2006 Lotus Esprit!!!

[pimp racer]

The 2006 Lotus Esprit Looks pretty cool.
No info yet other then it has 450BHP and probably 200+ MPH.
Sorry only 3 pictures and not that high resoulation.

 

[AP1]

They don't work.

 

[Carl.]

Rendering of an early design proposal, nothing confirmed yet.

 

[VenomFX220]

That car looks "if'ish"....

The old design looked so much better IMO

 

[The359]

You do know that drawing was from an April Fools joke, right?

 

[pimp racer]

Originally posted by The359
You do know that drawing was from an April Fools joke, right?

Any proof?
Sorry bout the pictures not working here they are click link.
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4099
Information on car ( I havent read yet) http://www.carbc.com/Car-News-752.html

 

[RSCosworth]

Nice
But it looks very much like a Lamborghini..
What do you think?

 

[pimp racer]

Yeah I highly agree with this like the folks at ultimatecarpage.com said two casr coming out now look alot like the Gallardo Example The toyota Volta ( I think) & This Lotus.

 

[ZEE]

Why isn't the LOTUS M250 Concept the new Esprit, it works out alot better , I think?

 

[RSCosworth]

Haven´t seen that before.
Looks like a new Elise?
The headlights look so familiar

 

[DJM PRODUCTIONS]

the overall shape of that lotus (orange one) keeps reminding me of a sporty 300zx

 

[pimp racer]

Originally posted by DJM PRODUCTIONS
the overall shape of that lotus (orange one) keeps reminding me of a sporty 300zx

Yeah but just a the new Lotus ( orange one) is just more rounder the the 300zx because the 300zx was a little pointed than the new Lotus.

 

[pimp racer]

Oh yeah M250 pictures Sorry I cant find any high res pictures might have some on laptop. Enjoy took about 5 minutes.

Specifications-


2000 Lotus M250 Concept

General





Make Lotus
Model M250 Concept
Powertrain Layout Mid Engine / RWD
Base Price Prototype

Dimensions
WheelBase 2518 mm / 99.1 in
Length 4137 mm / 162.9 in
Height 1116 mm / 43.9 in
Width 1817 mm / 71.5 in
Weight 1000 kg / 2205 lbs
Front / Rear Track Not Available

Engine
Configuration V6
Valvetrain Not Available
Displacement 3000 cc / 183.1 cu in
Power 186.4 kw / 250.0 bhp @ ???? rpm
Torque Not Available
Bore Not Available
Stroke Not Available
Compression Ratio Not Available
BHP / Liter 83.33 bhp
Redline Not Available

Transmission
Type 6-Speed Manual
Final Drive Not Available
1st Gear Ratio Not Available
2nd Gear Ratio Not Available
3rd Gear Ratio Not Available
4th Gear Ratio Not Available
5th Gear Ratio Not Available
6th Gear Ratio Not Available

Chassis & Body
Steering Rack & Pinion w/ Power Assist
Tire Sizes F 225/40ZR-18
R 285/35ZR-19
Brake Types Vented Discs
Brake Size F 320 mm / 12.6 in
R 320 mm / 12.6 in
Available ABS Yes
Body Material Aluminum

Performance
Top Speed 155.0 mph / 249.4 kph
0 - 30 mph Not Available
0 - 60 mph 5.0 seconds
0 - 100 mph 11.0 seconds
0 - � mile Not Available
Lateral Acceleration Not Available
EPA City / Hwy Not Available

 

[pimp racer]

LOTUS M250 HIGH PERFORMANCE CAR, UNITED KINGDOM

The M250 high-performance vehicle project is a new car under development by Lotus. The new vehicle will be a two-seater, mid-engined automobile designed to fit in the Lotus product range between the Esprit and the Elise models.

PROJECT MAKE-UP

The car is designed to maximise its power:weight ratio. This avoids reliance on ever-greater horsepower and decreasing elegance.
M250 V6 ENGINE

The car will be powered by a mid-mounted Lotus-tuned 3-litre V6 engine. The engine is to be supplied by Renault, with some input from Lotus. Developing an engine independently is off limits for reasons of cost. The expected power output from this engine is 186kW (250bhp). The relatively small engine ensures that costs are kept lower than they would be otherwise.
GEARBOX

This engine drives the rear wheels through a six-speed gearbox. The gearbox uses a hydraulic clutch. The car has an electronic engine management system as well as electronic fuel injection.
CHASSIS

The chassis is also exceptionally stiff (according to the maker). This is important, since the car will not have what the maker refers to as "unnecessary" electronically controlled stability aids or traction control devices. The M250 will, however, be equipped with power steering. The quality of the design means that the car can be expected to have excellent handling qualities.

