Lotus is on the verge of tackling the supercar market with their very own high-powered V8 engine fitted underneath the hood of the future Esprit. The British company has been working on this 4.8L V8 engine at its headquarters in Hethel, Norfolk where engineers have achieved 570 HP at around 9000rpm and 398 lb-ft of torque at a bit higher than 3000rpm.
But that’s not where the story ends. Lotus Chief Technical Officer, Wolf Zimmermann, says this engine can reach up to 630 HP at 9,400 rpm and 424 lb-ft of torque between 5,500 and 6,000rpm. The V8 weighs in at about 375 lbs, which is about 176 lbs lighter than the original 5.0L V8 Lotus was going to borrow from Lexus. The Lexus engine ended up being too heavy so Lotus engineers took to the drawing table to create their own modular engine. This engine will be matched up with a forged aluminum wishbone suspension and electro-hydraulic power steering. The vehicle will be made entirely of aluminum with hopes of not surpassing 3,220 lbs.
Lotus CEO, Dany Bahar, thinks the future Esprit will be a new icon. He states, "There’s a fine balance in acknowledging the greatness of the past while rapidly leaping forward to the future and ensuring that this car not only does the name Esprit justice but also the Lotus brand.
"I think we’ve managed to find the balance. The design is aggressive. You have to see it to appreciate how low and wide the proportions are, but it still retains a level of dignity, of class and, most of all, exclusivity."
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