This is the one-off 1991 Lotus Bertone Emotion, an Esprit based concept that many believed to originally be Bertone’s vision of what the Bugatti EB110 should look like. This rumor was consistently shut down by former Bugatti Automobili chairman & owner of Lotus, Romano Artioli, who claimed, “To have two cars that are similar appear at the same time would not do for Bugatti. The Bertone car could be going in the same direction as ourselves”, implying the design of the Bertone Emotion likely did not have anything to do with Bugatti at the time. What is true however is this is clearly a Bertone design, recalling many elements from previous Bertone-designed models such as the leading edge of the wind screen which recalls some early Bertone designs such as the Lamborghini Athon & the Bertone Nivola. Although the Lotus Emotion appears beautifully completed & road-ready, it was merely a static model, with a body made mostly out of wood, foam & clay, attached to an Esprit chassis. While the car did not function, Bertone designer Marc Deschamps provided Bertone with a design that would demonstrate a lot of possible functionality, if production were to ever move forward. Initially, plans for a static model (this car) followed by a functional prototype were discussed, but after realizing cost would be close to $1,000,000 for the project, Bertone realized they were not in a position to invest that much at the time. With it’s all glass roof, adjustable rear-wing, and proposed ‘scissor doors’, the Emotion was on it’s way to becoming the next big thing from Lotus, which was owned by General Motors at the time of the Emotion’s Debut. Clearly, it’s believed sometime after the auction that took place in 2015 due to Bertone’s bankruptcy, the singular Emotion concept was painted to a striking shade of yellow.
How many made? 1 of 1.
Engine: Turbo DOHC 2.0L Inline-4-cylinder producing 264bhp (proposed)
Debut: 1991 North American International Auto Show
Top Speed: N/A
0-60mph: N/A
Photo Credit: @anquistor
Research: @rarecarsonly