Lotus Elise, Esprit Still Due in 2012

With the economic recession rather deepening that getting back to the initial sales volume, there are a lot of questions regarding the models expected to be launched in the next few years, with next-year's vehicles in doubt mostly due to high developments costs. Such an example is the next generation Lotus Elise and Esprit, with both next-generations expected to be launched in 2012.

According to a report by autocar.co.uk, Lotus is still keen on the initial plans and both models should arrive, as initially planned, in 2012.

Still, the launch might be postponed as fast as you would say "Lotus". Obviously, the main reason is again the insufficient funds. But the matter is a bit more complicated than initially thought.

It seems the Esprit is going to be directly dependent on the money brought by the Evora. Depending on the evolution of the market, Lotus might roll out the Esprit before the Evora convertible. This scenario is likely to take place only if the recession loses ground and people re-became interested in supercars. However, in case the economic chaos is still deepening, Lotus will probably unveil the Evora ahead of the Esprit.

Autocar says, citing Lotus insiders, that the company expects to deliver between 4,000 and 5,000 cars per year in 2011 and 2012 despite the economic turmoil that clearly reduced sales in the supercar sector.

Details are still sketchy at this time but it seems the Evora Convertible will rely on a mid-mounted engine architecture. The car will be a two-seater featuring a V8 powerplant but technical data is yet to be released.

Further information is expected to be released in the upcoming months so we'll keep you up to date.