Paris: New Elise, Elan, Elite, Eterne and Esprit

  • Thread starter Thread starter J-PaP
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The Vanishing Boy
-> You Lotus-loving guys forgot about this:

Lotus City Car
Lotus-Concepts-2991010459336111600x1060.jpg
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Didn't see that before. As city cars go it looks awesome.

Also, my bets are on for it being the lightest Lotus for quite a while :lol:
 
I like the Elan & the Esprit. Elise looks good from the front & rear, but I'd like to see a profile shot. From the pictures shown, not really liking how they designed the roof portion with the body.
 
I hate every single one of the pictures I've seen in this thread. I'm sorry, but Lotus is light I thought. Not anymore? Why? Because you think you have to jump into other niches, even when the world-famous Elise is in the area of it's own? Every one of those cars has one thing in common: market. And I can't stand that. Lately, I like manufacturers who are really going to what they should be, not would the could be, Buick is one of them, Ford a little.

But you must "simplify, then add lightness." Looks like Lotus (sorry, Proton) is doing it wrong.

So does this model line make sense? You have almost 4 mid engine 2 seaters of various hp's plus a crappy sedan and a bad supercar. I really hope by 2017, Lotus is almost at the grips of death again. all because they went against Chapman.
 
Please tell us how you managed to look into the future & found out that the Eterne is "crappy" & that one of these is a "bad supercar"?

This is what Lotus needs if it wants to remain competitive in the automotive market.
 
GT_Prologue5-> Point taken from Jalopnik. Lotus have disgraced the legacy Chapman had created. Oh, well we still have our Caterhams and Ariels. ;)
 
The Vanishing Boy
GT_Prologue5-> Point taken from Jalopnik. Lotus have disgraced the legacy Chapman had created. Oh, well we still have our Caterhams and Ariels. ;)
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Yes, that's were my point was from, but I just hate these slatted rectangular designs we call concepts, nonetheless 1.5+ ton cars coming from the lightest manufacturer of these days. It's a disgracew to the name Chapman. I do hope that the Espirit and Eterne fail, the Elan is okay, despite some resemblance to that new Elise. I'm sorry, but I'm a classic Lotus fan, someone who wishes we would see more of those 60's GP cars. I loved the Evora, I loved the 2011 Lotus, but I don't like where this new design is heading. It might have something to do with that guy who came from Ferrari. Who knows.
 
Lotus's new design direction is quite shocking...of all companies, I never expected LOTUS to pull the Anime look!
 
^ I see what you mean:

eX-Driver.png


:D

BT-> But really, the effort of Lotus was commanding in my opinion. But their direction is kinda shocking too! :scared:
 
GT_Prologue5
Yes, that's were my point was from, but I just hate these slatted rectangular designs we call concepts, nonetheless 1.5+ ton cars coming from the lightest manufacturer of these days. It's a disgracew to the name Chapman. I do hope that the Espirit and Eterne fail, the Elan is okay, despite some resemblance to that new Elise. I'm sorry, but I'm a classic Lotus fan, someone who wishes we would see more of those 60's GP cars. I loved the Evora, I loved the 2011 Lotus, but I don't like where this new design is heading. It might have something to do with that guy who came from Ferrari. Who knows.
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Seriously, you're 14. The Elise was around before you were and the classic Lotuses of which you speak were around before most of us on this forum. It's not like your world is being turned upside-down by a bunch of new cars...

All car companies have a history, a back story, maybe even an ethos, but it's ignorant to think that a company can go on forever without change.

Let's not forget that Colin Chapman's main intention was to make money, since he was a businessman as much as an engineer. If Lotus make money, then they succeed as a business. If they don't, then we lose them forever anyway and all this talk of "ethos" and history means jack-all if there are no cars left to carry the torch.

I'm as big a fan of the original, lightweight Elise as you'll find on this forum but I understand that light weight is only part of the Lotus philosophy. At the end of the day, they aim to create great sports cars, and whether they weigh 500 or 1500kg is largely irrelevant if they're great to drive.

If you go on weight alone then the Elise is the only Lotus that's worth having since it's the only one in the last 15 years that comes in at under a metric tonne...
 
So I'm looking through the galleries of the new Lotuses. I have to say that while it's sad to see the old Lotus go, I think I'd probably put these new cars above Lamborghini and Ferrari. Maybe even before Porsche and Aston. I'm really excited to see what the press will make of these cars. Especially since this is such new territory for Lotus.

And if they keep the Elise the light weight track terror that it is, where's the harm with the bigger cars?

Maybe I'll have to get rich and take up Lotus collecting.
 
homeforsummer
Seriously, you're 14. The Elise was around before you were and the classic Lotuses of which you speak were around before most of us on this forum. It's not like your world is being turned upside-down by a bunch of new cars...

All car companies have a history, a back story, maybe even an ethos, but it's ignorant to think that a company can go on forever without change.
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Okay, I am seriously getting sick of this. Yes I'm 14, so? I'm allowed to have an opinion without my age being brought up. Fine. I don't want to see cars like this when I start driving. I'm staying with my opinion, and it's not going to change just because everyone demeans it like I have to be 30 to say a thing about a car. I'm going to leave this thread alone now.
 
GT_Prologue5
Okay, I am seriously getting sick of this. Yes I'm 14, so? I'm allowed to have an opinion without my age being brought up. Fine. I don't want to see cars like this when I start driving. I'm staying with my opinion, and it's not going to change just because everyone demeans it like I have to be 30 to say a thing about a car. I'm going to leave this thread alone now.
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You can't drive. You talk of cars that were around well before you were born, or in the case of the Elise, came around the same time as you.

