Lotus will launch this stunning replacement for the Elise in 2015.
The all-new Lotus Elise, revealed at today’s Paris motor show, is much like the car we know: it uses an extruded aluminium bonded chassis, albeit a little longer and with better access.
As with the current car, it will be available as a coupe or a roadster, while a hardcore R-model is also planned.
Power will be via a supercharged 2.0-litre Toyota four-cylinder unit, good for 300 to 350bhp, depending on spec.
It’ll have a robotised manual gearbox (a twin-clutch unit is deemed too heavy for a 1095kg car) plus stop-start, but no KERS.
Lotus CEO Dany Bahar insists that all of the five new Lotuses revealed today at Paris will employ the purist engineering principles of lightness and simplicity pioneered in the earliest Lotuses by the company’s founder, Colin Chapman.
Prices for the new Elise range will be considerable more than the price of today’s cars, starting from around £40,000.
Thanks to: Autocar