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In today's episode of Fast Lane Daily (watch it after the jump), host Ji Young Min reveals that the mystery car spotted last week by CAR magazine is believed on good authority to be an all-new Lotus model codenamed "Project Eagle". The new mid-engine sports car is expected to slot in between the Elise and whatever car arrives to replace the much missed Esprit. The car's design will reportedly be similar to the M250 Concept that Lotus debuted in Frankfurt all the way back in 1999, while it's power will unsurprisingly come from a Toyota-sourced motor. The "Project Eagle" is meant by Lotus to play predator to the Porsche 911 Carerra's prey. If produced, it should break cover sometime next year and may be sold in the U.S. around 2009. Lotus would limit production to just 2,000 units a year, however, making this eagle an endangered species.
Watch today's episode of Fast Lane Daily after the jump to hear this scoop in their own words.
Click the image above for a couple of wallpaper-worthy shots of the Club Racer Exige S.
The term "Club Racer" is usually appended to some of the most hard-core track-day weapons on the market. In the case of the Lotus Exige S Club Racer, it boils down to an exclusive paint scheme and some added interior bits.
The sky blue and "Phantom Black" exterior ties in nicely with the sports pack black wheels, and harkens back to the heyday of Mr. Chapman's racing endeavors in the '60s. Inside, the Club Racer gets a combination of black leather and carbon fiber "effect" coverings, along with an overhead shot of the Hethel circuit embroidered into the headrests.
Only 25 limited editor "Racers" will be sold, with no word on how many will make it Stateside. With a price of £39,950 for what's essentially a Sport, Touring and Super Touring package equipped Exige S with a Sports Exhaust and air-con, we could think of better ways of building up our own dream Exige.
Lotus' press release in full is posted after the jump.
With California being the world's single largest market for cars and also the most populace place for supercars, it's no surprise that every now and then you'll spot a rare exotic supercar rolling along one of its many highways. However, to see more than fifty exotics roll past, including several Ferrari Enzos and a Bugatti Veyron, is simply bizarre. Get ready to be hypnotized by your monitors to this piece of automotive fr0n (that's "porn" in geek speak) captured in glorious HD.
Start counting them as they past, one Lamborghini Diablo, one Bugatti Veyron, a Ferrari Enzo, a Murcielago, another Murcielago and, you guessed it, another Murcielago. The list goes on and on. Click the Read link below to visit this video in HD.
Lotus has been building cars at its current factory location in Hethel near Norfolk, England since 1967 and its throwing a party to celebrate. If you're a fan of Colin Chapman's creations and their successors and you're in the vicinity of Hethel on September 23, you should swing by the plant.
The factory floor, some of the special engineering test facilities, and the test track will all be open to visitors that day. Examples of all the cars built at Hethel over the past four decades including the long-running Esprit, the Elise, the Elan and others will all be on display. As with any good birthday party, all the attendees get a goody bag with some Lotus stuff to take home. The press release with all the details is after the jump, and we've provided a high-res gallery of the classic Esprit S1 for your enjoyment.
In an interview with EVO, Lotus CEO Mike Kimberley let it fly that two new projects are on their way, and the financial woes that have troubled the niche automaker are finally beginning to dissolve.
We were already aware that a new Esprit had been under development for the past few years, and that the launch would come before the end of the decade. Kimberley confirmed that we could expect to see the next-gen Esprit in late 2009, with power provided by "a very well respected prestige car maker." The initial speculation was that BMW might be tapped to supply an engine, but several signs now peg Aston Martin as being the power provider. The £70,000 supercar has already been sent back to the drawing board once, and Kimberley is confident that the new Esprit will be the dynamic masterpiece expected from Lotus.
More intriguing was the revelation that Lotus is in the process of developing a 2+2 coupe, codenamed Project Eagle, which is designed to slot in between the Elise/Exige/Europa and the forthcoming Esprit. EVO was privy to a brief glance of the concept and described it as a, "Bertone-bodied Dino 308GT4 with a modern Lotus twist." The chassis won't be derived from the Elise platform, but instead will incorporate an aluminum tub accompanied by fiberglass-composite panels. Power is likely to come via a Toyota-sourced V6, mounted amidships, and sending 300+ horsepower to the rear wheels. Lotus will take the wraps off the concept at the London Motor Show next year, with sales expected to begin early 2009.
Lotus Cars Australia decided that it would be a good idea to offer a market-exclusive version of the Exige for Aussie track-day fiends who don't necessarily want to skimp on the niceties. So they did it, and the result is the Exige Sport 240. That's 240 as in horsepower (20 more than a regular Exige S), which this Oz-tastic Lotus belts out from its blown 1.8L four with assistance from a new ECU and new injectors.
The Sport 240 also gets fully user-adjustable traction control from Lotus Sport. A dial in the cabin allows the driver to chose from eighteen different traction control intervention settings, allowing it to be optimized for nearly any road condition. Bigger brakes and an adjustable suspension also weigh into the overall dynamic upgrades.
