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1984 Lotus Etna (ItalDesign)

Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Interior
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Interior
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Interior
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Interior
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Hard to believe all of the gauges and swithes are mock ups and dont function at all!
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Hard to believe all of the gauges and swithes are mock ups and dont function at all!
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Interior
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Interior
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Design sketch
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 - Design sketch
Giugiaro's original renderings of the Etna, the top one was chosen. The others got a second lease on life when they became the Ford Maya showcar
Giugiaro's original renderings of the Etna, the top one was chosen. The others got a second lease on life when they became the Ford Maya showcar
Here are some alternative instriment cluster/interior renderings.
Here are some alternative instriment cluster/interior renderings.
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984
Images: ItalDesign; Lotusespritturbo.com; Bonhams; www.lotusbuzz.com
Rating:  40    -15    +55
Etna (code named M300)
After the Esprit in 1982, a new cooperation with Lotus for an aggressive two seats Coupé, sophisticated and powerful.

The new 8 cylinders, 4 litres, 340 hp engine is the basis of the new cooperation between Lotus and Italdesign, for the creation of a two seats Coupé; Lotus is enthusiastic about this project and begins the development that will be interrupted in 1986 to coincide with the leverage by GM.

To contain the engine the Etna wheelbase is longer than the Esprit one (70mm). In the 90's the super-cars look impose rounded lines, but general statement, in common for all the Lotus, is wedged. After BMW M1 and DeLorean DMC 12 squared lines, Etna opens a new shaping thread that is going to characterize many two seats Coupé in years to come.

www.italdesign.it


The Lotus Etna concept car was designed by Giugiaro from Ital Design. It was displayed at the Birmingham Motorshow in 1984. The engine was to be mid mounted and the chassis was loosely based around the Lotus Esprit’s, however the wheel base was 3 inches longer. The Etna (code named M300) never actual ran and was more a project car, although Lotus intended to feature the new 4 litre Lotus Type 909 V8 engine (a derivative of the Esprit engine). Only one car was ever made.

lotusespritturbo.com


Depending on how you define the word, the Etna could have become the first British mid-engined ‘supercar’. Though it was based on a lengthened Esprit floorpan, it had its own unique V8 and myriad F1 technologies that would have made even future rivals seem somewhat primitive.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be: despite being launched at the 1984 Birmingham Motor Show to a rapturous reception from public and media alike, Lotus was in a familiar phase of turmoil.

Its eminent custodian had passed away a couple of years prior, but not before instructing the company’s Chief Engineer Tony Rudd to build a new V8 engine (codenamed Type 909); it was to have as much in common with the slant-four still operational across the Lotus family as possible, while conjuring 320bhp and 300lb ft.

Meanwhile, other Lotus engineers were working on a new active suspension system for the firm’s Grand Prix machines that would eventually filter down into the road cars. When the Etna was revealed in Birmingham, it was promised that it would be the first road-going Lotus to receive this sophisticated suspension, along with traction control, ABS and noise cancelling – and, of course, Rudd’s 4.0-litre Type 909 engine which ultimately produced 335bhp and 295lb ft.

However, although it resembled a fully-operational car, the Etna concept was actually a styling model fashioned from wood, clay and glassfibre. While Lotus took care of the engineering in-house, it had commissioned Italdesign of Turin to style the Etna and shipped the elongated Esprit chassis to Italy. What came back was a handsome, aerodynamic design – but it was created to stir interest in the production version, rather than being a fully-functional representation of it.

Lotus’s financial troubles subsequently put the Etna on the back-burner, and GM’s buyout in 1986 extinguished any lingering developmental embers. Ever-soaring fuel prices led the new owners to believe Lotus’s bottom line would be better served by a cheap sports car rather than an all-out supercar; hence the front-wheel drive Elan of 1989. By this time, the unique Etna had long been consigned to storage at Hethel.

It resurfaced in 2001 when it crossed the block at a Coys auction, and soon afterwards made its way into Olav Glasius’s significant Lotus collection. Glasius wanted to resurrect the Etna from its now-decrepit state, and enlisted the services of ex-Lotus engineer and restoration specialist Ken Myers. Upon evaluating the work needed to bring the Etna back to its 1984 glory, Myers stumbled across something unexpected: beneath layers of clay and glassfibre nestled a gearbox and, more importantly, a Type 909 engine.

Only two Type 909s were built; the other had been retained by Lotus. When Lotus had sent the Esprit chassis to Italdesign, it had also sent the engine and gearbox to help Giorgetto Giugiaro with the packaging of his creation. Following this unexpected discovery, Glasius tasked Myers with the arduous job of transforming the styling model into a running car – a job which included forming the rest of the car’s mechanicals, including suspension borrowed from an Esprit. A new Perspex canopy also had to be made, after wind had relieved the Etna of its original unit while it was being trailered down the M1. After just a year, Myers' handywork meant the Etna could parade round Goodwood under its own power, rather than remaining inert as it had done at the N.E.C. almost 20 years prior.

Depending on your interpretation, the first British ‘supercar’ was probably the Jaguar XJ220 or McLaren F1. But had the Etna not fallen victim to Lotus’s seemingly endless financial troubles, it might at least have earned a mention in that type of company; perhaps as a foretaste if not a predecessor. Sadly, it might not be the last Lotus to be culled as a result of fiscal anxieties – but here’s hoping any subsequent casualties are afforded the same dedication and respect that the Etna found in its later life.

