Lotus to launch new Esprit supercar by 2020

The new Esprit is scheduled to be one of the two supercars which Lotus is planning to launch in next two years

Renowned British sports car manufacturer Lotus is planning two all new sports cars in the next two years under the ownership of its new bosses at Geely, one of the biggest names in Chinese automobile market. One of these two cars will be the all new Esprit, which is scheduled to be positioned above the Evora.

The new Esprit will have an all new design, although the basic chassis and architecture is expected to be shared with either of the two current platforms in Lotus family – one is used in the flagship Evora, while the other is used in Elise and Exige. However, it is not clear which of the two chassis is going to be used in the Esprit, though given its premium positioning over the Evora, it may be using the latter’s chassis.

According to Lotus’s top head Jean-Marc Gales, this new model will be lighter, more powerful and more aerodynamic than the current flagship, the Evora GT430 Sport. Given the fact the GT430 Sport already comes with the best combination of Lotus’s key aspects – “lightweight, aerodynamic and handling”, and features carbon fiber panels, the new Esprit is expected to be even better by being the new benchmark.

Apart from this, Gales also confirmed that Lotus is expected to borrow powertrain options from Toyota, and in near future, the company might embrace engines from the other divisions of Geely. Currently, Lotus has employed 1.6 liter and 1.8 liter petrol engines in the Elise and 3.5 liter V6 engine in other cars, all of which are made up of aluminium and are supercharged. However, it is not clear that which engine will be equipped in the new Esprit.