PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Lotus Surprises Everyone With The 4 Door Eterne Coupe

Enter the Eterne, the four door super saloon from Lotus. If the Elite is elegance incarnate then the Eterne is elegance redefined.

The Eterne is a true four door, four seater sports GT. It’s the ultimate expression of refined style, sophistication and grace. But wait. An elegant, graceful sports car? Surely not.
A sports car by definition can’t be graceful. Powerful, exciting, aggressive yes, but not graceful. Yet here it is, the ultimate paradox - the Eterne. Power and grace, performance and elegance, beauty and strength all in one stunning package.

With a 5.0 litre pressure charged V8 engine delivering up to 620 PS the Eterne is aiming for best in class performance and efficiency.

In keeping with the rest of the new line-up, the Eterne will benefit from hybrid technology.
Dany Bahar, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus, said: “The Eterne is sensational to look and as with the rest of the range it also over delivers in all other aspects as well. Similar to the Elite, it’s a car of perfect contradictions, it’s compact yet spacious, high performing yet low emitting, relative lightweight yet still reassuringly solid.”

“We truly believe that there is a market for the Eterne, there is nothing else like it out there both in terms of design, capacity and performance. The biggest difference between the Eterne and it’s class competitors is that it’s not an evolution of an existing two-door model, it’s a deliberate and considered stand-alone creation. It’s the ultimate four door sports car.”

Sometimes there are no rules to be broken, so it is time to define them instead.

Specifications:

Layout 4 seater, front-mid-engined, rear wheel drive, all wheel drive is optional
Engine Petrol, hybrid optional
Hybrid Technology Hybrid gearbox with integrated electric motors and KERS
Cylinder V8
Capacity 5.0 litre
Power/Torque 620 PS / 720 Nm
Rev limit 8,500 rpm
0-100 km/h 4.0 seconds
Top speed 315 km/h
CO2 approx (CO2/km) 220 g/km**
Weight 1,800 kg
Seats 4
Transmission Full Hybrid transmission
Drive RWD, AWD optional
Start of production Early 2015
Enters the market Spring 2015
Price indication Circa £120,000

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Joe_Limon - 9/30/2010 5:38:53 PM

+1 Boost

Lotus is showing off 5 different concepts. This is the one that interests me the least, new Esprit ftw :D

bmwdrvr - 9/30/2010 8:08:24 PM

+1 Boost

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2010/09/paris-show-lotus-unveils-new-esprit.html

theres a link to the other concepts

Steve - 9/30/2010 5:55:55 PM

+2 Boost

I view auto show "concept cars" as little more than mental meanderings. For decades, we've been teased with exotic shapes that are too expensive to mass produce in sheet metal, user-interfaces using joysticks and other alternative controls in place of a steering wheel and go/stop pedals, turbine engines that don't lend themselves at all to the properties required for automotive propulsion. I'm not interested in what they thought about but could not make real. I'm interested in what they can *deliver*. Precious few concept cars ever see a production line. But that's just me!

bmwdrvr - 9/30/2010 8:07:44 PM

+2 Boost

your talking about a low volume premium sports car maker they are lot more likely to produce their concepts than others that design looks production ready save a few details, not to mention enough crazy concepts have made it into production to prove it can be done....

Joe_Limon - 9/30/2010 8:54:46 PM

+2 Boost

also realize that with the limited budgets that can go towards making concept cars, it is far more fruitful for these companies to put a lot more design effort into their concepts so that they can bring something very close to them to market.

Joe_Limon - 9/30/2010 8:55:15 PM

+1 Boost

these being high end limited production manufacturers.

synx - 9/30/2010 8:51:00 PM

+2 Boost

Nice but too generic looking for my liking

edeus123 - 10/3/2010 4:04:48 AM

+1 Boost

You know Synx, I actually came to that conclusion myself also. I had actually design a car very similar to this one. In fact the grille was something that I use in one of my sport car design. I was kinda piss actually that they used it, but oh well.

dlin - 9/30/2010 9:17:45 PM

+2 Boost

Britain certainly has better taste than mechanic German. :)

mini22 - 10/1/2010 12:08:59 PM

+1 Boost

It's obvious that these are models that if they make production will be faised in over time.Near term has to be the Esprit and Elan. The Elite probably will be produced based on Lotus new sales.Personally I find these designs a little bland and some vehicles look the same-EG Esprit and Elan then Elite and Eterne. I hope there is a little more "lotus" que's when they make production.I do not like the "Elise" concept at all. I'm not implying that they (Lotus) should do retro. Rather that there needs to be a progression identity from the previous model. As synx said there is a generic look about them. Audi's quattro concept does hark back to the original but it also shows the clear relationship to modern Audi's like the Etron,S 5etc.I find the Quttro Concept more appealing to me then these. Ditto for the Jaguar concept as well. The Elite,for example, looks a little bloated to me. I can't excatly put my finger on why. Perhaps it's the rear that kind of sags.

dbtimes1 - 10/2/2010 2:41:44 AM

+1 Boost

I like the 4-door! If they can make the interior as nice as the Panamera then Lotus will have winner.

OBie - 10/3/2010 4:52:12 PM

+1 Boost

This what the Porsche panamera should of looked like (instead of looking like a turd). Very nice lotus, please put into production and give the rapide and quattroporte some real competition (designwise at least).