Lotus rocks Paris with five stunners

Hall 5 of the Paris Motor Show was pretty quiet and sombre most of yesterday, but that began to change as we approached 4:45pm Paris time. A steady crowd of photographers and journalists began to crowd out the Lotus pavilion situated at the lower floor of the two-storey hall.

The invite from Lotus was clear, it was to be the start of a new era, and that had piqued the curiousity of many. Some of us were fortunate enough to be present at a Lotus-held gala dinner the night before and were given a heads-up on what the company was up to. A story embargo was in place, but word naturally got around. People were excited – Lotus has five new models to be showcased. FIVE.

While it is not unusual for manufacturers to have more than one model in simultaneous development, it is not usual that a manufacturer unleashes them all in one motorshow. It is an age-old industrial wisdom that manufacturers stagger their product launches, which gives them maximum time and opportunity to fully milk each model of its sales and publicity potential.

For the first time in its history, Lotus cars will all wear a common corporate look. To come up with a winning set of designs, the company audaciously raided Maranello to procure the services of Donato Coco from Ferrari, the man who penned lines for cars such as the 430 Scuderia, the California, and the 458. The results are spectacular, and achieved in just nine months.

The first car of the new quintet is the Elan, a 2-seater mid-engined sports car slated for a late 2012 launch. Preliminary specs give us a 4.0-litre V6 paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission to move a 1,295kg frame along. Quoted outputs are 444hp / 465Nm at this stage, and the car is expected to hit the century mark on 3.5 seconds before maxing out at 315kph.

Next in line is the Esprit, which like the Elan, is a revival of a previously discontinued Lotus nameplate. This new Esprit draws power from a mid-mounted 5.0-litre V8 capable of producing 612hp / 720Nm. It is aimed to be 0.1 seconds faster than the Elan to 100kph and have an extra 15kph of top speed over the Elan.

The Lotus Elite, scheduled for a 2014 release, is not a new nameplate either, but it certainly is a Lotus with an all-new approach, featuring petrol-electric hybrid drive as standard. It is a 2+2 seater, and its engine is mounted just behind the front wheels. Under its hood, the 5.0-litre V8 works in tandem with integrated electric motors to push it to a 315kph top speed and a 3.7-second century sprint.

In 2015, Lotus will then replace the Elise with an all-new model. Retaining the same mid-engine rear-wheel drive configuration, the Elise has considerably less power to play with, it’s 2.0-litre turbocharged engine offering a mere 316hp and 330Nm to propel its 1,095kg frame to a not inconsiderable 270kph after demolishing the century sprint in 4.3 seconds. Transmission options is between a good old-fashioned 6-speed manual or a dual clutch gearbox.

At the end of this comes the Eterne, a four-door sedan no doubt inspired by the likes of the Porsche Panamera, Lamborghini Estoque, and Aston Martin Rapide. Lotus’ take on the four-door super-sedan is powered by the same 612hp / 720Nm V8 from the Esprit and the Elite.

The five models are still various stages of development, but there is serious intent to see all five eventually hit the road. Starting from the Elan in late 2012, the rest will follow one-by-one in 12-month intervals. For Proton-owned Lotus, this simultaneous unveiling of the five concepts represent a serious demonstration of intent that the company fully intends to mix it with the big boys in years to come.

We can’t say if these models are 100% faithful to Colin Chapman’s decree of ‘adding lightness’, but the ingredients are present to ensure that they at least become a successful reinterpretation of the philosophy for the 21st century. All five cars are underpinned by all-aluminium platforms, and there are three basic platform designs shared between them – small mid-engined, big mid-engined, and big front-engined.

Engines used in the five models will continue to be sourced from Toyota, owing to the close relationship that has been fostered in recent years between the two companies. In fact, Toyota is even offering Lotus a high degree of spec-customization for the engines, a practice unheard of for a client of Lotus’ volumes. Petrol-electric hybrid propulsion will be made standard for the Elite and optional at various scales for the other models.

Lotus has big plans and hopes for this quintet of models in its quest of re-establishing itself as a major automotive player. At the conclusion of the Paris Motor Show, the five show cars will start a worldwide journey to be showcased at various locations. In fact, one of these locations will be the upcoming Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show later this year.

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