[Carmagazine]
This is the new Lotus, with a 3.5-litre Toyota V6 and four apparently useable seats. The car will be unveiled at the London motor show later this month - when we’ll find out the name of this new Lotus - but in the meantime the company is teasing us with some new details. These included the car’s sub-five second 0-60mph time, its estimated 160mph top speed and the promise of convertible and high-performance versions.
Is it still called the Lotus Eagle?
For now, as that’s the car’s project name. And what we do know is that the early prototypes of the Eagle running at the Nurburgring are considerably faster than the Elise and more stable at speed than the Exige.
But of course it should be quicker, with an aluminium chassis and composite roof help to keep weight low. Add in a 3.5-litre V6 Toyota engine with dual VVT-i (‘intelligent’ variable valve timing) producing 276bhp and we wouldn’t expect anything less from Lotus. The torque figure should be at least 250lb ft, as CAR scooped the lowdown on the Toyota engine a few months ago.
The rest of the spec is pretty impressive too, with 350mm four-pot AP racing brakes, Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs.
What about this car being a 2+2?
In the back of the Eagle, but ahead of the mid-mounted engine, you’ll find two Isofix seats that are designed for children up to nine years old, or for occasional use by adults. But if you want to be more practical we suggest ticking the box that turns the rear seats into a luggage compartment.
Lotus claims the Eagle offers ‘real-world usability’ so the cabin is leather-lined and even has a glovebox, storage bins and ‘cup holders’. The steering wheel is flat-bottomed and blue LEDs bathe the cabin in light.
What else do I need to know?
Inside the Eagle you’ll find a 7-inch Alpine hi-fi system with Bluetooth and iPod connections. Air-con is standard while you can option a reversing camera and tyre pressure monitor. Anti-lock brakes, stability control and traction control are all standard.
No more than 2000 cars a year will be built, and prices are expected to cost £45k when sales start in spring 2009.
‘Project Eagle is the biggest milestone Lotus has achieved since the Elise was born 13 years ago,’ Lotus CEO Mike Kimberely commented. ‘We are currently working at broadening the appeal of the Lotus brand through an aggressive 5-year model plan of which this car represents the first exciting step.’ Up next are two new models, due by October 2011.