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While the return of the Lotus Elite model was our first glimpse at the future of Lotus, Esprit is by far the most anticipated new Lotus. The bad news is we still have to wait until 2013 to see one on the street. As it stands, what we've seen seems to suggest the production car will be worth the lengthy wait.
One could argue the Elise is the most delicate car in both Lotus' current and future portfolios. Some critics will compare every future Lotus product to the current Elise while ignoring the fact that Lotus has never turned a profit while the Elise has been on sale. For reference, the Elise went on sale in 1996. That's a long time to be losing money.
The final slot in the revised Lotus portfolio is reserved for a four-door sports car named Eterne. There is a tenuous historical precedent for a four-door Lotus. During General Motors' ownership of Lotus, a Vauxhall Carlton sedan was sent to Lotus for a fairly intense transformation that transformed it from a stale sedan into a veritable four-door sports car. Lotus badging and wider wheel arches hinted at the Cartlton's incredible 176-mph top speed, which was made possible by a twin-turbo I-6 engine and six-speed ZF manual transmission borrowed from the (Lotus-engineered) Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1.
Although the new Esprit will be a fitting halo car for Lotus, the revived Elan is arguably the most important product Lotus will bring to market in 2013. The Elan has far greater appeal, and a much lower price, than the Esprit and was designed to be the ultimate daily driver as well as a delight on the track.
Is it a car? Is it a van? Is it an SUV? According to Nissan, its Townpod concept, which debuted this morning at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, is a little of everything.
To state the obvious, one of the reasons the Paris auto show is unique is because the French automakers are on their home turf. We see Renault, Citroen, and Peugeot at the Geneva show each year, but their most exciting cars always debut in Paris. DeZir is the latest Renault EV concept and it looks pretty cool.