The concept's chassis improves and develops upon the bonded extruded aluminium technology used in the earlier Elise model. The aluminium minimises the weight of the chassis, heightening the car's performance. The weight of the car is less than 1,000kg when unladen.
AERODYNAMICS

The car also benefits from exceptionally good aerodynamics. Downforce and high speed stability were given priority over a very low drag coefficient. The shape of the model is designed to manage the airflow underneath the car to conjure up even greater downforce, resulting in a Cz of –0.15. The aerodynamic stability has been further improved by limiting the top speed of the car on the assumption that good handling is more important than a top speed which is seldom used.
SPEED

Electronically limited to 250km/h (155mph), the M250 is designed for the more often used lower end of the performance spectrum – standstill to 100km/h (0–62mph) will be achieved in less than 5s. It also does 0–160 km/h (0–100 mph) in under 11s.

This bias towards lower speeds indicates the market for the new car model coincides with more general consumer markets that are unlikely to benefit from higher speeds. The car also comes with a number of creature comforts that are likely to appeal to these kinds of customers, such as air-conditioning, central locking and electric windows. Satellite navigation is also an option.

For brakes, the car uses 320mm-diameter cast-iron ventilated discs, four-piston racing callipers and all-round ABS.

THE MARKET AND PRODUCTION

At present, the M250 is a concept car. Should the manufacturer decide that the response is favourable, the car can be expected to go into production in the second half of 2001. Initially, the car will be marketed to European customers. However, it is possible that the car may also be sold in North America. Anticipated production levels would be around 3,000 to 4,000 a year. The cars will be produced at the Lotus manufacturing site in Hethel.

In terms of price, the manufacturer has suggested a figure a little below £40,000 (about $60,000). This would price it more towards the Esprit than the Elise. It would therefore be competing against Porsche Boxster, TVR Tuscan and BMW Z3M Coupe

 

[retsmah]

Maybe things have changed, but last I heard the M250 had been cancelled.

 

[pimp racer]

Yeah same here.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Nice
But it looks very much like a Lamborghini..
What do you think?

Well its a wedge yeah, but so was the original Espirit.

Why isn't the LOTUS M250 Concept the new Esprit

Because the espirit fills a different criteria to the M250

and also

Oh yeah M250 pictures Sorry I cant find any high res pictures might have some on laptop. Enjoy took about 5 minutes.

Also it looks like an Elise on steroids. And I don't mean in the Exige way.

Finally, no one really knows if the new car is going to be called the Espirit anyway.

 

[pimp racer]

Originally posted by ExigeExcel

Finally, no one really knows if the new car is going to be called the Espirit anyway.

No one except for me
J/K

 

[LoudMusic]

Oh no, they uglied it up. Lotus, it's the best car ever, don't change a thing!!

 

[pimp racer]

Oh no, they uglied it up. Lotus, it's the best car ever, don't change a thing!!

yeah the back of the "new" esprit looks bad! 👎

 

[Dave A]

No, it's not the best car ever, it's one of them but that title is reserved for the Aston DB9.

 

[pimp racer]

No, it's not the best car ever, it's one of them but that title is reserved for the Aston DB9.

Hmm.. Why do you say the DB9 is the best car ever?

 

[eliseracer]

It's not the best car ever. Lotus will change it. If they didn't they'd go bankrupt. There are REASONS why they stopped making them!!!

The M250 will be back, it's ideology, shape, name, or anything. That is my prediction.Check up Pistonheads.com, any issue of Car and Driver I think, they all have rumours about the next Lotus. It seems Lotus forgot what Colin taught them... These new cars (three total so far) are all larger than the current Elise, will be heavier and in general, not as unique as what the Elise and Esprit are now.

The three are:

The one posted on this page. It has potential, but like mentioned, very if-ish. Expected to be the next Esprit.

The one they sent to the patnent office on the 17th. This car shares no Lotus resemblance, except for the hood grille. Again, if-ish. There are some renderings floating around of this one, it is grey and has VX220 wheels. It is expected to be the next GT Elise.

The yellow one (and a red equivalent again) of a "spy shot". This one is the worst, no style anywhere. Many would say this is the Proton car, maybe, but it has Lotus badgework, and the top half of the car is very reminicent (sp) of the current Elise, not to mention the design is patneted as a Lotus. It is expected to be the next Elise.

All in all, they are bigger than the current models, uglier than the current models and no doubt heavier than the current cars. I can't see Russell Carr or Steve Crijins ever carving out these designs, they really don't seem to have their style in them (they did the S2 Elise, Exige S2 and the M250 among other things). The M250, mind you, was a very brutally carved out beast. This thing would've been ideal, IMO, but like the official name states, it was the Project M250. Everyone thought that Lotus would build it, but they didn't. If my memory serves me correctly, they returned deposits and lost millions... What a shame. I'm sure Mr. Chapman would have been dissappointed.

BUT! Lotus is known for poor PR, these designs may be just random ideas. Nothing is concrete till you see one on the road...

www.pistonheads.com for some pictures,
www.elisetalk.com for info on the current Federalised Elise (111R elsewhere) and info on the upcoming Lotus models.

 

[Dave A]

There are no official scetched of the next Esprit, the only ones seen are test mules wearing the old Esprit's body shell.

As for the DB9, for me that is the perfect car, it's comfey, it has great looks probably the best in the world, it can shift faster than a lot of sportscars and some supercars and it' from a company with few reliability issues and good build quality.