NEW MODEL CARS

British legend Lotus is turning its back on the past and planning a bold new future!

Sources have confirmed that the company will use October’s Paris Motor Show to unveil four new concepts – which will break new ground for a brand known for lightweight, economical sports machines
yet the big surprise at Paris will be a pair of heavyweight, front-engined hybrids a four-door hatch in the style of the Porsche Panamera and a two-door coupé. Both will use the modular chassis that debuted in the Evora 414E concept at March’s Geneva show. They are expected to use hybrid powertrains based around the Lotus-developed three-cylinder unit, which has been designed to act as a range-extender in electric cars. as a consequence of this wholesale change in philosophy, the firm has already committed to ditching its entire European dealer network. Lotus informed all of its Continental and UK showrooms via legal letter last week that their contracts would be terminated in two years. some understandably disgruntled dealers have since expressed concerns that the concept-car onslaught in Paris will take the brand away from its roots. before the raft of new models arrives, Euro emissions rules will spell the end of the Toyota 1.8-litre supercharged unit used in the Exige and Elise although this won’t affect the 136bhp 1.6 Elise or 3.5-litre V6 Evora. Further threatening the bottom line, Lotus’s production contract with Tesla expires at the end of this year. first to hit production in early 2012 will be a modern take on the Lotus Seven – a move which could ultimately prove the biggest risk of them all. Sources claim the car is heavier and more comfort- oriented than the original and even runs such performance-sapping measures as air-condition and many more.

And in a potential source of embarrassment for a firm so proud of its engineering expertise, the car was not even conceived, designed or developed at its HQ in Hethel, Norfolk. Instead, the front-engined, rear-wheel-drive, open-top model will be heavily based on an aborted Spanish sports concept, thought to be the IFR Aspid, and may even be built in Spain. A high price of £60,000 will put it directly in the firing line for models car such as the Porsche Cayman S and Audi’s RS5.