Rumormill: Next Lotus Esprit could be powered by Lexus V10

[rezmoto]

Lotus' relationship with Toyota could extend beyond supplying drivetrains for the Elise, Exige and Evora, with three new engines sourced from Lexus rumored to be fitted to the 2012 Lotus Esprit. According to EVO, a choice of three Esprits will be available for any (thick) wallet, including a 300 hp version packing Toyota's direct injected V6, a 417 hp model that would make use of the Lexus IS F's 5.0-liter V8 and, at the top of the range, a V10-powered Esprit packing the yet-to-be-released Lexus LF-A's 500+ hp engine.

Additionally, the alliance with Toyota could make good on Lotus' recent push for eco-friendly motoring. The Hethel-based automaker has repeated said that lightweight platforms and fuel-efficient drivetrains are a top priority, going so far as renaming its powertrain engineering arm the "propulsion systems" division. As such, an "Eco Esprit" could be available with a reworked version of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive.

The recently launched Evora will be the basis for the next Esprit, and considering the quick turnaround – a mere 27 months – for the Evora to go from concept to production, Lotus has the ability to bring the new Esprit to market quicker than ever. If the Evora's a hit, then we should be seeing the Esprit on roads in Europe, the UK and the US by 2012, with a price somewhere north of £100,000 for the V10-powered variant.

Rumormill: Next Lotus Esprit could be powered by Lexus V10

what do u guys think about this?..

[f6fhellcat13]

A V10 sounds heavy...

[Buen]

That was sorta my initial thought aswell. If they are going to develop a platform that can support 3 engines so very different I'm going to be very excited to see the result. Not only because the different engine weight will have a huge impact on the weight distribution, but also on the handeling. Since a different engine will most likely act at a different rev range.

This should garner alot of work for the Lotus folks as to test each individual model if we are to see the ever so famous handeling that is the trademark of the lotus.

I do like look of the prototype. Not for what it is, but more for what it has potential to become. Especialy if one were to integrate some more organic shapes. I think we have seen enought of theese rough edges everywhere lately. (Allthought lotus (and Aston Martin among others) have been good at keeping it more smoothe)

[LeonOfTheDead]

A V10 sounds heavy...

its better than the oldish BMW 4.4 V8 that was rumored a year ago or so.
And you can go for the V6. A lot of people underestimate the potential of the smaller Elise for its lack of power, without considering also how much lither it is than the 190 bhp or supercharged ones.

I do like look of the prototype. Not for what it is, but more for what it has potential to become. Especialy if one were to integrate some more organic shapes. I think we have seen enought of theese rough edges everywhere lately. (Allthought lotus (and Aston Martin among others) have been good at keeping it more smoothe)

That's just a rendering based on a Gallardo mk1, created by someone probably excited about the news of a new Esprit a couple of years ago or even more. there are some other images on the web.


I think the relationship with Toyota/Lexus make quite some sense. I would rather have a sport-tuned powertrain from the GS450h or the LS600h, no matter if they are a bit heavier, but the plus of operating in EV mode when starting the car or in some cities' downtowns is something should be worth it. I would consider it, not directly for the green appeal, not for the better economy, but to allow me to use the car in some not really car-friendly situations. Also, it's pointless to have the car with the engine on in a traffic jam or when leaving your house at 4 am without wanting to wake up the whole family:
I imagine if I had something like a Zonda I would love to use it as often as possible, but given the necessity to leave home when others are sleeping, I would hate to wake them up, since I love to sleep and hate to be wake up when I don't have to be waken up.

[digitalcraft]

This worries me, and not in a good way. Going for gobs of horsepower for performance isn't really what Lotus has been about. There's plenty of companies that do that, but Lotus had the lightweight angle, and this does not sound like the lightweight angle.

[clutch-monkey]

This worries me, and not in a good way. Going for gobs of horsepower for performance isn't really what Lotus has been about. There's plenty of companies that do that, but Lotus had the lightweight angle, and this does not sound like the lightweight angle.

agreed, the evora is already too heavy and it has a V6

incidentally, i seem to remember lotus saying they'd never use a V6 in an actual production car (around the time they did that one off V6 exige), but that they'd either go a 4 cylinder with FI or a V8, as a V6 is too much a compromise..

[Roentgen]

That picture has been out for quite a while now, with no official confirmation. Anyway, I think I'd prefer a V8...

[NSXType-R]

I guess that's cool, it allows the Esprit to be accessible to many people- I'm guessing the V6 for the every man, the V8 for the slightly richer man, and the V10 for the slightly more rich man.

But the thing is, Lotus shouldn't be building a lot of them anyway, so doesn't this make it more expensive overall than focusing on one engine style? I mean, the mounts should all be different then, since every engine is differently sized, placement of everything around the engine is different as well, etc.

[lightweight]

I tend to believe that the Esprit successor will be a V8. A performance version could have forced induction (just like the Elise / Evora range)

As said previously in this thread, putting a V10 is not the Lotus way.

On the other hand I think that Lotus don't want to blur the distinction between their model range. The Elise range is 4 cylinder, the Evora V6 and the Esprit successor V8.

This rumormill is becoming rather predictable, if I might add. Since Lotus uses Toyota engines, somebody thinks that the V10 will be on the Esprit... How predictable... Maybe they will use the Prius engine and go after Ferrari Hybrids...

[Niko_Fx]

Imagine the F1 sound of that engine with the right exhaust. Lotus needs to impress the current market, a V6 won't cut it, a V8 sounds heavy and boring, a high revving 5.0L V10 sounds about right. They can pull this off and keep their image, they just have to play it right.

[Matra et Alpine]

Lotus have engineers who ONLY work on the acoustics of the engine.
Not keeping the vibrations lwo as all companies do ... but actually work on gettign it to sound "right"
So regardless of engine type it's gonna souns good

[LeonOfTheDead]

This rumormill is becoming rather predictable, if I might add. Since Lotus uses Toyota engines, somebody thinks that the V10 will be on the Esprit... How predictable... Maybe they will use the Prius engine and go after Ferrari Hybrids...

There are no such "Ferrari Hybrids", once again.

[lightweight]

There are no such "Ferrari Hybrids", once again.

Nobody knows that yet, but in any case I was just exaggerating to make a point

[LeonOfTheDead]

Nobody knows that yet, but in any case I was just exaggerating to make a point

I know it doesn't exist.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum...ions-real.html
As you can read in the article a person working at Ferrari up to November and now at Maserati considers the sketches as a complete BS.
He also says the works on the "hybrid" system are far away from something worth of notice.

[Ferrer]

I think the relationship with Toyota/Lexus make quite some sense. I would rather have a sport-tuned powertrain from the GS450h or the LS600h, no matter if they are a bit heavier, but the plus of operating in EV mode when starting the car or in some cities' downtowns is something should be worth it. I would consider it, not directly for the green appeal, not for the better economy, but to allow me to use the car in some not really car-friendly situations. Also, it's pointless to have the car with the engine on in a traffic jam or when leaving your house at 4 am without wanting to wake up the whole family:
I imagine if I had something like a Zonda I would love to use it as often as possible, but given the necessity to leave home when others are sleeping, I would hate to wake them up, since I love to sleep and hate to be wake up when I don't have to be waken up.

Why would you want a heavy Lotus?

Or an electric Zonda?