| | ||||||||||||||||
 
Now that Lotus has unveiled its new design direction at the Paris Auto Show, the British manufacturer is ready to dish out a serving of the buffet they have prepared. The specific model that is to serve as an appetizer to whet our appetites is a drop top version of the Lotus Elite sports car set to compete with models like the Ferrari California, Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster, and Aston Martin DB9 Volante. The car is a long way away from becoming a prototype, but it is already rumored that the roof will be made of a combination of metal and glass. This will allow lots of light to enter the cabin when the hood is in place, but will facilitate keeping the overall weight down. The top will be fully electric and will tuck into a space behind the rear passenger seats. Like with the coupe version, the future roadster will be powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine that produces around 542 HP with a 0-60 mph time of around 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 196 mph. An R version will develop an amazing 612 HP. The new model will be priced at £115,000 ($180,000 at the current exchange rates) and should go on sale in 2014. .
9 comments: Lotus prepares to blow the roof off the Elite I’m still struggling to understand why Lotus doesn’t get their engines in house. I read so much about how such and such engines cylinder heads were designed by Lotus.
 My feelings exactly. Yeah its great they’ve brought 5 concepts to the show but if they weren’t different colors I wouldn’t know the difference!
 Screw exclusivity. I want attainability. I don’t care if other people get to enjoy the same car I get to enjoy. It doesn’t lessen my enjoyment for other people to have the same product that I do.
 Thanks for the correction! The title is now changed to show that the drop top model is the Elite, not the Elise!
 This is less a new model and more a replacement for the existing base-model Elise. Lotus needed to find a new engine for that particular car now that the K-series Rover motor is no longer available to them.
|
| |||||||||||||||
Posted on
11.25.2010 @ 23:52