The new Lotus Elite
Road & Track magazine has published the first photos of the new 2014 Lotus Elite, to be revealed at this year’s Paris Motor Show on September 30, 2010.
Styling of the new Lotus Elite was directed by Donato Coco, who was appointed last December as Lotus design director.
The 2+2 front-engined rear-wheel-drive Elite packs a 542-hp Lexus 5.0L V8 engine with an epicyclic hybrid gearbox with integrated electric motors and a front-mounted Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS).
An R-trim variant with 611-hp will also be available, with a 0-60 MPH time of just 3.6 seconds. Weight of the retractable-hardtop Elite is pegged at 3700 lbs and pricing is expected to be around $180,000.
Proton will oversee a highly-ambitious 10-year development plan worth $1.2 billion, which will bring Lotus in direct competition with Aston Martin, Maserati, and others. The Elite marks the start.
“Lotus can’t survive as a niche brand,” said Lotus CEO Dany Bahar. “It needs to be more appealing and has to exceed its rivals with better quality, class-leading emissions and performance at a better price.”
[Source: Road & Track]
