It looks like Lotus might have a surprise in store for people attending next month’s Paris Motor Show. Word is spreading that in addition to the pair of Evoras we already know about, Lotus will also be unveiling two front-engine hybrid vehicles. Lotus has promised to offer more gasoline/electric sports cars, so we think this rumor is entirely believable. Edmunds’ Green Car Advisor thinks that one of the front-engine hybrids will be a four-door hatchback and the other will be a two-door coupe.

Lotus debuted its Evora 414E Hybrid (pictured) concept earlier this year, but unlike that mid-engine concept, the two front-engine models will only have engines on board as generators for the electric motors. Word has it they will use a 47-horsepower, 1.2-liter, three-cylinder engine specifically designed to provide power to electric-drive hybrids. More details to follow during the Paris show later this month.

It’s an Evora but not as you know it

Ahead of the official unveil at the Paris Motor Show on September 30th, Lotus announce the latest evolution of the award winning Evora – the Evora S and Evora IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) option.

Lotus has taken the award winning Evora and re-created it with a 350 PS 3.5l V6 engine to create the Evora S. Dany Bahar Lotus’ Chief Executive Officer summed it up beautifully when he said: “You don’t realise what you were missing from your driving experience until you get behind the wheel of the Evora S.”

So apart from the obvious power difference, how is the Evora S different to the standard Evora? It’s another question we put to the CEO (given that he’s spent a little time behind the wheel, we thought he’d be best placed to answer questions). This is what he said: “It’s the next level of Evora experience. It communicates with you better, the suspension setting has been fine tuned for added power and control so it responds even more to direction. It’s an instinctual car, the experience is pure.”

“We were proud of the Evora but we’re even prouder of the Evora S, I feel like it does the true Lotus experience justice. The really great thing is that as we move forward the standard Evora should also benefit from some of these developments.”

The Evora S comes with a sport pack as standard featuring a ‘sport’ button which allows the driver to control throttle response and activate the exhaust by-pass valve. The sport button also raises the instantaneous rev limit and changes the dynamic stability control settings resulting in a total experience change. There are cross-drilled brakes for improved cooling. And here’s a heads up for those who buy into the old adage ‘you can tell the men from the boys by the size of their toys’: the external emotion of the Evora S has been improved with a completely new active exhaust which means that at the push of a button the car sounds just as dramatic as it feels.

Commenting on the Evora S, Lotus Chief Commercial Officer Andreas Prillmann said: “The Evora S is a natural progression for us but more than that, it’s a taste of what people can come to expect from the next generation of Lotus cars. It retains core Lotus values such as performance through lightweight but it also gives more than that. It’s the perfect combination of top performance, style and comfort. Form doesn’t sacrifice function in the case of the Evora S.”

So there you have it folks, the next generation of Lotus Evora, the Evora S, set to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show.

But that’s not all. In addition to the Evora S, Lotus also presents the IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) option. This inception of the seven-time-award-winning (who’s counting? We are!) Evora sees an automatic 6-speed gearbox with Lotus developed transmission control with a 3.5 l V6 engine delivering 280 PS assuring a superior automatic driving experience.

The IPS version of the Evora allows the driver to switch between manual paddle shift and automatic drive modes. The driver also has the option of selecting ‘sport’ mode which showcases the Lotus sport driving experience allowing the driver to really feel each gear shift and be in complete control of the transmission.

Commenting on the development Dany Bahar said: “The Evora IPS is set to broaden the appeal of the Evora and reach out to a slightly different market. We hope it will be popular with established automatic locations such as Asia, the Middle East and the US. It’s been a long time since Lotus created an automatic and we’ve spent a great deal of time refining this one to make sure that it perfectly complements the Evora drive experience.”

While the Lotus booth at the Jet Center Party in Monterey had several outstanding cars on display, two of them had us drooling more than the rest. The first was the all-new, million-dollar Lotus Exos T125 single-seat racer that we showed you last week…and the other was the car you see here – the Lotus Evora Cup GT4 car. The Evora’s shape is pleasing enough in stock form, but add a few wings and scoops and it is totally bad-ass…especially in British Racing Green.

This Evora will be used in a new single-make series along the lines of the long-running Porsche Cup. The car is also eligible for GT4 class racing against the likes of the Audi R8 LMS and Porsche 911s. While the 4.0-liter, Toyota-based V6 has been bumped up to 400 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, that’s still not earth-shaking power. It’s hoped that the Evora’s relatively light weight and Lotus’s handling expertise, however, will be enough to keep it in the hunt against those more powerful machines.

The “most exclusive and expensive Lotus since the company began in 1952″ is set to premier on Saturday August 7th at Laguna Seca as part of Monterey Car Week. Since its earliest days the names of Lotus road and track cars have started with E and when the official name is announced, this T125 will be no exception. There is no word yet on when the car will be shown in the UK but expect it to be on display at the Paris Motor Show in October.

Also making its North American debut at Laguna Seca will be the of the Evora Cup GT4 race car driven by Johnny Mowlem, who ran it at Snetterton recently. He will put it through its paces on the world famous track. Johnny will also be providing rides to seriously interested Evora Cup GT4 prospects. There’s a full rundown of Monterey Lotus appearances below.

Lotus T125 and Lotus Evora Cup GT4 Events during the Monterey Car Week 2010:

Sat, Aug 7 - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
9:00am - 5:00pm: Lotus exhibit in the four-bay garage under the presentation podium structure.
North American debut of the Evora Cup GT4 race car and World Premier of the new Lotus T125 ultimate track/race car.
12:20pm - 12:35pm: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 race car on track with Johnny Mowlem.
5:00pm - 7:00pm: Reception hosted within Lotus exhibit.

