Lotus

The introduction of the Lotus Evora 400, as a 2017 North American Model Year, marks the start of a fresh period in Lotus’ presence in this vital market. The previous model Evora already received positive acclaim from media, customers and dealers alike and reaffirmed Lotus as the maker of some of the finest, purest, most lightweight and most efficient sports cars sold today. Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer, Group Lotus plc, explains: “The Lotus Evora 400 combines high performance with the legendary Lotus benchmark handling. It is lighter, more efficient and dynamically better than ever. It is the perfect high performance machine for those discerning buyers seeking a hand built British-built sports car that possesses a purer driving experience, greater agility and a more involving drive.” To coincide with the introduction of the Lotus Evora 400 into the North American […]

The Lotus brand has long been synonymous with small, quick, and agile sports cars. Our Video of the Week this week features a history of the car through the 1980s via a show and rally of dedicated owners. The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Chapman and Colin Dare, both graduates of University College, London, in 1952. The four letters in the middle of the logo stand for the initials of company founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.

Lotus Cars is delighted to announce the prices of the new Evora 400. The latest supercar from Lotus combines high performance with the legendary Lotus benchmark handling and is lighter, more efficient and dynamically better than ever, providing a purer driving experience. UK prices will start from £72,000 (for other markets, see table below). For this price the car benefits from a high level of standard specification including 370 mm composite two piece brake discs from AP Racing, a Limited Slip Differential, automatic air-conditioning and infotainment system including satellite navigation. In addition to this, the options list includes automatic transmission at £2,000, Alcantara or Leather trim upgrades at £2,500 and metallic paint at £900. A “Black Pack” option, available at £1,250, provides a distinctive look, with selected exterior panels including the roof, sills and centre section of the three-element rear […]

And then … more Lotus news from London. The newly refitted Lotus Brand Centre in Piccadilly, London, introduces an opportunity to learn more about Lotus and get closer to the company’s pure and lightweight sports cars in central London. Two of the company’s best-selling models are currently central to the showroom presence. The Elise 220 Cup and the Exige S take centre-stage. The new Lotus Evora 400, the fastest production Lotus ever, will be displayed later in the summer. The main area of the new Lotus store is dedicated to a fully interactive Lotus sports car configurator where customers can chose the specifications of their new Lotus, take a look at examples of the latest range of Lotus cars, the iconic Elise and stunning Exige. Customers are then referred to their nearest dealer – of which there are 179 around […]

Lotus Cars is delighted to welcome Hexagon Lotus as its new brand representative in prestigious South Kensington, London. Hexagon is not new to Lotus having been a Lotus dealer from 1964 to 1976. Their reintroduction offers customers two Lotus dealerships in London, from their Headquarters in East Finchley as well as South Kensington. Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Group Lotus plc, stated: “We are pleased to welcome Hexagon back to Lotus. This is a perfect partnership for us and the opening of Hexagon Lotus brings to an end a six year period where we have not had a Lotus dealership in London.” Paul Michaels, Chairman of Hexagon Classics said, “We decided to rejoin Lotus after nearly 40 years as we can see a very exciting future for Lotus and we want to be part of it. Many of our customers already appreciate […]

Having stated that the new Evora 400 supercar would exceed expectations, Lotus has now validated the claim. Early tests, carried out by Gavan Kershaw, Technical Manager for Lotus Motorsport, allowed Lotus to boast of a six seconds per lap advantage at Hethel. This validation drive of a standard road specification prototype Evora 400, running on road tyres and with standard road suspension supports the initial claim. Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Group Lotus plc stated: “Internally, we all knew that the Evora 400 would be capable of exceeding expectations. Our initial pre-production tests provided immense confidence and a SIX seconds lap time advantage at Hethel. The previous best time achieved in the Evora S model was 1 minute 38 seconds; the new lap time set by Gavan is 1 minute 32 seconds. “Our commitment to reducing weight to create a lightweight and […]

