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Let’s Remember How Bonkers The Lotus Esprit Concept Was

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As part of a five-car announcement at the Paris Motor Show, Lotus unveiled a completely redesigned Esprit, with.

Back in when Lotus was being run by now ex-CEO Dany Bahar, an Esprit concept (pictured here) debuted at the Paris Motor Show.

Who doesn't love the Lotus Esprit? Britain's answer to the Porsche was dramatically wedgy, fabulous fun to drive and, thanks to its James.

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TG’s guide to concepts: the reborn Lotus Esprit V8 | Top Gear

Lotus pretty much hosed the entire automotive world with cold water back in At the Paris Motor Show it revealed a near-completely-unexpected quintet of concept cars, from a futuristic Elise that was gunning straight at the Porsche Boxster to an Elite supercharged GT with V8 power and an eye on Bentley. It was the maddest, most unprecedented unveil we can remember. Mickey Rourke and Naomi Campbell were on stage, taking the wraps off one headline-stealer after another, but after the frantic and it was keyboard-bashing had started to slow, one car stood out as the flagship and standard-bearer: Anyone born in the s and into video games will probably have had a bit of a crush on Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge.

The model became one that defined the company in that time period, after earlier success as a Bond car. It looked spectacular, sounded brilliant and would kick you square in the baby-maker if you overcooked a corner. In short, it was a legend. The prospect of a new one was a milestone moment for a lot of car enthusiasts.

Within just a few short years, we were told, a new Esprit will be on sale, and it will genuinely compete with Ferrari, Lamborghini and the then-new McLaren Automotive.

But building an engine from scratch is horribly expensive. Even McLaren bought the basic design for its 3. Rumours made it naturally aspirated, then turbocharged and eventually boosted by a kinetic energy recovery system KERS , similar to what was going to be used by the reborn Lotus F1 team at the time.

A further fascinating twist involved a Ferrari , the benchmark rival for handling. Lotus allegedly ripped the 4. That would have allowed them to compare how the superbly-resolved Ferrari felt under Lotus power.

Alas, though, money ran out. The other four concepts had already been shelved. The Esprit idea remains on the table , albeit behind the controversial SUV in the plans. The fact that its engineers eight years ago got so close to achieving their goals was incredible; the closure of the project all the more bitter. What might have been? Please confirm you agree to the use of tracking cookies as outlined in the Cookies Policy.

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New Lotus Esprit (Concept car)