Lotus Ethos Set for 2014 Launch Based on Emas City Car Concept
Amidst all the sexy and exciting sports cars Lotus unveiled at the Paris Auto Show last year, tucked away in a back corner was the Emas Concept. A small city car, it was perhaps the most likely of the concepts, combining the automaker’s talents for light weight vehicles with nimble handling, wrapped up in an affordable package that could produce real volume sales and bring Lotus to profitability.
Well, it seems that along with plans to move nearly all the other concepts into production, Lotus will push ahead with the Emas concept, naming it the Ethos and bringing it to market in 2014. Built in cooperation with parent company Proton, the vehicle itself will likely be built in Malaysia, with Euro-spec models receiving their finishing touches at the Lotus plant in Hethel.
Sales are expected to reach 1500 to 1800 a year for the Lotus model, a small number indeed, but one that would certainly give a big boost to overall Lotus sales. According to Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, the Ethos will be either an electric car or a hybrid. Either way, it will be a true Lotus in terms of its handling and fun-to-drive capability. Look for pricing around £30,000 – roughly $50,000.
In addition, Lotus is planning to build its own 4.8-liter V8 for the Esprit with as much as 570-hp. That same engine could also be halved to form the basis of the next Elise motor, displacing 2.4-liters.
GALLERY: Lotus Ehtos
[Source: CAR]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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