We have seen a host of special edition Lotus models over the past 12 months. While it seemed a peculiar strategy for the boutique sportscar brand, perhaps it was spot on after all.
You see, Lotus has just reported its first operating profit since the 1970s, thanks in part to the Evora 400, which has already been sold out until next March. An impressive feat considering that the manufacturer had to retrench 400 staff members in 2014 to cut down on costs.
As a result of this success, Lotus has confirmed that its new Elise and Exige will see the light of day by 2020, followed by a new Evora in 2022.
According to Lotus boss Jean-Marc Gales, the new Elise will be slightly larger than the current model, but will still weigh in at under a ton while featuring a new bonded-and-extruded aluminium chassis.
He also assures that, despite budget cuts, the quality of Lotus products not only remains intact, but is in fact higher than it was two years ago.
Still no word on that Esprit successor, though. But an SUV is reportedly being considered, which could end up significantly boosting the brand’s sales.
Until this takes place, Lotus will continue to develop lighter and faster examples of its current cars, with an open-top Evora on the cards as well, slated for the end of next year.
Lotus Exige Sport 380
Then there’s yet another special edition Exige. This time around it’s the Sport 380, which is a cut above the Sport 350 revealed just under a year ago. The Sport 380 makes use of the same 3,5-litre supercharged V6, which here is worth 280 kW and 410 N.m of torque. This is delivered to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission or an optional automatic transmission.
Other revisions include aerodynamic enhancements and a notable weight reduction. With all of these enhancements, the Sport 380 is able to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just over 3,5 seconds and reach a top speed of 286 km/h.