Joe Breeze - www.classicdriver.com
Coachbuilder: ItalDesign
1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Iguana (ItalDesign), 1968 Bizzarrini Manta (ItalDesign), 1969 Abarth 1600 (ItalDesign), 1970 Porsche Tapiro (ItalDesign), 1971 Alfa Romeo Caimano (ItalDesign), 1971 Volkswagen Karmann Cheetah (ItalDesign), 1972 Lotus Esprit (ItalDesign), 1972 Maserati Boomerang (ItalDesign), 1973 Audi Karmann Asso di Picche (ItalDesign), 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe (ItalDesign), 1974 ItalDesign Medici 1, 1974 Maserati Coupe (ItalDesign), 1976 Alfa Romeo New York Taxi (ItalDesign), 1976 BMW Karmann Asso di Quadri (ItalDesign), 1976 ItalDesign Medici 2, 1977 BMW M1 (ItalDesign), 1978 ItalDesign M8, 1978 Lancia Megagamma (ItalDesign), 1979 Isuzu Asso di Fiori (ItalDesign), 1980 Fiat Panda 4x4 Offroader/Strip (ItalDesign), 1980 Lancia Medusa (ItalDesign), 1981 DeLorean DMC 12 (ItalDesign), 1982 ItalDesign Capsula, 1982 Lamborghini Marco Polo (ItalDesign), 1982 Lancia Orca (ItalDesign), 1983 Renault Gabbiano (ItalDesign), 1984 Ford Maya (ItalDesign), 1984 ItalDesign Marlin, 1984 ItalDesign Together, 1984 Lotus Etna (ItalDesign), 1984 Saab 9000 (ItalDesign), 1985 Ford Maya II EM (ItalDesign), 1985 Ford Maya II ES (ItalDesign), 1986 ItalDesign Machimoto, 1986 ItalDesign Orbit, 1986 Oldsmobile Incas (ItalDesign), 1988 ItalDesign Asgard, 1988 ItalDesign Aspid, 1988 ItalDesign Aztec, 1989 Seat Proto T (ItalDesign), 1989 Subaru SVX (ItalDesign), 1990 Bugatti ID 90 (ItalDesign), 1990 Jaguar Kensington (ItalDesign), 1990 Seat Proto C (ItalDesign), 1990 Seat Proto TL (ItalDesign), 1991 BMW Nazca C2 (ItalDesign), 1991 BMW Nazca M12 (ItalDesign), 1992 BMW Columbus (ItalDesign), 1992 Fiat Cinquecento (ItalDesign), 1992 ItalDesign Biga, 1993 BMW Nazca C2 Spider (ItalDesign), 1993 Bugatti EB 112 (ItalDesign), 1993 ItalDesign Lucciola, 1994 Fiat Firepoint (ItalDesign), 1994 Lexus Landau (ItalDesign), 1995 Daewoo Bucrane (ItalDesign), 1995 Lamborghini Cala (ItalDesign), 1996 ItalDesign Formula 4, 1996 ItalDesign Formula Hammer, 1996 ItalDesign Formula Legram, 1997 Alfa Romeo Scighera (ItalDesign), 1997 Alfa Romeo Scighera GT (ItalDesign), 1997 Volkswagen W12 Syncro (ItalDesign), 1998 Bugatti EB 118 (ItalDesign), 1998 ItalDesign Structura, 1998 Volkswagen W12 Roadster (ItalDesign), 1999 Bugatti EB 18/3 Chiron (ItalDesign), 1999 Bugatti EB 218 (ItalDesign), 2000 ItalDesign Touareg, 2000 Maserati Buran (ItalDesign), 2000 Seat Salsa (ItalDesign), 2001 Aston Martin 2020 (ItalDesign), 2001 Maserati 320S (ItalDesign), 2001 Volkswagen W12 Coupe Nardo (ItalDesign), 2002 Alfa Romeo Brera Concept (ItalDesign), 2002 Volkswagen Tarek Concept (ItalDesign), 2003 ItalDesign Moray, 2003 Maserati Kubang GT Wagon (ItalDesign), 2004 Alfa Romeo Visconti (ItalDesign), 2004 Toyota Alessandro Volta (ItalDesign), 2005 Alfa Romeo 159 (ItalDesign), 2005 Ferrari GG50 (ItalDesign), 2005 Mitsubishi Nessie (ItalDesign), 2006 Ford Mustang (ItalDesign), 2007 ItalDesign VAD.HO, 2008 ItalDesign Quaranta, 2008 SsangYong C200 (ItalDesign), 2009 ItalDesign Frazer-Nash Namir, 2010 Proton EMAS (ItalDesign), 2011 Volkswagen Gо! (ItalDesign), 2011 Volkswagen Tex (ItalDesign), 2011 Volkswagen Up! Azzurra Sailing Team (ItalDesign), 2012 ItalDesign Brivido, 2013 Audi Nanuk quattro (ItalDesign), 2013 ItalDesign Parcour, 2014 ItalDesign Clipper, 2015 ItalDesign GEA, 2016 ItalDesign GTZero, 2018 ItalDesign Zerouno Duerta, 2019 ItalDesign DaVinci, 2020 Nissan GT-R50 (ItalDesign), 2020 Voyah i-Land (ItalDesign), 2022 DeLorean Alpha5 (ItalDesign), 2022 Deus Vayanne (ItalDesign), 2023 ItalDesign Climb-E
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медведь
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Ещё один удачный проект Italdesign для ангичан
медведь
Sunday, February 2, 2014
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