Next Lotus Esprit and Elise in the works for 2011 and 2012
According to the folks over at AutoCar, work is progressing on the next-generation Lotus Elise and Esprit with scheduled production dates of 2011 and 2012.
Sources say that the Elise will likely be a development of today’s model and won’t be a variant of the Evora which is built on a different chassis that is heavier. You can expect to see the next Elise in 2010 with sales to begin in 2011.
As for the Esprit, production of the model is dependent on the money that is coming in from the Evora. However, engineers and designers continue to work for a 2012 launch date. The next Esprit is expected to get a mid-mounted V8 and is said to be larger than the Evora.
Insiders said that collaboration with Abarth on new sports car has stalled. No word on when and if the sports car will make it back into Lotus’ future plans.
– By: Kap Shah
Source: AutoCar
