Elise based GT almost a certainty
Well, it has been quite a week for Lotus rumors. Pending buyout discussions of parent company, Proton. Definitive information on the Esprit replacement. Now we find a rumor, together with a few pre-production images (none that are clear enough to post) of the next car due out by the end of this year.

Two Seater
Although initial thought was that this car would be a four seater, it looks like Lotus has settled on making it a large and more comfortable version of the Elise. The car will be wider and slightly longer than the Elise. It will also be taller which should increase sales in the US as the current Elise is perceived to be for short people only (untrue).

Powerplant
Current school of thought is that the car will use the four cylinder, 2.0 liter, 200bhp engine from the Vauxhall (GM) Elise-derived VX220 turbo. Lotus wants to use this car to compete with the likes of the Porsche Boxter and Audi TT. Expected price in UK sterling is 30,000 to 32,000. Look for it to come in at about $45,000 US. The car, as with all future Lotus models, will be designed from the beginning as a "world car" and be sold in the US.

The picture in this blog entry is that of the Lotus design patent and is remarkably similar to the fuzzy spy shots available on the web.