Lotus Elite: The Most Powerful Lotus Ever

This is the theLotus Elite, the new"compact"convertible GT sports car we been told to expect from the close-to-our-bossom blossom-named-brand. What we weren't expecting? A folding hardtop, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and an unheard-of-for-Lotus weight. Beefcake!

Ten days ahead of the Paris Motor Show, where Lotus is set to reveal the"dawn"of a new era, they've revealed"a first taste of what's to come"— the all-new 2014Lotus Elite.

Lotus is touting this as a"chic and elegant"— yet"compact"— convertible GT 2+2 sports car with a folding hardtop. Although there's no interior shots yet, you can just make out the rear seats in the profile shot, along with a huge gently sloping centre console, which doesn't appear to have a gear lever.

And here's the new new thing for Lotus— there will be no manual option. Instead, you'll have a choice of a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission— or buying a Ferrari 599. Why a Ferrari 599? Because that's the performance competition. Seriously.

Despite the lack of gear-rowing, this Lotus looks like it'll be fast. It has a mid-mounted 5.0-liter V8 engine behind the front axle producing around 542 bhp, or 611 bhp in the R-tuned version. Combine that with 530 lb-ft o' torque and Lotus predicts the Elite will hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in about 3.6 seconds. That's faster than the Lotus 2-Eleven and is far and away the most powerful Lotus ever built. There's even talk of a Formula 1-style KERS-like hybrid system providing short bursts of an extra 50 bhp. That's good. Because apparently the new Proton-led"dawn"for Lotus is breaking over the set of The Biggest Loser as it'll weigh in at 3,600 lbs.— almost two Lotus Elises!

We guess you get what you pay for because this'll be expensive–- even for a Lotus -– at around $180,000 (over twice as much as an Evora). But that's still $30k cheaper than a Ferrari California. Plus, you'll get the power of a 599. Not too shabby if you ask us.

Proton will oversee a highly-ambitious 10-year development plan worth $1.2 billion, which will try to bring Lotus in direct competition with Aston Martin, Maserati, and others."Lotus can't survive as a niche brand,"said Lotus CEO Dany Bahar."It needs to be more appealing and has to exceed its rivals with better quality, class-leading emissions and performance at a better price."

Still, we lament the lack of a manual and the new bigger-is-better Cartman-sized Lotus. But hey, more power, right?

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