Remember these AWESOME Lotus Concepts?

Lotus Elite

What happened to their grand plans? Cancelled. All of them. But we can still look back wistfully at what could have been.

The Elite represented a step away from "lighter is better" because it was a hefty, four-passenger grand tourer – it weighed in at 3,600 pounds. One of the reasons it was so heavy? It had a retractable, folding hardtop. Don't let the weight throw you off though, this was a good looking, aggressively styled powerhouse. Under the hood sat a modified version of the 5.0-liter V8 out of a Lexus IS-F. The unit was then tuned to produce 611 horsepower which propelled the car to a sub-four-second 0-60 time and a top speed of 195 miles per hour. The Elite was also be fitted with KERS for a quick boost of recovered energy.

The front mid-engine layout in theory, helped balance the Lotus Elite and make for an exciting driving experience. This car was supposed to represent a slightly softer side for the automaker, but that's like saying I'd rather get blown up by a grenade than a missile. The entire Lotus lineup was poised in attack position, the Elite just happened to wear clothes from the Big and Tall store. 

Lotus was aiming to bring this sporty road warrior to market sometime in the year 2014, and was going to cost around $180,000...

Lotus Esprit

Taking cues from the old Esprit, the Esprit Concept had its engine midship, though instead of honoring the turbo four-pot that powered the originals, the concept made do with a meaty supercharged 5.0-liter V8. That V8 would have looked familiar to fans of the Lexus IS-F. The two-seater would have produced 620 horsepower, accelerating from 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds and then blast onward to a 205-mile-per-hour top speed. The plan was to bring the production version to market in the spring of 2013, with a price tag of around $175,000.

In addition to the massive, and massively exciting, V8 power, the Lotus Esprit was also to be offered with KERS as an option. KERS, or Kinetic Energy Recovery System, is a system used by Formula 1 cars to recover heat energy generated during braking. The energy is stored until the driver wants a powerful boost and with a push of a button propels the car with more force than two bottles of NOS... the big ones.

Lotus Elise

How do you update a modern classic like the Elise? Lotus' answer was shown off at the Paris Motor Show. (7 years later we are still stuck with the same old Elise..) Here were the basics: 320 horsepower from a turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine procured from Toyota, a six-speed manual and optional paddle-shifted automatic transmission, and a 2,409-pound curb weight. The turbo model could hit 62 in 4.3 seconds. Price? $55,000.

What all Elises were to offer, was a more luxurious cabin and easier entry and exit. We're loved the look of the interior, with its pod-like binnacle of instruments, steering wheel with F1-style progressive shift lights and its digital rendering of race circuits for those venturing out the the track. As for the exterior, well, let's just say I think the Elise is the only one I'm not a huge fan of.

Eterne Hybrid Sedan

When you think of Lotus, the words "hybrid" and "sedan" aren't exactly the first words that come to mind. Lotus had plans to change that though, with the introduction of its Eterne concept, a four-door sedan with an optional hybrid power train. This was to be a big step in a different direction for Lotus.

Like the Esprit concept, the Eterne was powered by a 620-horsepower, 5.0-liter V8 sourced from Toyota. The optional hybrid drive train used a Formula 1-style KERS energy recuperation system, and the Lotus sedan was to be available in both rear- and all-wheel drive. Of course, this was still a Lotus, so good performance numbers are an absolute must, and we're told that the Eterne would have run to 60 miles per hour in just 4.0 seconds on its way to a top speed of 196 mph.

The Eterne was to start production in 2015, but that never happened. It was going to cost around $190,000.

Lotus Elan

My personal favourite  from these concepts, the Elan brings to mind a mini Lamborghini. Look at this Hawk-like nose, and those hips! It was to be powered by a 450-horsepower supercharged 4.0-liter V6 engine with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox from Toyota, which offered enough power to get to 62 miles per hour in just 3.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 193 mph. Lotus also promised that a hybrid will be available using a Kinetic Energy Recovery System similar to those seen in Formula One a season ago. Way to break a promise, Lotus.

Weight came in at 2,849 pounds, and there is room for a driver and a passenger, but Lotus was also to optionally deliver the Elan with two tiny perches out back. Seems Lotus had the the Porsche 911 in its sights with this one.

The Elan was going to be priced around $120,000.