2005 Lotus Elise on 2040-cars

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Watch the Lotus Esprit evolve from 1976 to 2004

Seeing a model as long-lived as the Lotus Esprit evolve over time generally requires some clever photography or graphical work, kind of like this. This video doesn't require any of that trickery, though, because it features every single model year of Espirt in one glorious row of awesome British cars.
Taken at the 2013 Lotus Festival at Brands Hatch in the UK, it features Esprits from 1976 all the way to its last model year in 2004. It really puts into perspective the slow evolution of the mid-engined, wedge-shaped Lotus, as it went from a very 1970s design to something decidedly more modern.
We've got the full video below, which starts with a red 1976 model, travels down the line to a silver 2004 Esprit, and then all the way back to the original. Take a look, and let us know what you think.

Lotus Advanced Performance offers hints about special projects

Four months ago, Lotus teased the creation of an Advanced Performance division. The legendary sports car maker divulged that the department would build "ultra-exclusive and unique vehicles" outside of the firm's regular-production lineup, developing Lotus race cars, manage Lotus motorsports programs, work on customer commissions and create customer experiences from Hethel production tours and track days to global driving academies and "money can't buy" opportunities. In further comments to Autocar and Auto Express, the head of Lotus Advanced Performance (LAP), Simon Lane, gave clues about what's coming. Lane suggested a number of creations, but the part we're most excited about is "while wider Lotus Group moves towards full-on electrification, LAP is 'reserving the right to still play with combustion engines.'" These ICE powerplants could be slated for coming restomod projects based on plans and technical drawings for Lotus products in the 1960s and 1970s that were never produced. Lane said his 15-person team is "well advanced" on work on what he calls "scratch build" vehicles that will hearken to vintage wares but be "easier to drive and maybe [have] a better power-to-weight ratio and better brakes." We love our electric cars here at Autoblog, but the idea of lightweight revivals recalling Lotus' best years with classic lines, small-displacement engines and maybe even manual transmissions would be glorious. These won't be continuation cars, but all-new products with production runs said to be smaller than anyone would expect.    It's possible we could see something this year, 2022 being the 50th anniversary of Emerson Fittipaldi and Lotus winning the 1972 Formula 1 Driver's and Constructor's Championships in the Lotus-Ford 72D. That might explain the teaser image from February, if not the colors of the car in the teaser. Know what other momentous Lotus moment occurred in 1972? The Esprit concept debuted at the Turin Motor Show. Lane, who comes from service in Aston Martin's Q division, calls LAP "the most all-encompassing special operations department" among automakers. That means there will be work done on the electric side, too, potential services being electric drivetrain conversions of traditional Lotus cars, and creating new bodywork for the new range of battery-electric cars.

Lotus reveals extreme new 3-Eleven at Goodwood

Lotus has taken the occasion of the Goodwood Festival of Speed to reveal the new 3-Eleven. Billed as the quickest, most expensive road-going series production Lotus ever, the new 3-Eleven picks up where the previous 2-Eleven left off. And that gave the British automaker quite a starting point. An extreme evolution of the Elise and Exige, the new 3-Eleven boils things down to the bare essentials and packs a mighty punch. It's built around an aluminum chassis with composite bodywork and a completely open cockpit. That gives it a curb weight of less than 2,000 pounds to embody Colin Chapman's ethos of "adding lightness" like no other modern Lotus we've seen yet. At its heart lies an upgraded version of the company's 3.5-liter supercharged V6, producing 450 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. That makes it even more powerful than the new Evora 400, and channels through a six-speed manual transmission, limited slip differential, and traction control. Other features include double wishbone suspension front and rear, Eibach springs, adjustable Ohlins dampers, AP Racing brakes, a Lotus-tuned Bosch ABS, 18-inch alloys up front, 19 inches the rear, shod with Michelin rubber. All of those goodies translate to a 0-60 time of under 3.0 seconds and a top speed of up to 180 miles per hour. It's even quoted to lap the company's test track at Hethel in 1:22. That makes it an impressive ten seconds seconds faster than the aforementioned Evora 400 – which is already six seconds faster around the circuit than the preceding Evora S. Production will be limited to just 311 examples, and is slated to commence in February 2016, with the first deliveries to begin in April. Any potential for North American availability has yet to be announced, but in the UK pricing will start at GBP82,000 (equivalent to $129k at current exchange rates). A more extreme Race version will be offered alongside the Road model, priced at GBP96,000 ($150k) before taxes or GBP115,000 ($180k) with, upgrading with track-focused features like a more aggressive aero kit, six-point racing harness, and a six-speed sequential gearbox.