Lotus Evora S Patrol Cars to Assist Italian Police Force

Not to be outshined by their compagni over at the highway patrol unit and their Lamborghini Gallardo cruisers (that is, when they don't crash them...), the Arma dei Carabinieri, a division of the Italian army that polices both military and civilian populations, has received a pair of bespoke Lotus Evora S sports cars. Read more »

2011 British GP: Red Bull’s Reign Disrupted

None of the usual suspects – aka the drivers of Red Bull or McLaren- occupied the top spot on the podium of the British Grand Prix that took place on Sunday at Silverstone. Instead, the winner was Fernando Alonso, who managed his first win of the season, and 27th overall in his career, making the best both of Ferrari’s obvious progress and the catastrophic pit stop of early leader Sebastian Vettel. Read more »

British GP: Red Bull Takes the Front Row in Qualifying with Webber in Pole Position

The unpredictable weather conditions made the qualifying of the British Grand Prix something of a gamble, and the teams weather forecasts were expecting rain during the final session. So everyone made sure that they got out quickly in order to set a fast time before it started to rain again. Read more »

British GP Practice: Massa Shines in the Rain

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the quickest time in Friday’s afternoon practice session of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend at Silverstone. Just minutes before the beginning of the session, heavy rain started to fall, with all cars staying in the pits for half an hour because of the condition of the track. Read more »

Lotus to Replace Evora with Elan in 2017

Lotus’ most recent new sports car, the Evora, will stay into production until at least 2017, when it will be replaced with the new Elan according to the company’s boss Danny Bahar. This changes the initial plan that called for the Evora to be replaced as early as 2012. Read more »

Caterham Logos to Appear on Team Lotus’ F1 Cars

It’s funny how things turn out sometimes. In 1973, Caterham, which was founded in the 1960s as a Lotus dealer, acquired the rights to build the Seven from Lotus. Now, Team Lotus has purchased Caterham Cars through a holding company, part owned by Malaysian Tony Fernandes. Read more »

Rumors: Lotus Exige to Spawn Rally Car?

Here’s something we weren’t expecting; according to a report from CAR Magazine, Lotus will launch a new rally car at the Frankfurt motor show in September. The rally car -not the one pictured here- will be based on the Exige, which is renowned for its road and track capabilities, but we’ve never imagined it near a rally stage. Read more »

F1: Sebastian Vettel takes his 6th Win in Valencia

Sebastian Vettel is on a roll and no one seems able to stop him and his Red Bull from adding a second Formula 1 championship to their trophy list. This was confirmed once again today in the European Grand Prix in Valencia, in the eighth race of the 2011, where Vettel took his sixth win of the season. The German world champion started from the pole position and was never challenged during the race as he cruised to another win.

The only driver to even come close was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who started from fourth place and, like his team-mate Felipe Massa, made a terrific start. Alonso had a fight with the Red Bull of Mark Webber who, despite starting from the front row, eventually lost out to the Spaniard who finished the race second, more than 10 seconds behind Vettel.

Read more »

Lotus Aims to Better Ferrari’s 458 Italia and McLaren’s MP4-12C with New Esprit

Lotus has lofty aspirations for its all-new supercar, the Esprit, which was presented as a concept at last year’s Paris motor show along with four other concepts. According to the company’s CEO, Dany Bahar, the new supercar will be launched in 2013 and will offer a “more authentic driving experience than both the Ferrari 458 Italia and the McLaren MP4-12C”.

Bahar revealed that development of the the new Esprit is already under way, with prototypes up and running.

Read more »

Join Mercedes GP or Team Lotus for a Day

British fans are getting ready for their National Motorsport Week, and two UK-based Formula 1 teams are each giving two members of the public the unique opportunity to join their pit crews for a day.

Mercedes Petronas GP will randomly select two winners from those who will enter an online competition. The window of opportunity opens today, Monday 20 June, and will close at midnight on Thursday 23 June.

Read more »

Silverstone Organisers Ask: What is the Best British Sports Car of All Time?

The fifteen finalists in the Silverstone Classic’s, “Best British Sports Car of All Time” vote-in have been announced, and boy is there some choice picks. Before we get to that though, can I just point out a misnomer in using the, “of All Time” qualifier?

