It’s been a while since we last heard of South African designer Idries Noah but now he’s back, this time with a new design proposition called the Lotus Europa i6. According to Idries, the Europa i6 concept study is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car inspired in terms of design by the classic Europa and Elite as well as by the latest Lotus models. The independent designer supports that ideally, the Europa i6 would weigh in at about 2,030 lbs (920 kg) with power coming from a 2.0-liter supercharged inline six-cylinder engine.

In theory, he says that the sports car would sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62mph) in 7 sec (someone’s being rather modest…) and on to a top speed of 165 mph or 265 km/h. Leaving aside the theoretical technical specs, Idries’ take on a compact mid-engined Lotus sports coupe hits the spot. Too bad it exists only in the digital world.

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Lotus has joined forces with tuning specialist Project Kahn to create a bespoke version of the Elise to celebrate the British automaker’s 60th Anniversary. Along with the release of a few teaser images, Project Kahn also revealed details on the limited production Elise that will be officially unveiled in September. The exterior of the Elise has been upgraded with an aerodynamic styling package, whilst the interior is given the full Kahn treatment with full leather seats and door trims. In terms of performance, the Elise’s air flow system is enhanced with the addition of the Kahn sports exhaust while the suspension is lowered with 28 stage dampeners for improved handling.

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The Lotus Eigne is a design study on an electric sportscar with a 3+1 seating arrangement that was created by David Fearnley, a graduate from the Transportation Design Course at Northumbria University. The Eigne’s powertrain consists of four in-wheel electric motors that offer the sports car rear biased four-wheel drive. The electric motors are powered by a set of batteries that are sandwiched in the floor pan. According to Fearnley, this solution not only keeps the batteries cool and lowers center of gravity for better handling, but it also eliminates any obstacles on the floor pan allowing a 3+1 seat layout. In the Eigne, the driver sits in the centre of the cabin having two passenger seats on each side and a baby-seat positioned directly behind him. Due to the central driving position, Fearnley designed the Eigne’s doors to incorporate a section of the roof in order to allow a larger access point to step in the interior.

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Lotus reportedly has something interesting up its corporate sleeves for an upcoming sports car project. Although nothing official has been announced, some media outlets are predicting that Lotus will offer a hybrid drivetrain on its next vehicle. The words of Lotus’ head man Mike Kimberley support this notion when he says that the automaker wants to offer “guilt-free, high performance motoring.” Like the recently released Evora, the upcoming sports car, which could be an Esprit revival, will likely use a Toyota-sourced V6 engine. In that case, it wouldn’t be a stretch to consider that Lotus would also get Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive technology as well.

Considering the fact that Lotus is already hard at work on fuel-saving technology, if this rumor turns out to be true, it would fit right into the British company’s new green image. Remember too that Lotus supplies much of the Tesla Roadster’s underpinnings, so the marque surely has gained some EV knowledge along the way.

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When we first laid eyes on the new Lotus Evora in silver colour (see here), we can’t say that we were won over by the 2+2 coupe’s styling. And even though we still aren’t totally convinced, we must admit that this new image of the Evora in an aqua-blue colour made us have second thoughts about the coupe’s appearance.

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As we first informed you a couple of days ago, Lotus’ Project Eagle sportscar will bear the name Evora. Unveiled to the public for the first time at the British Motor Show in London, the Evora is a 2+2 coupe fitted with a mid-mounted Toyota sourced 3.5L V6 engine optimized to deliver 280 PS. While Lotus hasn’t announced official performance figures, the Brits support that the rear-wheel drive coupe which weighs in at 1,350 kg or 2,976 lbs will be able to sprint from 0 to 60mph (96 km/h) in under 5.0 sec and achieve a top speed of 160 mph or 257 km/h. Maybe even more importantly, the Evora not only features the most inviting interior you’ve ever seen in a Lotus but in the company’s own words, the cabin “will accommodate two 99th percentile (6ft 5in tall) American males in the front seats.” Is there some particular reason that Lotus decided to use American males as an example for the Evora’s spaciousness?

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Though this has not been officially confirmed, CarScoop has been tipped off that the all-new Lotus 2+2 Coupe, currently known as the project Eagle, will be named “Evora” when it makes its world debut at next week’s British Motor Show in London. The Evora will be available for order from spring 2009 as a 2+2 as well as a 2-seater. The basic versions will be equipped with a modified Toyota Camry 3.5-litre V6 engine producing 280 Hp. Click here to read more details on the new Lotus coupe.

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