Clearly, it's good to be the boss. How so? Lotus CEO Danny Bahar recently made a trip to Japan to thank Toyota for their companies' long - and soon to be longer - partnership. For those new to the game, Lotus has been sourcing its power plants from Toyota for a while and currently all Loti use one form of Toyota mill or another.
Bahar handed Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda the keys to a Lotus Elise powered by the very last 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i built, saying, "The presentation of Toyota's last 2ZZ engine in the Elise is a symbolic gesture of our continued respect and deep appreciation for our partner not only acknowledging our past but also looking forward to our future together."
Proton-owned Lotus will soon unveil its Toyota-powered Evora S and Evora IPS models in Paris, while the 414E is apparently still in the pipeline and waiting for an investment from the British government.
As for the oft-discussed Esprit, rumors suggest that Lotus's flagship may be powered by Toyota's 1LR-GUE V10. While the Esprit may still be a ways out, we could be getting some information about it as soon as the Paris show, so stay tuned.
On using his company's engines in Lotus cars, Toyoda said, "A Toyota engine in a Lotus car creates a completely unique drive feeling – a special blend featuring the best of Lotus and Toyota that we hope many car lovers continue to experience and enjoy." That, and they're reliable as hell, so you know your car won't spontaneously combust...
By Phil Alex