This assumes (prophetically?) that Britain will not be making any more sports cars in the future, whereas, “Best British Sports Car So Far” would be a far more accurate description. But enough with semantics: who are our lucky finalists? Read on….

Read more »

Lotus Elise Club Racer

Lotus has introduced a slightly lighter, slightly cheaper version of its Elise.



Aimed directly at track day enthusiasts, the Elise Club Racer sheds 24 kg (52 lbs) thanks mainly to the loss of sound insulation and the fitment of a special motorsport-derived battery. Tipping the scales at 852 kg (1,878 lb), it certainly follows the traditional Lotus ethos of minimising weight to maximise performance.

The Club Racer is based on the 134 bhp (100 kW / 136 PS) 1.6 Elise, meaning it enjoys CO2 emissions of just 149 g/km. In line with its circuit-orientated role, changes to the chassis include retuned suspension settings and an adjustable front anti-roll bar.



Additionally, the Dynamic Performance Management system - which, among other things, controls the electronic differential, cornering brake control and traction control - comes with a Sport setting, and it can also be turned off completely.



Lotus has priced the Elise Club Racer at £27,500 in the UK and €34,450 in the Eurozone (depending on local taxes). Buyers will be able to choose from Matt Black, Sky Blue, Carbon Grey, Ardent Red, Aspen White or Saffron Yellow paint finishes.



Related post:

Lotus Elise facelift

Team Lotus reveals T128

Team Lotus - not to be confused with the Lotus Renault GP Team - has unveiled its 2011 Formula 1 car.

Even if that naming clash is still to be dragged through the courts, thankfully the team has decided not to swap last season’s green and yellow colour scheme for a gold and black one. At least that means spectators will be able to tell the numerous Lotuses apart.



The big changes are under the paintjob, though. Gone are 2010’s Cosworth engines, replaced by motors from Renault which have been combined with gearboxes and hydraulics systems courtesy of Red Bull Technologies.

Together with more aggressive aerodynamics and revised suspension, the Norfolk-based team seems confident that the improved package will be good enough to let drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli score some points in 2011.



Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer, said: ‘I think that basically this car looks like a front-running car in every area. We said very clearly that we want to start challenging the established teams and I think that's very achievable.’ Fighting talk indeed.



Related post:

Two Lotus teams in F1?

Two Lotus teams in F1?

The 2011 Formula 1 season could see the bizarre sight of two Lotus-branded teams on the grid.



Group Lotus - the Proton-owned manufacturer of Lotus road cars - has just bought a stake in the former Renault F1 Team, also becoming title sponsor in the process. The move coincides with Renault selling its share in the outfit, although the French firm will continue to supply engines to the newly renamed Lotus Renault GP Team.

Lotus Renault GP Team - 2011 Livery

A black and gold livery has been revealed too, which harks back to the cigarette-sponsored Lotus F1 cars of the 1970s and 1980s. It might look striking, but why the team would want to give free subliminal advertising to a tobacco company is anyone’s guess.



Confusingly Lotus Racing, which competed for the first time during 2010 but is nothing to do with Group Lotus, has already announced a couple of significant changes for next season: not only will it be switching from Cosworth to Renault power, but it will also be painting its cars black and gold. What a coincidence.



To make matters even more complicated Lotus Racing has, according to the official FIA 2011 Formula 1 entry list, now rebranded itself as Team Lotus and intends to race under the Lotus Renault name.



However, Group Lotus is claiming that Lotus Racing / Team Lotus / Lotus Renault (take your pick) was only using the Lotus moniker under licence this year, but that licence has now been revoked.



Consequently Team Lotus and Group Lotus are now involved in an escalating battle for the right to continue using the name. But with neither side looking likely to back down, the dispute will probably end up being resolved by the UK High Court sometime in the new year.

2015 Lotus Eterne

Of the five sports cars that Lotus displayed at the Paris Motor Show, the Eterne represents the biggest departure.

Setting aside collaborative projects such as the Lotus Carlton / Omega from the early 1990s, it’ll be the first four-door saloon that Lotus has produced. Nevertheless, the firm is convinced that there’s a market for it.



