a decade and comeback strong after that.. this is just the same with Lotus situation…
fresh design form Lotus…
good job…
love the new esprit…
Danny,, is this pure Lotus design or design by Italdesign Giugiaro ? coz it look more Italian..
All in house designs. Design chief Donato Coco is Italian and he used to work for Ferrari
http://paultan.org/2009/12/16/lotus-appoints-ex-ferrari-man-as-head-of-design/
and he also designed citroen C4. i like his work…
Should we see these Lotus new fresh face in Proton line-up identity in the future? Those lotus owners in UK forum says the new Lotus is just like a Lambo baby!
I’m not trying to be pessimistic, I wish Lotus success too BUT doesn’t all the cars looks like Proton years ago where they have a whole range of cars catering to the same target segment of the market? Now Proton has diversified and doing okay but Lotus seems like taking the same old ‘compete-among-ourselves’ destructive path?
Those car do not cater for the same target segment. The Esprit is the top of the range mid-engined supercar. The Elan is a mid range, mid-engined supercar for people who wants supercar performance but can’t afford the Esprit. The Elite is a 2+2, front engine GT tourer for those who want practicality & performance. The Elise is a entry level performance car, while the Eterne is a four-door car that combines more practicality than the Elite as well as performance.
so what do you expect? a 1.5 litre 4 door sedan from lotus?
he should design for proton too!!
Yeah… true true…
I had hope the Elise would retain its old look.
At least, when I have my mid-life classic later… a few years down the road… so to speak… when I have the itch to drive a sports car… I’ll get an Elise… if I can afford it lah.
But, if this is how it will look like… I think I’ll have to get a MINI lah…. :-(
:lol:
Mid-life *crisis*….. duh…. :(
time to show off! great!!
cool cars… cool name.. cool emblem..
rock on..
izzit just me ,or Lotus Elan looks alot like the Honda HSC awhile back ,
Anyway, I wish Lotus a great success
Elan does not look so Elan like the last Elan – that last one is loved for its beauty not hard-core sportiness; a very asexual car with understated composure. Lotus, please don’t just make copies of Lambo and other testosterone sport-mobile, bring back moto-esthetica and make the world a better place.
Issit just me or do all new modern supercars look the same? That’s not necessarily a bad thing though.
IMHO these cars has Lambo looks to them
Designer’s Italian….
Audacious move by Lotus… Beautiful designs
wOOOOOOwww!!!! My new set of dream cars… With these kind of road dominating, head turning, mouth drooling looks… Lotus no longer take the back seat in world of sports car … looking forward for these line ups to be in production one by one… !!
Pray hard that Lotus/ Proton have enuff $$$ to actually realize these fantastic line ups in the near future…how nice if the engines under hood also got Lotus emblem on it, but I guess Lotus just simply couldn’t afford it for now (in terms of capital) to design and manufacture its own engine.
Actually, Lotus never had its own engines ever since Colin Chapman first began Lotus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Cars
checkout the section of projects undertaken by lotus engineering…
‘In Lotus we trust ‘…
drooooooool……………….~~
i find the car design idea is taken from various famous marques
but combined to create almost a whole different image for lotus cars…
….so they no more a leader but a mere follower (in terms of design)…no more originality
to be frank, since when were lotus leaders of automotive design?
They must have worked round the clock for the past 7 mth to come up with all these. Keeps on Lotus!
If I were to vote, I’ll vote for Esprit and Elise to come out first, than Elite and the rest.
For Esprit, it got ‘get off my way quick, I’m too fast’ face while its back says ‘dont tail me, youll be smoked’
the esprit show also make a comeback in the new 007 james bond movies too!
that’s better way to promote and advertise it.
is it true?
if true.. wow..
They should, but now the whole James Bond franchise is in limbo.
and the empire strikes back…..
wow…all the sexy cars…maybe some people will confuse which one to choose..all car are beautiful…
aiyoyo!!!
WOW!! The esprit……i’m speechless. its awesome.
wonder whether proton will adapt some of design features in their future cars like gen2 with minimalist dashboard design (which was a poor adaption though)
one thing i think is that all the lotus’ new car kindda like hv the same interior design as the proton emas or better known as lotus’s citycar
Did Lotus gave a timeframe when these models will be production ready? This is full bore assault by Lotus!
All front view looks like snake head .. big snake/ small snake…
Interior .. aging but confused… the exterior so smooth without any major cutting line but the dashboard is so square.. like trying to mature but stuck in btw
Looks like Elise will still stay Bread and Butter .. feel the closest to Lotus spirit..
js a concept car or ready for production??
if it is ready for production, then the design is modern…
Beautiful .. Lets hope all these get into production and hope Proton will finally get some money back from all the investment ..
Then get the team of designers to design some proton Cars ( Part time is still acceptable ) !