Sun, Aug 8 - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca & Marina Airport
9:00am - 5:00pm: Lotus exhibit
12:20pm - 12:35pm: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 race car on track with Johnny Mowlem.
8:00am - 4:30pm: GGLC Autocross

Weds, Aug 11 - Monterey Jet Center
5:00pm - 10:00pm: Lotus T125, Evora Cup GT4, Evora road car and IndyCar display at the McCall’s Motorworks Revival at the Monterey Jet Center.

Fri, Aug 13 - Pebble Beach & Laguna Seca
9:00am - 6:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach housing the Evora Cup GT4 track/race car and full array of Lotus road-going product portfolio.
9:00am - 5:00pm: GGLC/Lotus Corral at the Monterey Motorsport Reunion

Sat, Aug 14 - Pebble Beach & Laguna Seca
9:00am - 6:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach
12:00pm - 6:00pm: Lotus T125 track/race car displayed on the Concept Car Lawn at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.
9:00am - 5:00pm: GGLC/Lotus Corral at the Monterey Motorsport Reunion

Sun, Aug 15 - Pebble Beach & Laguna Seca
8:00am - 4:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach
8:00am - 6:00pm: Lotus T125 track/race car displayed on the Concept Car Lawn at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.
9:00am - 5:00pm: GGLC/Lotus Corral at the Monterey Motorsport Reunion

Time table from Golden Gate Lotus Club

The 2012 Lotus Esprit as envisioned by AutoExpress

AutoExpress is reporting that Lotus will be showing off four new models at the Paris Motor Show this fall – a roadster and two front-engined grand tourers, along with the long-anticipated new Esprit. A convertible Lotus Evora might make sense as one of these new models, but there’s also a chance the rumored roadster will actually be the 2012 Lotus Elise. The big surprise would be the two front-engined GTs, which if they reach production with the Esprit would double the Lotus model range.

As excited as we are to finally see the Esprit, we’re just as interested in seeing the new Lotus engine line-up. A widened Elise prototype that has been spotted during testing has folks speculating about a V6 taking the place of the current Toyota four-bangers in the engine bay. We are expecting a V8 in the Esprit, possibly sourced by BMW or Lexus, although Lotus itself has been working with Cosworth to further develop their own powertrains. The Esprit will finally bring Lotus back to the heavyweight end of the sports car division, so its Paris debut should be something special.

Lotus and Cosworth – Each of those words elicit memories of the golden era of racing, of very special road and race cars, of powerful, lightweight engines and sweet-handling sportscars. Combined, the two names elicit thoughts of world domination.

Well, the two renowned British automotive names are set to indeed be linked, the companies announcing a strategic partnership to “develop high performance engines for Lotus road and race cars.” Cosworth will apparently tune the Toyota engines currently being used in the Lotus range. The first joint project to come of this marriage will be the new Lotus Evora Cup racing car, powered by a Cosworth-tuned Toyota V6 engine.

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Evora Carbon Concept

The 80th Geneva Motor Show is now open to the press and sitting smack dab in the middle of the Lotus booth is one extra special Evora. The company, known for their mantra of “adding lightness,” have added a healthy dose of carbon fiber to create this Evora Carbon Concept.

Lotus’ motorsport pedigree is said to be the inspiration for this particular special, with its exposed carbon fiber accented roof, nose, tail and sills, and a more aggressive carbon diffuser. The striking white concept car is finished in “an advanced water based pearlesent paint” that combine nicely to create that great Stormtrooper look.

The interior of the Evora Carbon Concept gets some carbon fiber of its own, along with perforated black leather and generous swathes of gray alcantara covering the footwell, dashboard and roof.

Other changes from the standard Evora include diamond cut forged 19” alloy wheels front and rear, shod with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres (235/35 wide front and 285/30 wide rear).

No word on whether or not the Evora Carbon Concept will see production, but we’re going to go ahead and say it probably will, or at least parts of it will.

Last week we told you about the eight special edition Lotus Evoras that supermodel Naomi Campbell was lending her name to in order to raise money for disaster relief in Haiti. Now that the first examples have gone across the auction block, they are possibly the most expensive Lotus cars ever. The first three cars have been sold at a special event during London Fashion Week, and they are fetching nearly $500,000 apiece.

The first example went to Campbell’s Russian boyfriend Vladimir Doronin, who wasn’t about to let down his gorgeous gal-pal. It sold for £320,000 (about $493k USD). Special number two also sold for over 300k pounds sterling, while the third example went for an undisclosed price somewhere below that mark. Just five of these special editions remain, with more information on purchasing them at naomiforhaiti.com until February 28. Details in the press release after the jump.

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2011 Lotus Elise

For Model Year 2011, the Lotus Elise is getting a rather substantial facelift after seven years of soldiering on with basically the same pretty face. If you just did a double-take at the image above thinking we mislabeled this Evora post, then take a third look.

The new front fascia on the ‘11 Elise definitely looks Evora-ish, but it’s not just a cosmetic change. Its smoother, lower nose, restyled headlamps with new daytime running lights, larger grille and side ducting, new engine cover and reworked tail, give the 2011 Elise a coefficient of drag that is four percent better than the current model.

The naturally aspirated 1.8-liter engine puts out 192 hp, while the supercharged version is rated at 217 hp. UK customers will also get a new engine option, when for the first time Lotus offers a new Toyota-sourced 1.6-liter engine with 134 hp (at 6,800 rpm) and 118 pound-feet of torque (at 4,400 rpm). That should be good for a 0-60 time of around six seconds with the standard six-speed manual. Other tweaks to the Elise include two new lightweight forged wheels options and… cruise control.

UK dealerships should be getting the 2011 Lotus Elise by April, while U.S. sales should start later this year. The full US and UK press releases are below.

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