It's a good time to be a Lotus fan. Just last week in Paris, the company unveiled five new models. Well, it was actually six models if you count the City Car Concept, but let's forget that ever happened, shall we? As the resident Lotus fanboy, I'm trying to decide which model I should lust after for the next couple of years.
I have a 2015 Elise, a 2013 Elan, a 2014 Elite, a 2013 Esprit and a 2015 Eterne to choose from. Looking at all of these cars together, I'm still having a hard time telling them apart (except for the four-door Eterne), so styling obviously won't be a deciding factor. I'm still not a fan of four-door exotics so I'll go ahead and eliminate that right off the bat.
In all honesty, I'm quite happy driving a two-seater since it gets me out of having to give people rides home and whatnot, so perhaps I'll put the Elan and Elite on the back burner for now. I now have it whittled down to the Esprit and the Elise. Now the hard work starts.
The new Esprit will cost three times that of the Elise, but it got a power-to-weight ratio of 1:5.15. The 2015 Elise is estimated at 1:7.53, which is still much better than my current Elise's 1:10.4. I'm planning on being obscenely rich by 2013 (positive thinking, people!), so I won't worry about money for now. All of this recent motorcycle riding may have me in a twisted lump of flesh and bone by then, and I'm thinking the Esprit may be easier to get in and out of. So it's looking like the Esprit will be my Lotus to covet.
However, in the (un)likely event I don't become profanely wealthy and survive unscathed, I'll be getting the new Elise. Anybody wanna buy a gently used (ha!) 2005 Elise? Cheap? Nevermind, I'll just keep it as a paperweight.
I suppose that leading up to the official press launch, my co-workers may have to meet with some unfortunate food-borne illnesses, leaving me as the only able-bodied (depending on the severity of my motorcycling excursions) editor on hand. Too bad.
Which Lotus would you pick?
By 7driver
on October 7, 2010
07:56 AM
"As the resident Lotus fanboy..." a man after my own heart.
The Elite is out. 3650lbs it just not a real Lotus.
The Eterne is not for me. $100k is my personal limit for a 4 door sedan.
The Elan seems a compromise I don't need. The motor/chassis/weight seems to be a halfway point between the Elise and Esprit. The 2+2 seating seems a marriage of the Esprit/Elise and the Eterne.
That leaves the Esprit and the Elise. Do I want a cleaver or a scalpel? I prefer the latter. Plus, I think other makes play better in the expensive supercar region. Lotus' traditional specialty is the focused sportscar.
By mlh
on October 7, 2010
12:12 PM
You didn't mention it, but I would pick the Evora.
By mtakahashi
on October 7, 2010
02:45 PM
mlh: Good point. The Evora isn't part of the new releases at the Paris show, though. I have a feeling it will soon be discontinued when the other 2+2 Lotuses start hitting the production lines.
By seppoboy
on October 8, 2010
06:03 AM
Awfully, awfully ambitious. Lotus is a small carmaker, and has had a very limited model lineup for years. They are well known for lightweight construction but fragile details with difficult reliability and underdevelopment of much of their engineering.
I wonder if they can successfully execute the roll-out of all these model variations without major catastrophe. My mechanic loves his Lotus cars but even his tolerance is sorely taxed sometimes on the road and at the track with things breaking that should never break.
By blueguydotcom
on October 8, 2010
08:53 AM
Place your bets on how many of these will ever see production. I predict 2 with an outside chance at 3.
By mlh
on October 8, 2010
11:46 AM
I think you're right, Mark. Too bad, too, because I think the Evora is more Lotus-y than most of the newly revealed ones...