If possible .. I dont mind if Proton Rebadge the Elise to be our Proton Putra Replacement Model ! hahaha
haha. u r right, proton should benefit more from lotus. Not just ride and handling, now design, tech, kers, DCT gearbox etc. Wonder when proton will surprise us just like what lotus did…. perdana, persona, satria, saga, exora, savvy concepts in one boom at KL motorshow 2010 perhaps?
Their choice of celebs….Mickey Rourke – ok, Naomi Campbell – ok, Brian May – ok, Stephen Baldwin – WTF? They should have gotten Alec Baldwin! At least Alec’s hot property now, what with his sitcom 30 Rock being the in thing now!
what a beautiful cars! the new era of Lotus has just begun!
elan and elite look like honda S2000 from front view, but their butt look like an aston martin
Whoo.hoo.. an awsome job was happend here!!
Go Lotus, Go Proton!!
it’s a good thing.
“Just bear in mind that none of the figures and engines mentioned here are set in stone – the show cars are not running prototypes and every number here is a target rather than a sure thing.”
lol all the above can be said in two words: Concept Car(s).
In the earlier part of this post, you gave the impression that these were production-ready cars, but when come to the last paragraph, you only let on these are still in conceptual stage. Potong stim only.
This is one huge assault by Lotus to take on the likes of Porsche, Ferrari & Lamborghini. What can be clearly seen here is the new design direction and the family looks of the new cars. The design cues are a mix of some familiar & original features, which is not a bad thing at all, but I would expect those cars with huge front air intakes namely Esprit & Elan would pack serious amount of horsepower, as already stated in the press. I think design-wise & horsepower-wise, the new Lotus cars should be a match for the big boys. Only question is , what about the tech department? Ferraris escpecially are loaded with technical wizardry. But I would be optimistic that new Lotus cars should not be that far off….
My god every one of them is a beauty. Hey Proton, your subsidiary could do such stuff so please builds us cars that look like this. Futuristic, not cars that look like they are 20 years behind time.
my knee is shaking… these “lotuses” are blooming..
very pretty. but some of the design language in the nose screams “Lambo”!
no lah, ford fiesta..
good job lotus and proton..all the best
which one of this will be “Putra” replacement ;)
tHe dRama starTs now….hihihi…….Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche, we are baCK!!
esprit front looks abit like lamborghini
elan looks abit like ferrari 458
but anyway looks good…good job
if i may add…that front portion of elise looks familiar like lexus lfa.. ^^
big boy toys….muahahaha..
pilh2 mana satu..semua mahal!
wawawawa….
I like rally, what car does lotus use to enter rallying?
ol got sexy ass..dang!
I like the Megatron face of the Esprit rear.
go proton! yay!
outstanding…. Good job ! Hope can see it in Malaysia ! maybe i can buy it ! :):):)
made in malaysia maybe?
Well, if Proton is the real party engineered behind these, then they deserve more than any compliments, well done…
From what i read in some other site, Proton is churn out 1 billion dollar of investment. Why not use the same amount for themselves after all this has settle down.
Eterne is hot four door coupe….!!!
Mickey Rourke! :cool:
I guess this is the ONLY time we are all actually proud of Proton … ie. in the presence of LOTUS …
if only they are able to actually MAKE cars like these …
Wonder how much they paid for Naomi and Mickey Rourke?
I was suprise they didn’t invite Paris Hilton given all the news about her M’sian liason^^
Why no Tony Stark in Iron Man suit too??!! ^^
Wow, impressive line up from Lotus. Do you think proton contributed anything to help them?
CASH?
OMFG!!! SO AWESOME!!
The design cues are mostly “inspired” from Lamborghini, Aston Martin a lot of other cars. Rear lamp of a Camaro? Five models at once is a bit too much.
I am really impressed by the designs..But technically i will prefer a Porsche. :) I was never impressed by its techs, unless someone convince me…
Any owners here?
What happened to the cross over ,,, the LOTUS APX concept.
I bet that car could thrive in that category.
Beautifully crafted car, is there any Malaysian working in the design unit. Hopefully there will be a transfer of knowledge from the people at Lotus to Proton…Lotus must give an impact to Proton as its mother company. No use to have all those technology, knowledge but the car fleet offered by Proton are way behind T&H brand. Its time for Proton to go beyond the imagination.
More sexier than Aston Martin ~~ !!
Syed Zainal if u read this, pls pls bring all these cars for KLIMS by dec 2010!!!!!!!
well done LOTUS and PROTON.
(would be great if its priced below RM400k for us Malaysian)
agree with travdaman, kindly bring these babies to KLIMS.
Cheers!
Actually, there are plans to bring them to KLIMS. I hope it happens
hey Danny? can you just walk over and ask for real? I wanna book my tickets.
