Lotus rolled out the final three examples of a trio of cars that represent almost half the company’s total production ever: the Elise, Exige, and Evora. Together they made up 51,738 sales and kept the company going through good times and bad. But the three will be no more, Lotus says, as the company plunges ahead into an electric future.
Well, electric except for the mid-engine Emira, which is based on a modified version of the same platform and will be powered by a familiar Toyota-based 3.5-liter gasoline engine or an AMG 2.0-liter four. That comes out next spring, followed by the all-electric Evija hypercar. More on those at a later date. Right now we come not to bury the Es, but to praise them.
The Elise, Exige, and Evora were built over the course of 26 years in Hethel, U.K. The Elise and Exige shared the same “small car platform” that carried the Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 and the very first Tesla Roadsters, of which 2005 were built between 2007 and 2012. So it was a big day in Hethel. The Evora was on the Big Car Platform.
For the full story, check out this article from Car And Driver.