I'm all for Chapman's old lightweight ethos too, but Lotus (not the consulting arm, the actual car manufacturing bit) hasn't made money for a while and exists on the fringes of the auto world. This move has the potential to bring them a lot more success. The Elise will be moving up to fight the Cayman/Boxster, but will weigh what a Miata does. That's still light. If you're all for lightness only, you should already be tired of Lotus and focus simply on the Caterhams and the Ariels of the world. I'd rather see a successful Lotus with a small dash of the original's spirit than a dead Lotus. They're still an engineer-led company, and on the evidence of the Evora and all the rave reviews it's received, can still produce stunning driver's cars. You mentioned Buick earlier... their current transformation into the American Opel is hardly "traditional"!

Speaking of the Elise... a Toyota 2.0L turbo inline? With 300hp? Who knew they had something like that planned? If it's coming in coupe and convertible form, I guess this means goodbye to the Exige... unless that name is revived in the future for a stripped-out track ready variant. As long as I can pick up a late-model Exige in a few years for cheap, I'm not complaining, as this new car, while vastly different from the current one, definitely is more interesting than a Boxster :).

The Elan... what an odd choice of a name, considering this is meant to be the 911 fighter. Why not keep the Evora name? 4.0L V6 sounds like the Evora GT4's engine, which plays well against the Porker. Yet another shock: Toyota has a dual-clutch?

Esprit could be incredible. Still reminds me of the Vision EfficientDynamics from behind, but I like that. The front ends are still too derivative and bland, very much like the first Lexus LFA concepts. Looks too Japanese. Can't argue with the drivetrain of it, the Eterne, or the Elite. Not sold on the idea of the last two though. At least, if Lotus is following the Porsche way of things with this Eterne, they didn't follow Porsche's plans too closely, and made a sedan that isn't incredibly ugly :).
 
Lotus est mort, vive le Lotus!

The Lotus of old is dead if this is the new direction they are going. I love Lotus of old, their cars are fantastic and I think the current Elise is one of the best looking car out there. I'll be curious to see what comes of these new designs.
 
I understand where you are coming from, but I too share a great deal of passion for the automobile, and that's how I've always wanted Lotus to be. Look, when I do drive, I don't want something covered in slatted lines, I like a little originality in design. They might be a company that has to make money, but I would have been happier say they had gone a more classical route. None of the cars are breathtaking to me, and that's ALL we know about them, they could be great sellers or just flops.
 
Not feeling any of the designs. They look like something that would come out of Korea or Japan.
 
As much as I feel sad for the approach taken by Lotus, I must also recognize they're making a very well planned move, these designs look like something you would see coming out of Sant'Agata Bolognese, modern and innovative, loving all of them.

Specially the Elise, looks futuristic, I just hope they keep a very nice amount of the lines to the production version. :D
 
The Elite looks like the FT-86.

The Eterne just looks like an Aston Martin.

The CityCar looks like an A-Class crossed with a Smart4.

The Elise looks like a rejected Koenigsegg.

The Elan looks like a Lamborghini with an Integra or a Hyundai stitched onto the back end.

And the Esprit looks like a carbon copy of a Ferrari or other Italian sports car.

Conclusion: very few original thoughts went into these designs. I wonder which one Lotus intend to take racing in GT2?
 
Very interesting. I'd have to say that the Elan probably interests me the most, mostly because it ends up becoming the 911-style middle child of the group.

The rest, they're alright. Problem is that when I look at them, all I see is the Honda CR-Z.


That isn't a good thing.
 
GT_Prologue5
I understand where you are coming from, but I too share a great deal of passion for the automobile, and that's how I've always wanted Lotus to be. Look, when I do drive, I don't want something covered in slatted lines, I like a little originality in design. They might be a company that has to make money, but I would have been happier say they had gone a more classical route. None of the cars are breathtaking to me, and that's ALL we know about them, they could be great sellers or just flops.
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Then why did you say this?
You have almost 4 mid engine 2 seaters of various hp's plus a crappy sedan and a bad supercar.
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These cars were just revealed, so what did you have to base this on besides your desire to see Lotus return to a time when you weren't even born?
 
-> Look in the bright side:

evora_gt5.jpg


^ We still have the Evora as the last true Chapman-ized Lotus. Even the recently facelifted 2nd-Gen Elise R gone; the Evora will be on its mid-cycle refresh! :dopey:

ausparc.jpg


^ Make mine a 2+0 Model (aka. the 2-seater option). ;)
 
SlipZtrEm
Yet another shock: Toyota has a dual-clutch?
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I think Lotus developed their own. At least I heard there were rumors that they were working on a DCT.

interludes
Conclusion: very few original thoughts went into these designs. I wonder which one Lotus intend to take racing in GT2?
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My thought is that they are all the same car with modifications to fit into the different classes. Well, maybe two to account for the luxo ones. But I wonder how a small company like Lotus could afford to build five new cars for one auto show. And I doesn't help that they all have exactly the same shape.
 
I've changed my mind since seeing more pics and learning more stats, the Esprit looks pretty cool and a supercharged Lexus 5.0L V8 is always a good thing, and I like the powertrain for the Elan, a supercharged 4.0L V6 with 450hp. However, as has been mentioned numerous times, there is nothing special to the designs and they come across as very un-original. I don't like the sedan at all.
 
I don't understand why folks here are saying this heralds the end of the Chapman Ethos. Have any weight's been released for these cars? Doesn't the Evora already weigh 1400kgs? (only 60kgs less than my 5 door 4x4 estate). I'm sure Lotus will do everything possible to keep the weight of these vehicles down, but they're fighting a losing battle against crash test and safety regulations, as all manufacturers are these days.
 
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