That’s what they said, they have plans. But of course, nothing is confirmed at this point
why dont lotus produce a car comparable to mini, mass produce it in tanjung malim plant, sell it for less than 80K?
because lotus is a “sports” car maker. same why you wont see porsche, or ferrari produce a “mini”.
dude,, ferrari have a ‘mini’.. fiat500 ferrari,, aston martin hv mini too
FIat 500 Ferrari Edition is not a mass produced car! It’s a limited edition of a mass produced car, and it costs like more than twice the normal car!
dun worry.. you will get a lotus city concept-(proton emas) for the mini.. You definitely can afford it.
i really hope that they put the classical appealing on the lotus elise…
cannot wait the car to be test in ‘TopGear’….
Finally Lotus is Back. It’s a come back long overdue, but…..Damned they look nice. Make me want one too. hopefully the designer will con’t to stay on. Now i wonder will they start looking for new engine, toyota engine has been with them for quite sometimes already.
Way to go Lotus with superb five new models..
and proton as well with their upcoming 2012 Persona and Emas..
P/s: with the new management and new vision of lotus..looks like it’s a right decision for proton to buy lotus anyway..
of all 5 new Lotus models, it’s the 4-door Eterne that I’m actually interested in.
yeah….eterne look very good…the best looking 4 door supercar!!
Wow.. Such bold designs..Very futuristic!! And most importantly it comes with very powerful engines + lotus finest handling.. Shud be good stuff!!
Lotus brings out new car for the next 5 years while we get a rebadged Lancer for god knows how many more years….bravo Proton….
idiot basher…lancer is rebadge bUT its a platform exchange/sharing between proton and mitsu…aduhhh…brapa kali maw cakap laa….
Brader, you call swapping emblems platform sharing…more like rip off…we dont really share anything with Mitsu..we just take…Mitsu got nothing to gain from Proton…get your facts straight!
mitsu did said they are exchging their lancer for 1 of the models from proton to be rebadged as mitsu as well
got nothing to gain?? royalty? exora? owh.. that nothing ka??
You get your facts straight. Proton gets Lancer, Mitsubishi gets Exora & Persona for Latin America market….
just…wow!
Lovely designs for the Esprit, Elise and Eterne…gorgeous!! But perhaps they could tune the dials (speedo, tacho, gauges etc) a little to make them more sexy and masculine like the exterior; right now the dials look a little sissy ;)
And i dont care whether they look like aston martin or porsche or mazda or whatever. Everyday in our lives we see and hear many things that will in many ways influence what we say in life, but whatever that come out from our mouths are truly ours, and whoever that says it the best (in this case, Lotus) wins the buyers’ hearts.
Poyo aku ni, hehe..
masculine comes with sexy :S
it sounds good.. but saying it once more .. sounds a bit weird to me.
hahhaa.. is it a ‘mak nyah’ package?
mana maknyah ada seksi da, seksa ada laa…
Ok now is the time for proton rebadge of elise, exige and evora!
IF engine source from toyota….I wonder lotus can really source the 4.8L V10 9000RPM screamer from LFA…….XD
if they can..WOWOWWWWWWWW
The interiors are definitely concepts, the production version should be way way different. The most important thing that Lotus wants to bring about right now is the exterior design which, I reckon won’t be too different when the production version comes out (minus the wing mirror and the wheels of course). Good job!
Cracking! Love it. Might even start saving money to get my hands on one of these by 2015. An Elan or an Elise… in black please.
awesome lineup!!! 5 new models in one show… that’s freaking awesome!!!
all the 5 cars share some similar look but i don’t give a rat’s arse about it. Lotus have matured quite a bit and knows what the world wants in supercars. and this time, i think they got the formula right.
the Elite works for me… nice, smooth and sexy lines. can’t wait to get my hands on ALL the 5 cars soon (i meant the scale models lah)…
as yoda would say, “hmm, bright future i sense.”
Hope those design will enter into production as close to the concept as possible… sweet and sleek..
damn cun!
no interior pic of the eterne?
eterne is my pick!
gosh!!! like all five of these.. superb but hopefully i can see some lotus on our road.. make it affordable for msian people.. in fact, it is our nation pride.. we have local engineer working with them.. vrrooooommmmmm!!!
actually it’s time for proton to come out with a proton badge supercar….not by rebadging lotus or anything but purely a proton supercar….let the world know that proton not only capable to fund a sports car company but in the same time can build a strong super car….it will really bring up your name to the world….
where is the old proton PM5 ?it’s only a clay model is it?
launch one pls…
Agree. Don’t mind ask Lotus to design it. But it must be Proton model, Lotus can’t use it. Like Audi R8.
Price it around RM300k-400k, power output around 500hp.
