| A New Lotus Blossoms |
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By Terry Jackson
Lotus, a company with a racing history that rivals Ferrari, has long had trouble fielding a marketable street car. Even when founder Colin Chapman was alive, cars like the Lotus Elan, Super Seven, Elite and Europa were definitely for drivers willing – make that eager – to compromise comfort and amenities in exchange for razor-sharp handling.
Later, more sophisticated – and sharply more expensive -- Lotus street cars, like the Esprit, were fast and wedgy, but sold in very small numbers and the company was always flirting with bankruptcy.
Now under the ownership of a Malaysian company, the latest Lotus street cars, the Elise and Exige, are still out of the mainstream, with quirky designs that overshadow their performance qualities.
That could change with the arrival of the new Lotus Europa, which promises to compete with such mainstream sports cars as the Audi TT and the Nissan 350Z.
Civilized in its amenities, the Europa will still follow the Lotus formula of combining light overall weight with a small displacement engine, in this case a turbocharged 200-horsepower four-cylinder motor bought from Vauxhall. The factory claims a 0-to-60 mph time of 5.5 seconds. No pricing, nor a firm introduction date were announced.
Now comes the disappointing part. The U.S. market isn’t in the immediate future for the Europa. But when the Elise was first introduced, it too wasn’t brought to the United States. As production ramped up, the U.S. was added.
So there’s reason to hope we could one day get what could prove to be the best street car ever from Lotus.
Copyright © 2005 Men.com
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