It’s also saying the Eterne is ‘… not an evolution of an existing two-door model, it's a deliberate and considered stand-alone creation’, although it looks suspiciously like a four-door version of the 2014 Lotus Elite. Both cars certainly use the same engine, a 5.0 litre V8 that will first appear in the 2013 Esprit.

At an estimated £120,000, the Eterne will undercut competitors such as the Aston Martin Rapide, but it will cost more than cars such as the Porsche Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte.

2015 Lotus Eterne Concept Specification
Layout	4 seats, front-engined
Engine	Petrol, 5.0 litre V8
Hybrid technology	Optional, incl. KERS
Power	611 bhp / 456 kW / 620 PS
Torque	720 Nm
0-62 mph (0-100 km/h)	4.0 seconds
Top speed	195 mph (315 km/h)
Weight	1,800 kg
Transmission	Full hybrid
Drive	Rear-wheel drive, optional all-wheel drive
Production starts	Early 2015
On sale	Spring 2015
Price	Around £120,000

Related posts:

Five new Lotus sports cars

2013 Lotus Esprit

2013 Lotus Elan

2014 Lotus Elite

2015 Lotus Elise

2015 Lotus Elise

By the time the 2015 Elise arrives in the showrooms the current car will be nineteen years old, and so arguably overdue for replacement.

The next generation model revealed at the Paris Motor Show gains a bit of weight, but it also gets extra power to compensate. That comes courtesy of a four-cylinder 2.0 litre engine, which will be available with an optional start-stop system to improve fuel economy and cut down on emissions.

The styling is said to be ‘young, strong, confident [and] verging on ruthless’, but Lotus is also emphasising that the 2015 Elise will be more practical and much easier to get in and out of. Of course 2015 is a long way off, and so some of the design details included on the Paris concept are bound to change.



An estimated price of £35,000 puts it on a par with the top end of today’s Elise range. However, that’s still quite a jump from today’s entry-level 1.6, which in basic form costs nearer to £27,000. Clear evidence of the Lotus desire to shift upmarket then, but it could alienate some existing customers.

2015 Lotus Elise Concept Specification
Layout	2 seats, mid-engined
Engine	Petrol, 2.0 litre I4
Hybrid technology	Optional stop-start
Power	315 bhp / 235 kW / 320 PS
Torque	330 Nm
0-62 mph (0-100 km/h)	4.3 seconds
Top speed	167 mph (270 km/h)
Weight	1,095 kg
Transmission	6 Speed manual, optional DCT
Drive	Rear-wheel drive
Production starts	Early 2015
On sale	Spring 2015
Price	Around £35,000

Related posts:

Five new Lotus sports cars

2013 Lotus Esprit

2013 Lotus Elan

2014 Lotus Elite

2015 Lotus Eterne

2014 Lotus Elite

The third new Lotus to arrive will be the Elite, in Spring 2014.

Like the two previous incarnations that wore the Elite badge, this version will also be front engined and have rear-wheel drive. But that’s just about where the similarities end.



Power will come from the same engine that the 2013 Esprit will be using, a 5.0 litre V8. Hybrid technology, including a gearbox with integrated electric motors and a Formula 1 style Kinetic Energy Recovery System, will be optional.

From a styling perspective, the Elite is perhaps the best looking of the sports car quintet that Lotus unveiled at Paris. A retractable roof is a key feature of the compact design which, at 4.60 metres in length, is about the same as a BMW 3 Series Coupe.



With a projected price of close to £115,000 though, the 3 Series won’t be the Elite’s competition. That job will go to more rarefied contenders, such as the Aston Martin DB9 and Bentley Continental GT Coupe.

2014 Lotus Elite Concept Specification
Layout	2+2 seats, front-engined
Engine	Petrol, 5.0 litre V8
Hybrid technology	Optional, incl. KERS
Power	611 bhp / 456 kW / 620 PS
Torque	720 Nm
0-62 mph (0-100 km/h)	3.5 to 3.7 seconds
Top speed	195 mph (315 km/h)
Weight	1,650 kg
Transmission	Full hybrid
Drive	Rear-wheel drive
Production starts	Early 2014
On sale	Spring 2014
Price	Around £115,000

Related posts:

Five new Lotus sports cars

2013 Lotus Esprit

2013 Lotus Elan

2015 Lotus Elise

2015 Lotus Eterne

2013 Lotus Elan

The next new Lotus to arrive after the Esprit will be the Elan, which is scheduled to enter the market during the Autumn of 2013.

