When Lotus added a V8 engine to its Giugiaro-designed Esprit sports car in 1996, the company acknowledged that the exotic sports car game had changed. Lotus could no longer compete having only four-cylinder engines, even if those cylinders were turbocharged and put out huge horsepower (301 in its 1994 version). As other exotics like Ferrari were offering at least eight cylinders and as many as 12, Lotus had to up the ante. The result was the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter engine that
…
Read more