A revolutionary Lotus five-door crossover is being developed at top speed at the company’s Hethel design studios. According to AutoCar, the Lotus Car’s CEO, Jean-Marc Gales, confirmed the news and said that it will be “a real Lotus” and “the world’s first lightweight SUV.” Perhaps the bigger news is that the crossover will be built at an all-new Lotus factory in southeast China and will be heading to production in 2019. Despite manufacturing the vehicle in China, Gales was clear that Hethel, England will remain the company’s management and design hub as well as the manufacturing center for the three-tier sports car range. The crossover will be the first result of a three-way joint venture between Lotus, its Malaysian owner Proton and Goldstar Heavy Industrial, a Chinese engineering and manufacturing company. Lotus hopes to capture part of the increasing SUV […]

Since the unveiling of the pioneering and ground-breaking Lotus Elise in 1995, Lotus has reached another production landmark. No less than 40,000 examples have been produced of its technologically advanced “small car platform”, epitomised by the brilliant Lotus Elise, which has maintained exceptional standards in light weight and efficiency, while producing a benchmark in handling, to result in a pure driving experience. The “small car platform” and its sheer production flexibility is defined by the various models based on it, which have included the Lotus Elise, Exige, Europa, 2-Eleven, 340R and racing variants. In being the first carmaker to use extruded and bonded aluminium, Lotus revolutionised the industry and it has become a method that is being widely adopted amongst the rest of the motor industry. In the meantime, Lotus continues to refine and develop its own lightweight structure currently […]

PROTON Holdings Berhad (“PROTON”) the ultimate holding company of Lotus Group, announced that it has signed a Joint Venture (“JV”) Agreement with Lotus Group International Limited, United Kingdom (“Lotus Group”) and Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co. Ltd. (“Goldstar”) for a possible business expansion of Lotus cars in the People’s Republic of China. The collaboration seeks to accelerate the development of Lotus cars in the premium sports segment in China, leveraging on the incentives offered by the Fujian Provincial Government. Both PROTON and Lotus Group are subsidiaries of DRB-HICOM Berhad. Signing on behalf of PROTON was the Honourable Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Chairman of PROTON and former Prime Minister of Malaysia and witnessed by Dato’ Abdul Harith Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of PROTON. Signing on behalf of Lotus Group International Limited, United Kingdom was Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer and witnessed by […]

Today, Lotus is pleased to announce a 55% rise in its global sports car sales at the conclusion of the 2014/15 financial year. For the full year, the company has increased its sales volume to an excellent 2015 units, contrasted with 1,296 units in the year 2013/14. This is the best result achieved by Lotus since FY 2008/09. Key global markets showing the renaissance experienced by Lotus are in China (+186%), France (+177%) and Germany (+130%), while Japan (+103%) remains the company’s largest export market. Sales in the UK have more than doubled to 346 units (+102%). The USA market, which sells the Evora range as a road car and the Elise and Exige ranges for track use only, has increased by 24%. Leading the excellent performance is the Elise range, with a 80% increase in volume to 729 cars. […]

This just in from the folks at Lotus cars: All car companies, including unconventional specialists like Lotus, always make the most ingenious use of their resources, notably around the time of new car launches. One such new car, the exciting Lotus Evora 400 supercar was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show recently. With a maximum speed of 186 mph (300 km/h) and acceleration 0-60 mph of just 4.1 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds), the new Evora 400 is the fastest car in the Lotus range. With benchmark handling capabilities and a pure driving experience, it is lightweight and efficient and the envy of the supercar scene. So a thought-provoking launch campaign needed to be developed to direct new customers to this thrilling new offering. The solution lies in an ingenious on-line game, accessed through both the Lotus website and […]

The Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance, held March 12-15, once again presented an amazing collection of rare, exotic and highly-collectible cars.  There were a smattering of British marques represented at the Concours, with best in class winners of two pre-war Rolls-Royce, an Aston Martin DB4 and gorgeous 1947 Bentley coupe.   The real British-action, however, was experienced in the high-end auctions of Gooding’s and Bonham’s.  So while affordability is in the eye of the beholder, there were several tempting offerings, like a driver-quality 1968 jaguar XKE coupe for $44,000, and a pristine 1952 MG TD for $29,000.  After those, however, the appreciation curve shot upward, with an unbelievably original 1965 XKE Series 1 4.2 coupe going for $200,000 and a similarly original 1961 E-Type Roadster hitting $380,000.  And in the I’ve-never-seen-one-of-those-before, a 1951 Lotus, claimed to be the very first road-worthy […]

