Lotus Europa becomes Proton Lekir

The Lotus Europa-based Proton Lekir Concept

Lotus tried to make the 2006 Lotus Europa fulfil the same role in its lineup the original Lotus Europa did in the sixties – a bigger version of the main range. In the ’60s it worked – to a degree – but the 21st century iteration of the Europa was not a huge success.

The trouble with the Europa was that buyers seemed to perceive it as what it was – a stop-gap before the Lotus Evora arrived. Yes, it handled quite decently but it was just an bigger, softer Elise with a fairly ludicrous £35k price tag. So it wasn’t exactly a shock when we rep0rted back in May that Lotus were stopping making the Europa.

But it seems Lotus owner Proton are intent on making the most of the short-lived Europa – it’s been reborn as the Proton Lekir Concept. The Europa has been given restyled bumpers and some black trim at the front and different wheels.

The Proton-badged Europa is powered by either a 1.6 or 2.0 litre turbo lump offering up to 220bhp, depending which bit of the Proton bumph you read. And it’s not alone as a new Proton Concept either.

Proton has wheeled out not just the Europa-based Lekir but also the Proton Tuah (a four-door saloon) the Proton Lekiu (a compact SUV) and the Proton Jebat (a rip-off Mitsubishi Evo) at the Kuala Lumpur Motor Show.

We’ll let you know if these go in to production. Just in case you care.

By Cars UK