Why Lotus needs a McLaren 570S rival

With a revived Lotus Esprit on the horizon, we discuss how the brand will compete with the likes of McLaren and Audi

Mid-engined Esprit supercar was built from 1976 to 2004
Revived Lotus Esprit could compete with likes of McLaren

Opinion

by Mark Tisshaw

1 min read

8 May 2018

Follow @mtisshaw

So Lotus is going to make a new car in an “upper segment above the Evora”; one that doesn’t compete with anything wearing a ‘911’ badge.

The next place to go, then, is into the world of entry-level mid-engined supercars such as the McLaren 570S and Audi R8.

Even if Lotus won’t say it, we will for them: they’re making a new Esprit. And they’re doing so with the wind in their sails; the Evora has quietly (and quite brilliantly) crept up from a £47,500 car at launch in 2008 to one with a £112,500 price in GT430 guise. It’s a price tag the Evora actually wears rather well, albeit at the limit without encroaching into McLaren territory.

There’s only one thing to do, then, and they’re going to do it. The Esprit is coming back.

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Mark Tisshaw

Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?, Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.