The Lotus M90 (sometimes referred to as the Lotus X100) is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

that was developed by Lotus using many

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

parts. Rumors were circulated that it was the initial design for the MKI MR2, but, though sharing an engine, it bears very little resemblance to the mid-engine roadster. The project was the last one overseen by Lotus founder

Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars. In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman ...

before his death in 1982. In 1981, Oliver Winterbottom was brought back to Lotus, after a stint developing the Tasmin for TVR, to design a new car to complement the

Excel ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...

and the Esprit and bring some profitability to the lineup. The new car was to resurrect the Elan name which had not been used since 1975 and, like the Excel, make use of the company's close relationship with Toyota to use already well-engineered suspension and engine components. Initial designs were a coupé that didn't get much of an enthusiastic response from the board of the company. The project stalled when company founder

died in 1982, as Lotus found itself in financial trouble. David Wickens of British Car Auctions ended up taking a controlling interest in the company, and the project was started up again, but renamed to the X100 (the Elan later being known as the M100). After redesigning the car to be a convertible the go ahead was given in 1984 to make a single prototype. It was built to a high level of finish, but by that time most of the company's engineers were concentrating on the new front-wheel-drive Elan, and the prototype was warehoused at the company's factory. In 1998 it was auctioned off along with several other rare Lotus cars, and sold to a private collector, and shipped to the United States. The M90 makes use of a front-mounted 1.6L 4-cylinder Toyota engine, as well as a Toyota-built 5-speed transmission and final drive. The suspension uses the same setup as is found in the Lotus Excel. The instrument cluster is from an

Opel Monza The Opel Monza is an executive fastback coupe produced by the German automaker Opel from 1977 to 1986. It was marketed in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Royale Coupé by Vauxhall. Monza A1 (1977–1982) The Monza was planned as a succ ...

and the radiator is from an

Austin Allegro The Austin Allegro is a small family car that was manufactured by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1973 until 1982. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent. The Al ...

. The rear lights are borrowed from the

Aston Martin Lagonda The Aston Martin Lagonda is a full-size luxury four-door saloon manufactured by British manufacturer Aston Martin between 1974 and 1990. A total of 645 were produced. The name was derived from the Lagonda marque that Aston Martin had purchas ...

and the indicators are from the Ford Fiesta. The body is made of

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

and the roof is lowered in two pieces. The top is removed separately and fits in the boot, to create a 'targa' style roof, and the rear portion folds down like a typical convertible. This car is featured in a book released in June 2017 by Oliver Winterbottom titled ''A Life in Car Design'', in which the author provides insight into the design and construction of the M90 along with photographs and related documentation.

References

Lotus Elan M90
M90 Concept cars {{modern-auto-stub