{"id":2058,"date":"2025-06-10T19:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T19:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/?p=2058"},"modified":"2025-06-10T15:35:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T15:35:11","slug":"everyone-wants-this-iconic-car-design-to-come-back-and-it-might-be-happening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/2025\/06\/10\/everyone-wants-this-iconic-car-design-to-come-back-and-it-might-be-happening\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyone wants this iconic car design to come back… and it might be happening"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”article-title-allcaps” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|800||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”44px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Return of the Lotus Esprit? It could well happen<\/h1>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-introv2″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|700|||||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Lotus has done some very odd things over the years \u2013 but letting this opportunity slip would top the lot<\/p>\n

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Words<\/b><\/span> Mark Walton
<\/span>Photography<\/b><\/span> Lotus and john Wycherley<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/06\/05-Three-Esprits.jpg” title_text=”05 Three Esprits” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”text-with-dropcap” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Fifty years after it was first launched at the 1975 Paris motor show, there\u2019s so much love going round for the Lotus Esprit, it begs the question: why doesn’t Lotus just go ahead and scratch that itch? Why not launch a new one? <\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

There have been plenty of false starts over the years, most famously in 2010, when the then-CEO, Dany Behar (ex-Red Bull marketing guru) trolled us all by unveiling not one, not three, but five new Lotus concepts at the Paris show. They included a sharp-looking next-generation Esprit, ‘on sale in 2013’ we were told. Yikes. It didn’t happen, and Lotus barely survived that era.<\/p>\n

Then there were the ‘New Esprit in 2020’ headlines in 2018, and the ‘Esprit Successor with Hybrid V6!’ rumours in 2020. All fake. Yes indeed, it\u2019s been a long, sad road of disappointment for Esprit fans.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”car-pullquote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|800||on|||||” text_font_size=”22px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

‘But even if the days of the 1970s cheese wedge are over, that doesn\u2019t stop Ben appreciating the original S1 Esprit’<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/06\/02-Old-Lotus.jpg” title_text=”02 Old Lotus” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

But cheer up! Lotus now has Chinese backing and last year it unveiled its arrow-nosed Theory 1 concept \u2013 which wasn\u2019t called the Next-Gen Esprit Concept but it might as well have been. Wedge-shaped and white, the signalling was clear.<\/p>\n

So in light of CAR\u2019s 50th anniversary Esprit celebration in the latest issue, we caught up with Ben Payne, vice president of design at Lotus and the man behind the Theory 1, to ask: is there going to be another Esprit? And if so, will it look like a 1970s white wedge?<\/p>\n

‘I think if you tried to do something utterly flat and sheer in the ’70s style and started to put modern tech and modern wheels on it, it would quickly become a cartoon,’ Ben tells me. ‘So I don\u2019t believe in doing a pastiche. Lotus has always been about revolution, not evolution. [Lotus founder] Colin Chapman was all about what was coming next.’<\/p>\n

But even if the days of the 1970s cheese wedge are over, that doesn\u2019t stop Ben appreciating the original S1 Esprit.<\/p>\n

‘Look at the other cars [Esprit designer Giorgetto] Giugiaro was doing at that time,’ Ben points out. ‘Think about the VW Golf Mk1 or the first-generation Panda. These are pure, simple and beautifully executed designs that are so hard to do. You know, when a car has literally nothing about it, getting the proportions right is absolutely essential. It\u2019s very hard to do something like that \u2013 something so pure \u2013 and make it sit correctly.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/06\/04-Ben-Payne.jpg” title_text=”04 Ben Payne” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”car-img-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Ben Payne, vice president of design at Lotus and the man behind the Theory 1<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

‘With the Esprit, it was dogmatism from Giguiaro to say “No! Only one line through the car!” It\u2019s almost a wedge from every view. In profile it isn\u2019t quite one line from the nose to the screen, but in your head it is, so it\u2019s as close as it needs to be. It\u2019s so dogmatically executed, and to do that it needed the single-minded approach of Giugiaro and the futurism of Chapman to say “Yeah, why not?”<\/p>\n

‘Cars of that era have a visual lightness,’ he goes on. ‘With sports cars today, everyone talks about how they\u2019re stuck to the floor, but the Esprit doesn\u2019t do that. The Esprit very much looks like it\u2019s flying above the ground \u2013 that one line that runs through the car is relatively high and the nose section is flying. It\u2019s like an aeroplane. People don\u2019t do that do any more.’<\/p>\n

I suggest to Ben that the Theory 1 shows that Lotus is at least exploring the wedge again, even if it\u2019s not the flat-surface, 1970s-cartoon approach. He insists the Esprit was only one of the team\u2019s inspirations.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/06\/01-Lotus-and-Lotus-copy.jpg” title_text=”01 Lotus and Lotus copy” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

‘We had a group of muses, if you like,’ Ben explains. ‘There are a number of technical references in the car that come from Formula 1, derived from the Type 72 [the championship-winning F1 car of 1970]. There\u2019s the structural revolution of the Lotus 49, using the engine and gearbox as stressed parts of the car, doing away with sub-structures \u2013 so we\u2019ve done that with the active rear-wing system that\u2019s mounted directly to the suspension. From the aesthetic point of view, the Esprit is a big part of it \u2013 the wedge and that one line running through the car.<\/p>\n

‘On the Esprit S1, that black rubber strip was covering a joint between two GRP panels, so it\u2019s functional, it\u2019s not a styling line. With Theory 1, we\u2019ve taken that one line around the car and embedded all the clutter that can come from digital systems and the latest generation of intelligence and safety, in terms of cameras and lidar. Even the door handles are embedded in that strip.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/06\/03-Lotus-concept.jpg” title_text=”03 Lotus concept” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

‘But it\u2019s not all sheer and faceted. It\u2019s got the graphical simplicity of the Esprit, with that quite large, dominant C pillar, and that nose section that flies above the ground. But it\u2019s a bit more expressive in nature, in terms of the muscularity. For me, that is the Lotus 11 [the curvaceous 1950s sports racer] \u2013 utterly beautiful and pure again. So it\u2019s a combination, taking the wedge but not going everything flat, combining muscularity with a graphical simplicity.’<\/p>\n

I love the Theory 1, with its ruthlessly minimalist interior, a windscreen that stretches right down to the pedal box and three-seat, central-driver cabin. So I have to ask \u2013 is this going to be the new Esprit? Ben laughs and there\u2019s a long, pregnant pause.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Look,’ he says, ‘people always ask the question.’ Ben smiles. ‘There\u2019s always a desire to bring the Esprit back, at some point in time.’<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s another pause. So\u2026 we can take that as a yes then? This time, I really don\u2019t think they\u2019re trolling us.<\/p>\n

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Lotus has done some very odd things over the years \u2013 but letting this opportunity slip would top the lot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"kschwarz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2058"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2068,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058\/revisions\/2068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/car\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}