

Lotus is going to launch the Esprit in the spring of 2013, which will be the first of several new models from Lotus. Lotus previewed the Esprit with the Esprit concept.

According to Lotus CEP Dany Bahar, the Esprit will have a more “authentic” driving experience than the Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP4-12C. Bahar who recently spoke with Autocar stated that the Esprit “have the character and emotion” that the McLaren lacks.

The Esprit will be the first Lotus to be powered by Lotus’ new V8 engine, which is expected to have up to 570 horsepower. The Lotus V8 is 176 pounds lighter and 40 percent smaller than the original Toyota sourced V8.

A rolling chassis for the new Esprit is already complete and fully running prototypes are expected to be ready in November. Expect to see prototypes on the Nürburging.

Full Story: Autocar