Spied: new Lotus Esprit

There are big things happening at Lotus, with the currently Elise-based product range due to be expanded with two brand new models.

First to arrive will be the V6-powered Eagle, due to debut at the British International Motor Show next month.

This will use a transversely mounted Toyota V6 engine on Lotus’s new Versatile Vehicle Architecture floorpan, which uses bonded aluminium extrusions to create an adaptable basis for various models. With around 300bhp and costing around £45,000, the Eagle goes up against cars like the Porsche Cayman and BMW Z4 M.

But this isn’t the only new Lotus coming. A replacement for the Esprit has been long rumoured and mules running bodywork of the old car - discontinued in 2004 - have been spotted. But the car seen here is a first glimpse of what the new Lotus flagship will look like when it arrives in December 2009.

The classic Esprit wedge shape looks set to make a reappearance, with Ferrari-esque circular rear lights and rear buttresses flowing round from the rear screen. Up front there will be fixed lights in place of the original car’s pop-up items and large air intakes to feed cooling air to the radiators.

Improved packaging
Unlike the Elise range and new Eagle, the Esprit will use a classic longitudinally mounted engine to make room for a suitably potent V8 powerplant. Rumour has it this will be the new twin-turbo, 4.4-litre unit from the X6, which uses an unusual layout for the turbo and exhaust system to aid packaging.

In the X6 it produces 402bhp, which in the lightweight VVA chassis would deliver explosive performance as it stands. But skilled engineers at Lotus are capable of developing their own engine management systems and this, together with the tuneable nature of turbo engines, opens up the potential for much more potent versions of this engine.