Jim Dowle, a designer previously involved with the McLaren F1 and SLR models, has begun work on his own car – planned to be a two-seat sports car.Primarily, it must be an affordable, performance-focused coupe, but it is also intended to be a usable touring car, so the design must include decent luggage space and a comfortable cabin.However, with kerb weight predicted to be around 870kg that's not going to be an easy design task. The car will use a mid-mounted engine producing around 200bhp, though no details are available for where the engine is sourced from. Prices are expected to be around £35,000. That Dowle describes this as a competitor to the track oriented Exige, rather than Lotus' own two-seat Europa GT, is testament to the performance expected from this car. It's hoped that a running prototype will be ready within 18 months, so don't expect a production car until 2011 at the earliest.
