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Originally Posted by porsche986spyder
Did you know that the new Lotus Espre???(spelling not sure) has a Toyota Celica GTS engine! It's not that powerfull, but it is a very light car.  |
Hi,
That's not yet set, it's one of the possibilities. The problem is that total engine development for limited production cars just isn't profitable anymore, especially for the US Market EPA certification.
But, if the Toyota is the powerplant chosen, I guarantee you that it will look nothing like a stock crate engine once Lotus is done with it.
Lotus has always massaged existing engines rather than produce their own from scratch. The Elan and Europa had Ford/Kent blocks w/ Lotus designed and produced heads. The Seven had a BMC inline 4, again massaged by Lotus. The Esprit had it's 2.2L 910 4-cyl. drawn from a Vauxhall Delivery Lorry engine, again, all new internals and heads.
Even the Elise uses a Kent engine (ROW) and the Yamaha-designed Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine, again with thorough tuning, intake, exhaust and head by Lotus for the US Market.
The 2ZZ-GE features a stroke of 85 mm (3.35 in) to an 82-mm (3.23-in) bore to attain a redline of 7800 rpm. The block is made of fine-ceramic-fiber- and grain-reinforced aluminum-silicon alloy. The piston's rubbing surface is iron-plated, and the pistons are internally cooled by oil jets. The 2ZZ-GE's cylinders are tightly packed, with only 5.5 mm (0.22 in) of metal between the adjoining bores. The cylinder block is split at the crankshaft centerline, and the cast aluminum lower block carries five main bearing caps. The 2ZZ-GE's Lotus designed cylinder head is unique to this engine. Valves are inclined at a wider angle of 43° for freer breathing through the upright intake ports. Valves are 34.0 mm (1.34 in) in diameter - intake and 29.0 mm (1.14 in) - exhaust. The 2ZZ-GE combines the VVT-i continuously variable intake-valve-timing device with the new
VVT-L, a Honda VTEC-like variable-lift and variable-timing system, employing two sets of cam profiles for both intake and exhaust. Below 6000 rpm, the VVT-L employs the low and mid-speed cam profiles, and above 6000 rpm, the high-speed profiles. The high-revving 2ZZ-GE's camshafts are sprayed with lubricant oil.
In fact, Toyota had been having problems with this engine siezing and warping the heads in the Celica. They went to Lotus Engineering, who redesigned the Oiling system, added an Oil Cooler for higher capacity and flow and the problem was solved. This is why Lotus chose this engine for the Elise, though they massaged it even further. The Kent ROW engine could not be made to meet US EPA requirements, so Lotus went with the 2ZZ-GE which was already certified and being sold here. Toyota's 2ZZ-GE versions found in their own cars in the U.S. make ten fewer hp at 180 hp than the same engine in the rest of the world which has 190 hp.
However Lotus retuned the 2ZZ-GE for use in Elise, smoothing out the torque dip at the 6000 rpm cam changeover point and strengthening the torque in the other rpm ranges. In addition to the improved torque Lotus brought the peak horsepower back up to 190 in their U.S. version of the engine.
These adjustments were largely accomplished by reprogramming the ECU and Toyota has expressed interest in the changes Lotus made to broaden and even the torque and increase the power for their own cars. Changes to the Lotus version of the engine are not purely electronic, however, as a new intake, Head, and exhaust are also fitted. The exhaust in the Elise is so fully optimized that altering it reportedly results in a significant power loss. Much to the chagrin of Aftermarket tuners and parts suppliers!
The relationship with Lotus and Toyota goes way back. Lotus did chassis development work on the famed 2000 GT in the mid-60's and engine and chassis development for the 1st Gen MR2 to name just two projects Lotus Engineering has worked on.
If Lotus chooses a Toyota powerplant, you can bet it'll be a screamer...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99
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