Power will come from a mid-mounted 4.0 litre V6 and, despite the packaging issues that such a layout presents, there will be a 2+2 seating configuration available.

With a price tag in the region of £75,000, there’s really only one car that the Elan will measured against: the Porsche 911.

2013 Lotus Elan Concept Specification
Layout	2 or 2+2 seats, mid-engined
Engine	Petrol, 4.0 litre V6
Hybrid technology	Optional, incl. KERS
Power	443 bhp / 330 kW / 450 PS
Torque	465 Nm
0-62 mph (0-100 km/h)	3.5 seconds
Top speed	192 mph (310 km/h)
Weight	1,295 kg
Transmission	7 Speed DCT
Drive	Rear-wheel drive
Production starts	Summer 2013
On sale	Autumn 2013
Price	Around £75,000

Related posts:

Five new Lotus sports cars

2013 Lotus Esprit

2014 Lotus Elite

2015 Lotus Elise

2015 Lotus Eterne

2013 Lotus Esprit

Rumours have been circulating for a while about a replacement for the iconic mid-engined Esprit, and now it’s here, unveiled in concept form at the Paris Motor Show.

Promising to keep the core Lotus characteristic of lightness, the 2013 Esprit will be powered by a 5.0 litre V8 borrowed from the company’s preferred engine supplier, Toyota. However, for use in the Lotus it will be ‘pressure charged’ (which presumably means that either a turbo or supercharger will feature), allowing it to produce 611 bhp.

The styling is described as giving the car an ‘intense’ look and, as will be seen, it heralds a new design language that is used on all of the other new cars too. Generally it works well, although from some angles the kink in the roof line looks a bit odd.



With a projected price of circa £110,000, the Esprit will comfortably undercut supercar rivals such as the Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo. Its projected on-sale date is Spring 2013.

2013 Lotus Esprit Concept Specification
Layout	2 seats, mid-engined
Engine	Petrol, 5.0 litre V8
Hybrid technology	Optional, incl. KERS
Power	611 bhp / 456 kW / 620 PS
Torque	720 Nm
0-62 mph (0-100 km/h)	3.4 seconds
Top speed	205 mph (330 km/h)
Weight	1,450 kg
Transmission	7 Speed DCT
Drive	Rear-wheel drive
Production starts	End of 2012
On sale	Spring 2013
Price	Around £110,000

Related posts:

Five new Lotus sports cars

2013 Lotus Elan

2014 Lotus Elite

2015 Lotus Elise

2015 Lotus Eterne

Five new Lotus sports cars

Lotus had promised it was going to unveil a few new models at the Paris Motor Show, and it didn’t disappoint. Along with a city car, five new sports car concepts were on display: Esprit, Elan, Elite, Elise and Eterne.



This product offensive is key to the Lotus strategy of moving upmarket. With Proton’s money and a new CEO, ex-Ferrari man Dany Bahar, the intention is to transform the company into a manufacturer of premium vehicles to compete with the likes of Porsche and Ferrari.



Ambitious, but in some respects the plan smacks of déjà vu. That’s because something similar was attempted in the past, with a range of models that included the previous generation Elite and Esprit. It didn’t work then, and consequently Lotus reverted to its traditional heartland - a family of small, lightweight sports cars that started with the original Elise.



Both public and press alike reacted well to those models (seemingly with the exception of the Europa, which was quietly dropped from the line-up earlier this year). However, financially they haven’t been too successful, with Lotus failing to be profitable for many years now.



Hence yet another change in direction, which will kick off with the new Esprit.



For more details of the Paris concepts, please see these posts:



2013 Lotus Esprit

2013 Lotus Elan

2014 Lotus Elite

2015 Lotus Elise

2015 Lotus Eterne