Intended to be both a daily driver and a trackday weapon (and here we thought the Exige S already fit that bill), the interior is treated to the Touring Plus pack's A/C and additional sound insulation, plus black leather seats with orange stitching and the requisite special edition badging. There will be 6 cars in the initial run of Exige Sport 240s, finished in either black with orange accents or orange with black accents. Lotus claims a 0-100km/h (62 mph) time of 4.2 seconds, a 0-160 km/h (roughly 100 mph) run of 9.9 seconds, and a top end of 154 mph. How fast it circles a road course depends on the skill of the driver, of course, but finding out sounds like a helluva fun endeavor. You can read the full Lotus PR after the jump.
Contrary to a report that surfaced Monday, Lotus has no intention of partnering with the Malaysian state-owned automaker, Proton, to build cars in China. This announcement debunks what Jinhua Neoplan has asserted throughout a number of articles in the Chinese press – including the state-supported China Daily.
The e-mail, which was apparently sent to Lotus staff, makes it clear that no vehicles will be produced in China, nor are there any plans to do so within the next five years. The email goes on to say that such reports "could affect staff morale or performance" and that, "in the future please treat such press comments with the scepticism (sic) they deserve."
The guys over at China Car Times are super-stoked over news that Proton has inked a deal that will see the Lotus Europa built in China.
According to a China Daily report, Proton is working with its Chinese partner, Jinhua Neoplan Vehicle Co., to produce for Proton the Europa and a four-door sedan based on Proton's Gen-2.
Jinhua Neoplan has until now manufactured buses, but in its new partnership will build as many as 150,000 cars for both the Chinese market and for export. Inside Line even goes so far as to predict future Chinese-built Lotus vehicles being sold in the U.S.
[Sources: China Daily, China Car Times, Inside Line]
The Lotus Esprit, a car severely missed by a huge number of auto fans, is slated after numerous delays to return from the dead in 2009, perhaps at the Geneva Motor Show. Until then, the Dutch seem to be first in getting details on and spy shots of this most English of cars. Last year it was said that Esprit would have a "much more compact" footprint than than the Gallardo or F430, have an aluminum or composite skin, and be produced at a rate of 2,500 per year.
The latest info is that the engine will be a 4.8-liter V8 from BMW producing in excess of 400 bhp -- possibly with the help of some forced breathing apparatus. This time around, there will be a convertible version to go with the coupe, and word is that the car will sell for 70,000 British pounds. Whenever it arrives, it will find there aren't many chairs left in the affordable sports car arena, what with every month bringing a new entrant. Still, we only have two words for the new Esprit: bring it. For more spy shots of the zebra-striped car testing in Holland, go here.
Last August, we brought you the story we dubbed Inspirational Vehicle: Mark's 7, in which a group of enthusiasts and forum members rallied together to complete an RX-7 build for one of their friends stricken with ALS whose condition prevented him from seeing his project through to its completion. If you missed it the first time around, check it out here. It's a great story of friends helping another friend. Sadly, we must also report that Mark, the man all those good folks rallied around, passed away in January of this year. Our belated condolences to his family and friends.
Today's feel-good story is very similar, only it took place across the Atlantic in the UK, where one Simon Pritchard was in the midst of restoring a Turbo Esprit when a series of mini-strokes put him in the hospital and his resto project in limbo. During the course of the restoration, he had joined the Lotus Esprit Forum to chat with other owners and get advice on his project car. "Big Si" (that's his handle and nickname), made some good friends there, and when he fell ill, they stepped up. Led by Andy Betts, who runs the Esprit forum, his comrades got together and secretly pooled money and time to complete the car. Even Lotus got in on the act, and the red beauty you see above is the final result. It took the gang of volunteers just 5 weeks to complete the project that was expected to take 18 months. Fast forward to a Lotus track day at Castle Combe, where Simon and friends were in attendance. Simon thought his car was tucked away in a buddy's garage having the engine worked on. He realized that wasn't the case when his car, resplendent in its newfound glory, pulled up right before his eyes. We extend a tip of the cap to everyone involved. For full details, you can read this BBC story and check out the private"Plan 'Bigsi'" section at the Lotus Esprit Forum that got it all rolling. Simon's mates recorded the big reveal when it happened, and we've embedded that footage after the jump. The thread that specifically covers the handover at Castle Combe can be found here. Well done, guys!
Following spy shots of S-Class Hybrid prototypes leaving the Lotus facilities in Norwich, England, industry insiders have concluded that Mercedes has turned to the British sportscar maker and engineering firm for input on the sedan's hybrid power system.
The upcoming S-Class Hybrid's electric motor sits in front of the front-mounted transmission, and will be coupled to either a gasoline-powered 268-hp 3.5L V6 to produce a combined 300 hp and return 35 mpg, or a 2.2L 168 hp diesel incorporating the latest BLUETEC technology.
Although best known for its chassis consulting, Lotus it seems was brought on to put the finishing touches on the hybrid's sophisticated drivetrain, specifically the mechanism that switches between the conventional and electric motors. No doubt, Lotus has been developing its new specialty in the green arena thanks to its work with Tesla on the all-EV Roaster.
