The NZ Herald has posted an article unveiling information on the new Lotus V8 engine currently in development and planned to slot in to the next generation Esprit, Elite and Eterne.

The engine started dyno testing in August and if all goes to schedule may be out testing in a development car before the end of the year. The specifications certainly sound mouthwatering and if accurate are set to make the Esprit the most powerful production road car ever to emerge from Hethel, eclipsing even the forthcoming Evora GTE, and on a near level pegging with the one off Elise GT1 road car.

Power from the naturally aspirated 4.8l engine is quoted as being in the region of 425kW (570bhp) at a heady 9,000rpm, with potential further developments pushing this figure up to 470kW (630bhp) at 9,400rpm.

The engine is set to be light too, with a target weight of just 170kg for the dry sumped and flat-plane crankshaft unit.

Source: NZ Herald – Hot V8 has Lotus all revved up
Discussion: SELOC Chat -New V8 sounding promising

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