Lotus concept cars
M250
One if the most famous Lotus concept cars is the M250 showcased at Frankfurt Motorshow 1999, their aim was to produce another superlative driver’s car, it was crafted from the inspiration of the Elise, however with with technology enhancements and refinements only achieveble made through Lotus's pioneering fifty year history of sportscar development.
The M250 ran a centre mounted 3.0 litre V6 engine highly tuned, this was enhanced by a 6 speed gearbox driving the rear wheels, the concept was directed to fit into the already established Lotus line-up between the Elise and the Esprit.
Unfortunately the Lotus M250 project was cancelled.
The Top Gear Lada
Another concept was the Lotus Lada in 2002, a 96 Lada Riva with the addition of a £100,000 makeover by Lotus of Norfolk, and of course Top Gear hosted by Jeremy Clarkson. The car received sports lowered suspension, courtesy of Bilstein dampers, uprated brakes, slick paint job and graphics, OMP racing seats retrimmed, Momo steering wheel, BBS rims & Yokohama rubber. This concept was driven by Fiat 2 litre twin cam engine, with stage 2 race tuning by engineer Guy Croft, it also received a 131 transmission and racing clutch.
The Lada was capable of developing approx 180bhp at 5,000 RPM, and gets 0-60 in around 7 secs, top speed 135mph.
Over the years many Lotus concepts have been spied at the Nurburgring in Germany -
The replacement for the aging Esprit is due around 2008. It is also known that Lotus may add a 2+2 model to their existing lineup, around 2010.