Applying the Lotus refined Club Racer principles to the already stunning Exige S results in the most inspiring version of an already class-leading sports car. The Exige S is a model that already excels, thanks to its lightweight aluminium chassis-tub and aerodynamically enhanced composite bodywork. Its 3.5-litre supercharged V6 engine delivers exciting performance, benchmark handling and a pure driving experience combined with a 4.0 seconds 0-62mph (0-100km/h) acceleration time and a top speed of 274 km/h (170 mph). Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc, expressed his enthusiasm for the new model:“Factoring the Club Racer ethos into the Exige enhances the track-focussed potential of this important model. It encompasses our legendary benchmark in handling, with lightweight and efficient construction and that we will always put a peerless and pure driving experience first.” The new Exige S Club Racer occupies an […]

The Lotus Elise 20th Anniversary Special Edition celebrates the unveiling of the iconic sports car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1995. 20 years ago, the Lotus Elise revolutionised the sports car world, setting the benchmark for handling, purity of the driving experience, lightweight and efficiency. Its pioneering and advanced bonded aluminium chassis was a market-leading technological innovation at the time and over the years has improved and evolved and remains core to the Elise’s exceptional performance today. Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc, welcomes the Elise 20th Anniversary model, “It is sometimes hard to believe that the Elise has been around for 20 years. It was ground breaking when it was launched and continues to be the benchmark for handling and performance in its class. Over the years we have improved and refined the Elise but we […]

After both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado showed the Lotus E23 Hybrid’s potential by qualifying in the top ten, cruel fate ended any chance of points after just two corners. Romain felt the impact of bad luck before the flag was waved, with a loss of power noticeable on the formation lap. Unable to recover, when the race began the Frenchman fell down the order and, despite his best efforts, was forced to bring the car into the garage and retire the E23 Hybrid. “I lost power on the formation lap,” said Romain. “I was unable to recover the power and we’re not sure where the issue came from. It’s a shame but it’s the first race and anything can happen and unfortunately it was bad luck for us today.” He was soon joined by Pastor who, in contrast to […]

Just a few more photos to round out a week filled up with the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. The 85th annual show opened to the press in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, March 3, and then opened to the public on March 5. The show continues through the next week, but it can be assumed that most of the big announcements have now been made. New Rolls Royce Serenity (AP Photo/Keystone,Sandro Campardo) Lotus Evora 400(AP Photo/Keystone,Sandro Campardo) Wolfgang Duerheimer, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley, presents the New Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept. (AP Photo/Keystone,Sandro Campardo) Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept(AP Photo/Keystone,Sandro Campardo) Aston Martin Vantage GT3(AP Photo/Keystone,Sandro Campardo) McLaren 675 LT(AP Photo/Keystone,Sandro Campardo)  McLaren 650 S(AP Photo/Keystone,Sandro Campardo)

Carmen Jordá is one step closer to her goal of racing in Formula 1 today, as it was announced she would be joining the Lotus F1 Team family for the year as a Development Driver. With her sights firmly set on driving the E23 Hybrid before the year is out, Carmen will work closely with the team on an intensive simulator programme in Enstone, while being put through her paces thanks to a comprehensive fitness regime to prepare for the opportunity. Combined with attending Grands Prix and tests for Lotus F1 Team, Carmen’s role will focus on assessing the latest developments of the team’s 2015 challenger. With racing experience in both Europe and America, Carmen’s distinctive perspective will serve to further enhance the E23’s evolvement curve. Daughter of ex-driver Jose Miguel Jorda, Carmen Jordá has been racing professionally since 2001 […]

British sports car maker Caterham is driving ahead with ambitious plans to conquer Asian markets, according to chief executive Tony Fernandes, who is also chairman of QPR. “We may be a small voice now, but we’re on our way to engineering a decent set of lungs,” he said at the Singapore Grand Prix, where the firm launched its first new ultra-performance model, the AeroSeven Concept. Caterham was bought two years ago by Mr Fernandes with business partner Kamarudin Meranun. They also founded the Tune Group, which opened its first hotel in Edinburgh this year. The pair founded budget airline AirAsia 12 years ago and said the experience would help the motor manufacturer gain a stronghold in the region. “We were told our plans for AirAsia could not work,” said Mr Fernandes. “Today, AirAsia has a growing fleet of more than […]