Lotus is doing a bit of rearranging in their kitchen now that plans for the Elan sports car have been placed on the backburner. Apparently, the British manufacturer is using the money that had been set aside for the Elan->ke3683 to develop their very own lineup of engines.

During an interview, Project Boss Dany Bahar said: "This is a big hit because it’s expensive to do 
an engine," says Bahar. "But 
because the Elan is not happening now we have got capital expenditure headroom 
for engine development."

The first engine cooking is a V8 that will set up the competition for Ferrari's->ke252 V8 engine as seen in the 458 Italia. The new Lotus V8 will deliver between 550 - 570 HP and will undergo testing in July 2011. It will be dropped in the new Esprit->ke2303 model. After that, Lotus will go forth with a new V6 engine that will be used for a production version of the Eterne. Both of the new engines will be combined with an all-new aluminum platform that will be spectacularly light.

As for the Elan, Lotus says that the vehicle's design was just too close to the Esprit so it would not be making its appearance on the lineup until the closer to the end of the company's five year plan.

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