With new leadership, now that Dany Bahar has been as CEO of Group Lotus for just over a year, under full swing, Lotus will be charging for a piece of GT market pie with the likes of the new Elite Concept – widely believed to be the face of the marque going forward.
One of the biggest hallmarks of this model is its front-mounted V8 engine, which will probably be sourced from the Lexus IS-F and supercharged to produce in excess of 400 kW and 700 N.m of torque. There’s also two integrated electric engines and an F1-style KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to keep consumption and emissions at a low – despite the Elite being able to manage a claimed zero to 100 km/h sprint of under four seconds…
With a big V8 mounted up front and heavy transaxle hybrid system to cart around, the Elite is constructed of aluminium to compensate and it doesn’t seem to be all that large either (despite comfortably seating 2+2), measuring just 4 600 mm long, 1 900 mm wide and just 1 320 mm high.
The profile isn’t far off that of the Evora, with huge apertures for cooling air up front, huge alloy wheels, and a very distinctive rear end with exhaust outlets mounted in the diffuser panels. The interior will feature fit and finish of exceptional quality too.
“There’s no denying that the Lotus Elite is breathtakingly beautiful to look at but it’s so much more than that, it’s a car that over delivers in all other aspects as well. One could say it's a car of perfect contradictions, it's compact yet spacious, high performing yet low emitting, lightweight yet still reassuringly solid. It's a car that we are exceptionally proud of at Lotus and we truly believe that there is nothing else like it out there both in terms of styling and performance,” said Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus.
“Make no mistake, there’s a definite market requirement for the Lotus Elite – it’s the ultimate sports car feel with comfort and space. There will always be those who believe that Lotus should stick to small sports cars but we didn’t take the decision to design something like the Lotus Elite lightly, it’s based on months of careful research and planning. It’s worth noting this sector has been very successful for us in the past and now the Lotus Elite raises the benchmark higher still,” Bahar continued.
Planned to go on sale late in 2014, Lotus claims the Elite will set benchmarks in terms of design, performance and emissions…
