đź“° Auto News Spy Shots: Mystery supercar spotted, what is it?

Mook

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CAR online has a mystery car on its hands. They've acquired spy shots of what appears to be a new supercar undergoing testing at a UK facility, but have no idea which supercar it is. Their first guess was the same as ours – the Lotus Esprit, though the actual car that comes won't be called by that name. However, after some detective work, it's unlikely this car is the next mid-engine Lotus. It seems that the car is registered as having a 7.0L engine, which has some thinking there's a Corvette mill back there. Unfortunately, there would be no reason for the next Lotus Esprit to be testing with a giant American V8, as those cars were known for their smaller, lightweight engines. Lotus, however, is no doubt involved with the car, as paperwork bearing its logo was seen in the car's cabin. But Lotus does work for many manufacturers, so it could belong to one of its clients. The names Noble, Ascari, Audi, McLaren and Mercedes have been thrown around, but that's merely a list of automakers that have supercars under development. Any guesses?

LotusEspiritspy_1_560.jpg


:dunno:

remind me of the r8

UPDATE:

(courtest of autoblog)

In today's episode of Fast Lane Daily, host Ji Young Min reveals that the mystery car spotted last week by CAR magazine is believed on good authority to be an all-new Lotus model codenamed "Project Eagle". The new mid-engine sports car is expected to slot in between the Elise and whatever car arrives to replace the much missed Esprit. The car's design will reportedly be similar to the M250 Concept that Lotus debuted in Frankfurt all the way back in 1999, while it's power will unsurprisingly come from a Toyota-sourced motor. The "Project Eagle" is meant by Lotus to play predator to the Porsche 911 Carerra's prey. If produced, it should break cover sometime next year and may be sold in the U.S. around 2009. Lotus would limit production to just 2,000 units a year, however, making this eagle an endangered species.
 

Yaj Yak

Gladys
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tho i really see the old esprit in it as well

sitting in the discount tire... in lake in the hills yesterday, reading up on my car and driver and other token car magazines...

i think youre right...

it said something about lotus wanting to get back into the supercar market... something priced around the 200k range... thats all i remember...
 

Mook

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more updates from autoblog

It is a Lotus, it isn't a Lotus. It is a Lotus, it isn't a Lotus. Today we think it could be, despite earlier reports to the contrary. But whether that mysetrious test mule spotted with Lotus paperwork was actually a Lotus or not, the famed British sportscar company in fact does have a supercar planned for the near future. This right from the lion's mouth, the lion in this case being Lotus' American chief Mike Kimberly.

Not much is known about what form the car will take or what we'll find under the hood, but given Lotus' focus on handling as well as its current and past models, a mid-engine/rear-drive layout would be a safe bet. The supercar would cap a rapidly expanding range of sportscars for Lotus, and not just variants of the Elise like we have now. A new Esprit is on the way, despite powertrain-related set-backs, and the 2+2 known as "Project Eagle" is slated for debut at the British auto show before hitting the market in 2009.

The three new models are part of the company's plan to dramatically increase production from last year's 2,875 to 8,000 over the next several years.
 
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