Citroën Visa Lotus

Every now and then, I find my mind wandering toward the Citroën back catalogue, a place filled with some of the most extreme ideas from the brightest automotive engineers.

It's not so much the outright strangeness of their designs, rather, the extreme research and development budgets that gave us prototypes as varied as the rotary-powered Citroën M35 coupe and today's car, the Citroën Visa Lotus.

Y’know, cars with not so much quirks and features as major character flaws.

Realizing that both Citroën badge-brand DS Automobiles and Geely sports car badge-brand Lotus had released forward-thinking EV concepts within the same week¹, I figure it’s time to remember the rally-ready Visa Lotus — a polar opposite car to what we’re being shovelled in 2024.

With most automaker tie-ups, the assisting car company (Lotus) provided its expertise with suspension tuning or engine tuning or styling help. 

This…this is something different.

¹ I’m referring to the DS Automobiles SM Tribute (AutoDesignMagazine.com) and the Lotus Theory 1 (Wired.com)

Here, clearly nothing Lotus could do to turn a hatchback normally powered by a 652-cc 2-cylinder engine into a World Rally Championship-level Renault R5 Turbo competitor.

But it could bend the rules a little bit. Like Renault before it, Lotus decided on a mid-engine layout.

Unlike their rivals, however, engineers tasked with making the Visa faster came up with a novel solution: to place the body of the subcompact on top of a Lotus Esprit chassis. 

Yes, friends, this is a Lotus Esprit with a supermini’s hatchback bodywork on top.

My favourite part? The Visa Lotus’ tiny overall size helps to put into perspective just how small the low-slung Esprit was.

The Visa Lotus’ 2,174-cc engine and single turbocharger, now from the Esprit, were enough for around 210 horsepower. With a reported weight of around 1,000 kg, its on-road pace would have been searing in the right hands.