Lotus was in a reasonably good place within the late Seventies. The Esprit coupe landed a starring position in 1977’s James Bond flick The Spy Who Beloved Me. The corporate had a couple of Formulation 1 racing successes, and cutting-edge know-how improvement with carbon fiber and lively suspensions was on the horizon. Famed Lotus proprietor Colin Chapman was prepared for the following age of the automaker, and requested the event of a brand new mid-engine supercar in contrast to something it had produced earlier than.
The brand new supercar can be light-weight, characteristic a bespoke V8 engine, and would adapt a computer-controlled lively hydraulic suspension setup that had been banned from F1 racing. It was set to revolutionize the supercar market, however Chapman’s loss of life and oncoming possession from Normal Motors finally killed the undertaking. Nonetheless, the idea exists to this present day. And now, it is going up for public sale.
The 1984 Lotus Etna Idea
It is Monterey {Car} Week once more, which suggests most of the big-name traditional public sale homes are placing on an enormous present. For Broad Arrow Auctions, one of many stars is the 1984 Lotus Etna idea, the mid-engine V8 supercar that by no means made it to manufacturing. The idea nonetheless options its prototype 4.0-liter V8 engine (successfully two of the corporate’s current four-cylinder items lumped collectively) that produces 335 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque and sends that energy by a five-speed handbook transmission.
Well-known Designer
It was initially marketed to hit 60 mph from a standstill in 4.3 seconds, with a flat-out prime pace of round 180 mph. Its exterior design was accomplished by the well-known Giorgetto Giugiaro, providing one other model of his signature wedge motif of the period. When GM took possession of Lotus in 1986, it delayed the Etna and its new V8 for a couple of years earlier than finally deciding to cancel the undertaking. They in all probability felt foolish a couple of years later when the Jaguar XJ220 and McLaren F1 popped up, mainly establishing the UK mid-engine supercar market that the Etna might have began first… if issues had gone higher for Lotus.
Forward Of Its Time
Regardless of nonetheless being based mostly on the present Lotus Esprit, the Etna was presupposed to have superior anti-lock braking, traction management, and noise-cancelling applied sciences, in addition to the previously-mentioned lively suspension setup. Nonetheless, the automotive because it exists immediately has been closely restored from its unique idea state. Whereas initially thought to simply be a static shell with no underpinnings, Lotus restoration skilled and engineer Ken Myers found round 2004 that one among two aluminum Kind 909 V8 engines ever constructed was really nestled throughout the wooden and fiberglass physique, in addition to a transmission.
The public sale itemizing says the restoration included a brand new Perspex cover and borrowed bits from the Lotus Esprit suspension setup to create a functioning car that may now be sort-of pushed, although in all probability not very far.
When, And How A lot?
It was first publicly displayed in working situation on the 2006 Lotus Pageant at Donington Park, then once more on the 2008 Goodwood Pageant of Pace, after which it was offered as a part of Colin Chapman disciple Olav Glasius’ assortment at Goodwood in 2012. In 2022, it was offered to its present proprietor, who saved it saved in Southern California. It goes throughout the block on the Monterey Jet Heart public sale on August 13, and is anticipated to fetch between $200,000 and $400,000. Simply take a detailed take a look at the images… it is a 40-year-old idea automotive from Lotus… and it seems to be prefer it.
Supply: Broad Arrow Auctions; Jalopnik