The new supercar is part of Lotus' product plans for the next seven years, which was announced by new CEO Dany Bahar, which aims to lift the Lotus brand up to supercar levels to compete against the likes of Ferrari and Porsche.

The new Esprit will be Lotus' halo car at the top of the range, and will most probably get a new name. Former Lotus CEO Mike Kimberley said that the new supercar was being developed "a very well respected prestige automaker", and rumours abound that BMW will supply Lotus with V8 engines, although Lotus already has a close cooperation with Toyota.

If Lotus does indeed work with Toyota, possible powerplants could include the 552bhp V10 from the upcoming Lexus LF-A for a top-of-the-range model, the IS-F's 420bhp V8 for a mid-range Esprit, and a 300bhp 3.5 litre V6 for the base model Esprit.

The new Esprit will most likely share its bonded and extruded aluminium chassis with the Evora, in order to keep costs down. Launch date is scheduled for 2012, and there could even be a convertible version of the new Esprit.