Thursday, February 27, 2014
Lotus Could Still Build the Esprit Supercar
Lotus’ on-again, off-again stance on the production of the since stalled Esprit V8 supercar has seen its fair share of fence-jumping.
But recently, a high-ranking Lotus executive brought new life to the Esprit V8, even if he stopped short of confirming that the company was going to build it.
Speaking to Motoring Australia during the recent launch of the 2014 Exige S Roadster, Lotus brand manager for Australia and New Zealand, Alastair Manihera, hinted that the company hasn’t completely abandoned the Esprit V8, or at least not to the extent that has been reported in the past.
"Contrary to popular belief the factory is keeping its options open," Manihera said, before adding that no timetable has been set on when or where the super car is going to be built.
While that’s far from a confirmation, Manihera did leave out the possibility of Lotus eventually building the supercar and that’s more than you can ask for given the spate of ever-changing directions the company has been having in the past few years.
What we do know is that there’s interest, both within Lotus and fans of the Esprit to see the supercar return for the first time since 2004. It’s no secret that the Esprit, specifically the concept version that was shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, has a future in the industry as a car that could be a nice alternative to more high-priced models out there.
So even if there’s still no commitment coming from Lotus regarding the fate of the Esprite V8, the mere fact that one executive is still optimistic about its chances is good enough for us to keep hoping and praying that the concept that wowed us in Paris back in 2010 will finally get to strut its stuff on the road.
Click past the jump to read more about the Lotus Esprit Supercar.
Lotus Could Still Build the Esprit Supercar originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 27 February 2014 12:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/lotus-could-still-build-the-esprit-supercar-ar162541.html
Johnny Claes David Clapham Jim Clark† Kevin Cogan Peter Collins
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