July 25, 2008
Lotus has the big league sports car makers in its sights with its first new car in 13 years. The name of the new car - currently called Project Eagle - will be revealed at the upcoming British Motor Show on July 22. It's likely that, in Lotus tradition, it will be a short, pithy name starting with the letter 'E'.
The car is a 2+2 seater and will be priced around $150,000 when it comes to Australia. It is powered by a mid-mounted 206kW Toyota V6 driving the rear wheels via a Toyota-supplied six speed manual gearbox. Lotus has engineered the gearchange and clutch to suit the sporty character of the car.
Although performance figures haven't been run on the Project Eagle, Lotus says that the prototype laps the Nurburgring faster than an Elise or an Exige. Top speed is expected to be in the realm of 250km/h, while the 0-100km/h dash is expected to be less than five seconds.
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The car will go on sale in Europe in the middle of next year, and will arrive in Australia in late 2009.
Project Eagle is the first prong in Lotus' strategy to become a quality sports car maker that can play in Porsche territory. "Project Eagle is the biggest milestone reached by Lotus since the Elise was born 13 years ago,'' said Lotus chief executive Mike Kimberley. "We are currently working on broadening the appeal of the Lotus brand through an aggressive five year model plan of which this car represents the first exciting step."
A key part of Lotus' transformation with Project Eagle is the move to high quality interiors and a far greater emphasis on electronics. Lotus cars aren't currently known for their quality - or concessions to driver comfort and convenience.
The interior of the Project Eagle has a contrasting colour band running around the inside of the cabin, sports seats, a flat bottomed steering wheel and contrasting aluminium and leather inserts in the cabin. The leather and aluminium are a departure from the current Lotus practise of building sporty, but spartan cars lacking most creature comforts and build quality.
Electronics play a large role in Project Eagle's interior design, with a seven inch touch screen controlling audio, satellite navigation, phone and iPod functionality. The screen is also a monitor for Project Eagle's optional reversing camera.
The audio system is supplied by Alpine. The satellite navigation system has a removable hard drive which allows customers to program it from their homes, or to use the system as a roving satellite navigation and MP3 player.
As well as being sold in a 2+2 configuration, the car will also be available as a pure two seater with the space in the rear allocated to luggage storage. The rear of the 2+2 version is intended for small adults or children, and has ISOFIX child seating restraints.
Other versions planned include a convertible and an ultra-high performance derivative. It's believed that the engine bay has room for a supercharger, which would make a high performance model a logical fit in the model line up.
Project Eagle is envisaged to have an eight year life span, with the convertible version arriving around three years into the car's life.
The Project Eagle was designed in-house at Lotus. "Project Eagle's dynamically sculptured form and dramatic proportions communicate visual drama, speed and agility," said head of design, Russell Carr.
The car has been designed to hide its 2+2 configuration while emphasising its mid-engined layout through sculpted wheel arches and muscular looking haunches.
One of the most interesting aspects of the car is its chassis, made from folded sheet aluminium and aluminium extrusions. It's called the Variable Vehicle Architecture, and Lotus envisages selling it to other low volume car makers, as well as using it in its own upcoming models.
In Project Eagle the chassis comes in three parts. The rear structure supports the Toyota V6 engine and transmission, as well as the rear suspension. It is riveted onto a centre, passenger cabin structure, as is the bolt on front section, which carries the steering, front suspension and crash support structure.
source:smh
