Todd Bianco's ACarIsNotARefrigerator.com Blog

It’s Paris Auto Show time and UK dream weaver, Lotus Cars, makes us salivate with its latest creation.

Meet the Lotus Elite. It’s a 2+2 grand touring car with a 5.0 liter 612 hp 531 lb-ft torque that drives the rear wheels (no crappy all wheel drive to ruin the fun).  Lotus says the car will do 0-60 mph in an astonishing 3.5-3.7 seconds.  There was no word on the source of the V8, although Lotus does use modified Toyota engines in its other cars.

The folding hardtop missile measures 181.1 inches long, 74.8 inches wide and 53 inches tall and the car, porky for a Lotus, weighs in at 3,638 pounds.

I expect that the “back seats” are really for infants or a Prada hand bag.

Lotus will offer its first optional hybrid system that uses kinetic-energy-recovery system similar to the setup used in Formula One racing. (Who knew Formula One racers used hybrid electric systems?)

Save your pennies because it ain’t going to be cheap. The Elite will start at £115,000 or around $179,000 at current exchange rates. If you want options or the hybrid drive system, prepare to write a much larger check. It is scheduled to go on sale in 2014.

Hey, I can dream, right?

If you want a new 4-door Super Car, look no further than the upcoming Lamborghini Estoque, due sometime in 2013 according to Volkswagen (Audi is a VW subsidiary and Audi owns Lamborghini).  It will be powered by the V10 from the Gallardo (which is also used in the Audi R8 V10).