Lotus has finally made it clear that their Elan variant will be delayed to 2016. Though Lotus escaped without giving an explanation on the delay, reports from authentic sources say that the company has decided to allow a more traditional life-cycle for Evora.
The original Elan was introduced in 1962 as a roadster, although an optional hardtop was offered in 1963 and a coupé version in 1965. The two seat Lotus Elan replaced the elegant, but unreliable and expensive to produce Lotus Elite. It was the first Lotus road car to use the now famous steel backbone sub frame with a fibreglass body. At 1,500 lb (680 kg), the Elan embodied the Colin Chapman minimum weight design philosophy.
Initial versions of the Elan were also available as a kit to be assembled by the customer. The Elan was technologically advanced with a twin-cam 1558 cc engine, 4-wheel disc brakes, and 4-wheel independent suspension. The Lotus-Ford Twin Cam engine was based on Ford's Pre-Cross-flow 4 cylinder 1500 cc engine, with a Lotus-inspired Cosworth alloy twin-cam head. This Lotus-Ford 4-cylinder engine would go on to be used in a number of Lotus production and racing models.
The new Lotus Elan was announced at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. Finally set for production in 2016. It will feature a 4.0 litre V6 engine and will weigh roughly 1,295 kg (2,855 lb) and will also feature optional hybrid technology with KERS which will be across the whole new Lotus range. It will mainly be aimed at buyers of the Porsche 911 and Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
It has to be noted that Elan was proposed to be launched in 2013 replacing Evora. As you may be aware, the first mid-engined 2+2 production Evora has been packed with amenities and creature comforts such as leather seats, on-board tyre pressure monitoring, air-conditioning, airbags, Alpine multi-media system, satellite navigation, video, Bluetooth hands-free telephone and iPod connectivity functions, reversing camera and more.
We can well expect a variety of Evora variants – such as a convertible and track-oriented model hitting the roads soon. Despite all these, Lotus has reaffirmed plans to launch the Esprit in 2013.
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