For would-be criminals, the police supercar is a bit of a paradox. Unless you have some serious get-away hardware, there is no freaking chance that you're going to outrun, say, a Lamborghini Gallardo "fuzz edition." On the Yang side, an officer would have to have some serious fortitude to cut you off or bump or your back end, and it's not likley he or she will haul you off to the slammer in a two-seater.
The folks over at Deputy Dog have compiled a list of their nine favorite emergency service vehicles, and we think they've done a bang up job. The Italians and Germans dominate this list, and with good reason. The two countries stamp some of the hottest metal on the world market, and it only makes sense that their police departments have a shot in hell of catching suspects with like power. One of our favorite models is the Porsche Cayenne ambulance. If you required emergency medical attention, wouldn't you want to get to the hospital as fast as possible. Check out the entire list of top emergency service vehicles by clicking the Read link. Just one question though, why the Top 9 instead of 10?
For many of us in our 30s, the white Lotus Esprit S1 driven by Roger Moore as James Bond in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me represents our first exposure to Lotus and the beginning of a long love affair with the British marque. After all, the Esprit was one of the most exotic and different-looking cars those young eyes had ever set on at the time ( and the S1still looks fantastic today). What made the Bond car special, however, was its incredibly cool alternate mode, which we were introduced to when Bond, being pursued by a helicopter, drives it off a pier into the water in a bid to escape (insert British-car electrical system joke here).
We know what happens, of course. The Lotus transforms into what is quite possibly the slickest make-believe submarine ever, dispatches the pursuing chopper with a missile from its vertical launch tubes (which happen to share the exact same real estate as the engine -- another Q Branch packaging miracle -- wink, wink), performs reconnaissance on the evil Stromberg's underwater hideout, and then, in a great scene, returns to the mainland via a crowded beachfront.
And now you can buy it. Next week at Coys Monaco auction, a completely refurbished "submarine mode" prop car from The Spy Who Loved Me will cross the block. During the filming, two complete cars and two bodyshells were used, and the car for sale was purchased as a shell in the Bahamas. Lotus confirmed its authenticity to the buyer, and then provided him with complete technical specifications so that it could be restored to full Bond-car glory. There's no running-gear in it at all (the sub-mode cars apparently didn't have any), and we think this would make one seriously impressive home decoration -- easily surpassing the Countach wall-hanging. If we had, you know, a 20,000 sq. ft. house and money to burn, we'd be there, paddle in hand. Alas, we'll make do with the Corgi Junior version we still possess today. Coys expects the sale to net somewhere between €30,000 - €40,000. And no, guys, Barbara Bach (a.k.a. Anya Amasova, a.k.a Agent XXX, a.k.a. Mrs. Ringo Starr) is not included.
During the early nineties, some police forces in the US used 5.0L Mustangs and Camaros as pursuit cars. In other parts of the world some cops have been fortunate enough to have access to Lamborghini Gallardos and Ferrari 612s. Now the police in Sydney Australia have a new Lotus Exige to play with. Lotus previously donated an Exige to their hometown force in Norfolk England and have now sent one to the boys in blue Down Under. Apparently, the Sydney police want to use it scare the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon drivers into slowing down. No matter how good the Commodore VXR is, it certainly wouldn't stand a chance against an Exige.
Bringing together the best of the best handling cars from various price classes and axeing those with exorbitant price tags to keep things relevant for those of us in the peanut gallery, Motor Trend came up with a list of 32 contenders for the title of Best Handling Car in the World. After a vigorous battery of road tests, they narrowed it down to just 10: the Honda Civic Si, Mazdaspeed3, Mini Cooper S with the John Cooper Works package, Mitsubishi Evolution IX MR (both from 2006 as the 2007 versions haven't hit the pavement yet), the Honda S2000, BMW 335i, Porsche Cayman S, Lotus Exige S, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and Porsche 911 GT3.
The folks at Motor Trend feverishly tracked on-center feel, skid-pad testing, step-steer, lane-change/swerve stability and ride quality, using gadgets to measure results precisely and not allowing looks, reputation or even emotion get in the way of their final verdict. It's perhaps the most thorough and objective comparison test we've ever seen performed, and as such, it offers a lot of data for the reader to digest. Almost too much, actually, as evident by the graph at the article's conclusion that tries to encapsulate every bit of data for each car in a siezure inducing spider graph (shown above).
Which car won the battle? We don't want to ruin it for you, so click through to find out. [Hint: the winner can be found on page 8 if you're like us and hate surprises]
In today's episode of Fast Lane Daily (watch it after the jump), host Ji Young Min reveals that the mystery car spotted last week by CAR magazine is believed on good authority to be an all-new Lotus model codenamed "Project Eagle". The new mid-engine sports car is expected to slot in between the Elise and whatever car arrives to replace the much missed Esprit. The car's design will reportedly be similar to the M250 Concept that Lotus debuted in Frankfurt all the way back in 1999, while it's power will unsurprisingly come from a Toyota-sourced motor. The "Project Eagle" is meant by Lotus to play predator to the Porsche 911 Carerra's prey. If produced, it should break cover sometime next year and may be sold in the U.S. around 2009. Lotus would limit production to just 2,000 units a year, however, making this eagle an endangered species.
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