Lotus's future: the new Esprit

Our image shows how the next Esprit may look. The MSC (Mid-Engined Supercar) is undergoing crash testing and will be launched in early 2008.

Engineering of the next Esprit is 'racing forward at speed' according to Lotus. Russell Carr, chief designer at Lotus, believes that the Esprit's footprint will be 'much more compact than that of the Lambo [the Gallardo] or the Ferrari [F430]'.

Power is expected to come from a V8, perhaps sourced from BMW and equipped with twin turbos. This will probably be linked to a six-speed sequential transmission.

The production estimate is 2500 cars a year of the aluminium or composite skinned car, which is crucial to Lotus, which is currently running its Hethel operation on a three-day week.

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