A Hollywood star made famous alongside 007 himself, Lotus’s Esprit dates back to 1976 and was the maker’s only offering for the longest time. While Lotus has been reported to be working on bringing back the storied nameplate by as early as 2010, today’s reports have the car delayed until a 2011 public release.

The recently-unveiled Lotus Evora is partly to blame for the delay as Lotus is redesigning the Esprit flagship to further distinguish the two. The Esprit would be based on the Evora’s platform and the company is considering , likely to get power from a BMW-sourced V8, the s 4.4L twin-turbo mill that debuted in the X6.

The latest updated also car may also be offered with a hybrid powertrain, using Toyota technology, say Autocar reports. The collaboration seems likely, as Toyota supplies engines for the current line-up, including the 1.8-liter four cylinder in the Elise and Exige and the 3.5-liter V6 in the new Evora.

While it is not confirmed that the car will wear the Esprit badge, expect it to be wider and longer than the Evora in order to accommodate the larger engine, which will also we mounted longitudinally. As such, we expect a wheelbase stretch compared to the Evora as well.

Other car news the automaker and engineering firm has on the go include expanding the offerings of the Evora to include a two-seater, convertible and automatic version. S3 versions of the Elise and Exige are likewise being developed.

Late last year Lotus confirmed that it was developing a new supercar to fill the void left by the Esprit, and the English automaker has now given us a little more information on the upcoming model.

The car will be built at the Lotus headquarters at Hethel in Norfolk UK. Lotus announced it had decided to build the successor last year, following an extensive evaluation of feasibility. It was later confirmed the Esprit name would be retained.

In September, Lotus gave a firm timeframe for the new Esprit, which it says will be unveiled in December 2009. Previously, Lotus had planned to launch the car a year earlier. The Esprit will be one of three all-new models due in the next few years.

It has been officially confirmed by Lotus that the new Esprit will not only become available as a coupe, but, for the first time, as a convertible/roadster, too.

Pricing is expected around $130,000 — undercutting the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo.

December 4, 2007