The new sportscar from Lotus

Making its official global debut at the British Motorshow in London on July 22, the first all-new car from Lotus since the iconic Elise in 1995 will enter the sportscar market as the only mid-engined 2+2 in production.

The new car is known only by its project name ‘Eagle’.

Powered by a 3.5-litre V6 producing 280 PS, the new car employs innovative lightweight chassis technology.

Even in the very early stages of development testing, Lotus ride and handling engineers report that it is considerably faster around the famously demanding Nürburgring circuit than the Elise and more stable at speed than the Exige.

Inside, Project Eagle boasts leather surfaces and high-tech features. The dash features flush-mounted controls that glow with blue LED haloes and a stylised speedometer and rev counter.

As well as being sold in a 2+2 configuration, the car will also be available as a purely two-seater, the space in the rear being allocated to luggage storage. Plans for the future include a convertible and an ultra-high performance version.

Only 2000 of the hand crafted cars are planned each year.

Mike Kimberley, CEO of Group Lotus plc, had this to say about the new model: “Project Eagle is the biggest milestone Lotus has achieved since the Elise was born 13 years ago. We are currently working at broadening the appeal of the Lotus brand through an aggressive five-year model plan of which this car represents the first exciting step.”