Lotus Unveils Paris-Bound Elite

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed)
Sep 21st 2010 at 6:01AM

Lotus is about to embark on a new direction,and this is the model which will spearhead it. Aptly called the Elite, this is a new kind of Lotus, and will debut at the upcoming Paris Auto Salon next week.

Unlike the brilliant, but cramped, mid-engined vehicles currently in the Lotus stable, the Elite is a commodious 2+2, its engine mounted up front, yet close to the vehicle's center, with a retractable hard-top. The 5-liter V8 comes from the Lexus IS F, providing enough power (611 horses, to be precise) to propel the Elite to 62 mph from a standstill in 3.6 seconds and on to a top speed approaching 200 mph.

Although this model – set to debut next week in Paris – is technically a concept, a production version is expected to arrive on market by 2014 with a £115,000 ($180k) price tag.

Gallery: Lotus Elite