Lotus has dropped the idea of using modified Toyota engines in its next generation of sports cars. Instead it is rushing out an all-new engine family. It will be a lightweight, high-revving, naturally aspirated V-8 making 550 horsepower-plus. Later, a 90-degree V-6 and possibly inline-four modular derivatives will join the family for the replacements for the Evora (called Elan) and Elise.
At last fall's Paris and L.A. auto shows, the company said it would use a supercharged version of the Lexus IS-F's V-8 for its top models, the Esprit supercar, Elite front-engined 2+2, and Eterne four-door. But according to the firm's CEO, Dany Bahar, "People didn't like the idea of us using other manufacturer's engine."The new engine is also more compact and lightweight, allowing the Esprit to be made a little smaller. Lotus' chief technical officer, Wolf Zimmermann, is a former engine designer at AMG, and says the Lexus engine, with supercharging, would have been bulkier and heavier than an AMG's outgoing, naturally aspirated 6.3-liter V-8. Bahar adds that Lotus planned so many modifications for the Lexus unit that it would been prohibitively expensive anyway, at up to half of what this all-new family is budgeted for.