Lotus pulled the sheets off its new high-end Elite Hybrid today and promised the car would be present at this years Paris Motorshow. The new Lotus is aimed at the Porsche/Aston Martin/Maserati demographic with a 5.0 litre V8 pumping out 620 hp and 720 Nm of torque. The hybrid drivetrain will be optional (it’ll probably be popular due to potential tax breaks) and will consist of two electric motors and an epicyclic gearbox (I didn’t know what it was either, click here for the Wikipedia explaination).

Performance will be considerable – 0-60 takes just 3.5 seconds and the top speed is limited to 315 kmph. The price tag on the hybrid Elite will be around 100,000 Pounds ($150,000+ USD) and it is likely that Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati and Lamborghini are going to be a little nervous about this new upstart and potential rival. Lotus is planning to release the Elite in 2014, more info and pictures will be available at the Paris Motorshow (October 2nd-17th).