Proton Coupe perhaps? Susah sikit nak justify Proton ‘supercar’..
No one would buy it
Proton , we pay dearly for our homemade P1 cars to support these beauties for the foreigners! apa macam ? How many My sians get to smell these at all other than going googoo gagaa over the pictures ? Why?
next james bond car
Hey, why are the Lambo, Ferrari and Porsche booths empty? LOL! so izzit YNWA Lotus or YNWA Proton?
Somehow I think the gaduh besar in the F1 arena is a marketing ploy to generate interest for the Lotus Brand lah..
horeey.. Elise old stock dah mampu beli!
All the model start with E. What next?
Lotus Ecstasy
Lotus Erection
Lotus Ejaculation
:D
please quote when you take someone else’s post on other blogs
the all 5 lotus share same face with minor different at the front bumper….all the this 5 lotus share DNA look alike MAZDA RX-8 & HONDA s2000…only big different is the Rear design & interior dashboard design….save cost
even porsche and ferrari themselves shares lots of same platform among their cars…. it’s not that necessary to have each car each special platform. Just the exterior + interior design will be perfect~! + the spec of course!
Maybe because they revealed it all 5 at one go. You won’t be complaining about the look if the launch each one of those at different time.
Great, Congratulations to LOTUS. We are all proud of you. Well done an d show the world that Malaysia is the best,
Wlel done again
i guess all the effort with Lotus put it, nothing to do with malaysia~~ agree not?
Nope. Malaysia have got everything to do with it. You think without money they can produce those designs. Lotus will die without Proton.
ive been wondering…if its subsidiary can come out with such a good design, y proton itself cant comeout with more creative design car that they produce here? but, considering it’s price and the income level in this country, i cant say much..afterall, aftermarket is there…
anyway, good effort by Lotus and Proton!
Why everyone so proud and excited about these new models ???
How many MALAYSIA involve/contribute to the design ???
and how many MALAYSIAN can afford to own these cars ???
Malaysia contribute A LOT. No Malaysian money, no Lotus design.
There are a lot of Malaysian that can afford this. It just that they are more into BMWs, Mercs and some other luxury makers.
Lotus doesn’t fits their style until Evora arrived and now, these 5 concepts. Who wouldn’t want that Elise which is cheaper than some Bimmers but FAR better looking.
Proton has moved forward but bashers dont.
LOOK AT ALL THESE GORGEOUS LOTUS, very difficult to let people link it with PROTON~~
good job LOTUS!!
Bravo Proton/Lotus, beautiful cars. They look almost the same, but so does Porsche. I can’t differentiate the 911 models. Same with beautiful girls, they all look the same.
Hidung mancung, bibir merah, mata stim, pinggang ramping, dada bidang, punggung lentik, same with the supercars.
wa~ razzack.. You go the point! just cant resist all Lotus car like hot girls.
Assemble the new elise in Tanjung Malim and price it as CKD..
hope one day we can have elise sells at RM150K… what is Golf Gti or fckg TSi if u can buy Elise at cheaper price!
even If a lotus elise is rm200k as Golf Gti… i will still take lotus elise without 2nd thought. lotus is superb!
You say that, but when you have to carry more than two people…Golf GTi is not in the same class as the Elise!
If I have to carry more than 2 people. . Myvi SE is enough.
tiadaid. we buy a performance car to enjoy.. not carrying peopless..
If you want carry so much people.. why not toyota Caldina? all bull sh*t.
Then why compare Elise to Golf GTi? Golf GTi not in the same class as Elise.
in terms of performance and price it’s quite comparable..(i suppose if they can CKD the elise).
as zimba said, you don’t carry many people to enjoy the performance of your car..
Lotus Eterne is my favourite!
Fantastic!
the cars are fantastic, but got nothing to do with msians. i wonder why proton still canot design beaituful cars. the new saga and neo design is considered decent in my opinion, the rest are all like tutup mata punye bikin
can eterne rebadge as new perdana?
As much I would like to see that, I don’t think Lotus will agree.
But, boy imagine if Perdana is half as good looking as Eterne. Wicked!
the images telling the story of the Lotus, no need to explain. I personally stunned by the models and shapes as great as the Porsches, Ferraris, and any other super cars.
prffttt..so where is mr.Tony?? not invited?
Fantastic job by Lotus – up there with the best of its class.
What is not good is:
– inflating prices of non-Proton cars, forcing rakyat to buy its poor excuse of a car;
– which makes Proton profitable and able to invest and own Lotus;
– which at the end of the day results in some Taman Negara monkeys being able to attend the Paris Auto show at our (rakyat’s) expense.
Lotus handling + lots of horses = PURE GLORY
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I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the advice!
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s
a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for
me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
Exceptional work!
Paris 2010: Live gallery of the fantastic five from Lotus!