Lotus

As part of the Alpine Business Unit development, Groupe Renault and Group Lotus have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to study a number of areas of cooperation, including the joint development of an EV sportscar. […]

Calling on enthusiasts, collectors and car hunters worldwide, Lotus needs your help in tracking down the long-lost Lotus Mark I, the first car built by company founder Colin Chapman. As the British marque continues its 70th celebrations, it wants fans from around the world to pick up the trail of the most elusive Lotus ever – the competition car that the young engineer hand-built in a small London garage owned by his then girlfriend’s parents. Overcoming the standard car’s limitation Chapman applied innovative approaches to improve its performance in challenging trials competitions.

Proudly celebrating 70 years of innovation and a pure driving experience that’s second to none, Lotus has marked the anniversary of its inception with a birthday cake and Champagne reception with the Duke of Richmond and Gordon at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Joining His Grace was Group Lotus’ recently appointed chief executive officer, Mr. Feng Qingfeng, and Clive Chapman, son of Lotus founder Colin Chapman and Director of Classic Team Lotus. A number of VIPs were also part of the festivities, surrounded by the company’s latest line-up of cars as well its racing heritage, on the company’s stand at the Festival.

The Annual Lotus Owners Gathering is a private event and current membership in Lotus Ltd. is required for attendance.  If you are not a member, please register for new membership at the cost of $50 annually; or if you are an expired member, please renew at the $45 annual rate before registering for the LOG event.

British Car Club of Delaware’s Annual Show will be held on September 19, 2015 at Battery Park, 60 Clinton St., Delaware City, Delaware 19706, from 9:30AM-3:00PM.  The show is open to all makes, models and years British cars and bikes. The featured marque is Lotus this year. Free dash plaques to first 75 registrants. There will also be goodie bags and door prizes. The popular choice awards will be held at 2:30. Additionally, there is convenient dining located near the show location.   The BCCD is open to both owners and enthusiasts interested in the preservation of all the marques of British cars. Our members own Austin-Healeys, Triumphs, Jaguars and MGs, among other less common English cars. Members of the club can be found at many of the classic car shows throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Information, registration, and photos of past […]

Caterham Cars has introduced three brand new additions to its existing range of iconic sportscars. The Seven 270, 360 and 420 are all available in the UK immediately. The introduction of these three new variants simplifies Caterham’s range to comprise five core models. In addition, all Caterham Sevens can now be specified with brand new ‘S’ or ‘R’ equipment packages. Like all Sevens, the new variants adhere to Caterham’s brand mantra of delivering ‘accessible fun’ through the traditional Caterham minimalistic, lightweight approach to sportscar engineering. The three new vehicles sit between the existing range bookends – the entry-level Seven 160 and the supercharged 620R, the most powerful production Seven ever built. Launched in 2013, the Seven 160 embodies the pioneering spirit of early Sevens with its compact 3-cylinder engine and live-axle rear suspension. Next up is the new 270 model, […]

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 […]

British sports-car outfit Caterham is launching both a new Seven race car with a forced-induction engine, and a one-make racing series in which the car can compete next year. The Caterham R600 racer offers 275 hp in the company’s familiar lightweight, stripped-out Seven chassis. The engine in question is a supercharged 2.0-liter Ford inline-four, rated for 275 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed sequential transmission sends power to the rear wheels by way of a limited-slip differential. The company claims the R600 will be much faster and “more aggressive” than existing Caterham models, but promises that “the linear power delivery of the supercharged engine makes it superbly drivable.” Make sure to check out the full story at Automobile Magazine.

Lotus Cars says it has secured enough investment from its new Malaysian owner, the automotive giant DRB-Hicom, to restore full car production at its Hethel, UK assembly plant in the next few days, and continue build-up to the launch of the first of its new-wave models, the Esprit supercar due in showrooms before the end of 2013. A four-model, five-year plan devised by CEO Dany Bahar has had to be amended because a 60-day financial “freeze,” a routine occurrence when Malaysian firms sell major assets, has interrupted the flow of agreed development funds and introduced considerable production delays. The resumption means that from beginning of May Lotus should be making Elises, Exiges and Evoras at a combined rate of 44 cars a week, and will be continuing to to spend on the development of the Esprit, especially its own-design V8 […]

One of the largest private collections of Lotus cars will be dismantled in June during the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the annual motoring celebration at the grounds of Goodwood House in West Sussex, England. The collection of 24 Lotuses consigned by Bonhams is owned by the Dutch textile magnate Olav Glasius, who in addition to being a collector is a vintage-racing enthusiast and the chairman of Lotus Club Holland. The British sports-car marque will be this year’s featured brand at the Festival of Speed, an honor rendered somewhat inelegant by Lotus’s financial troubles. This month, Dany Bahar, chief executive of Lotus Cars, told Evo magazine that development of new models was being held up for three months as the company awaited either an infusion of cash or a sale by its Malaysian parent, Proton. In a telephone interview, James […]

Even though Lotus and Mansory have two compete different approach to making cars – the former likes light and agile cars with no excess, while the former prefers big, ostentatious cars with lots of garnish – they decided to join forces. Lotus officially announced Mansory as their customization studio. Their differences will complement each other, probably. Mansory has already had a go at the Lotus Evora, and contributed on the Evora GTE and Swiss Beatz Red Evora projects, but the first outcome of this alliance will be shown at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Lotus does not reveal any details on it, they just say it’s very exciting. For Lotus Mansory will be providing bodywork, trim and special finishes for the Elise, Exige and Evora. As the Official Customisation Studio, Mansory is working closely with Lotus’ engineers and designers to […]

The British automobile manufacturer Lotus is recalling its Elise and Exige models over potential fire risks or crashes, due to an oil leak issue. The models produced in 2005 and 2006 have been reportedly subjected to an immediate recall by the company. As slated, in July, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had opened a probe into these Lotus cars to investigate oil cooler leaks for the Elise and Exige models that were manufactured between June 1, 2004 and November 30, 2006. With 17 complaints from the owners of the vehicles reporting oil leaks onto the right rear tires, which resulted into handling problems and a fire incidence as well, the investigation finally triggered a recall announcement from the company. As per the NHTSA official site, the owners of the affected vehicles may contact Lotus at 1-800-245-6887 and get their […]

The battle lines are drawn. The race to build Britain’s fastest and most 
powerful production 
car is on. But it’s not McLaren, Bentley or even Aston Martin that aims 
to lead the way. It’s Lotus. During an exclusive gathering at the company’s HQ in Hethel, Norfolk, chief technical officer Wolf Zimmermann told Auto Express of his plans to build a flagship Superleggera version 
of the next-generation Esprit – and we can show you what it will look like in our exclusive images. Bosses held the meeting to face critics of the New Era plan, which in June 2010 revealed five new cars would be launched in five years. As well as confirming the flagship Esprit, Lotus unveiled plans for a city car called Ethos – to rival the Aston Martin Cygnet 
– plus the 2+2 Elite, four-door Eterne and the […]

Formula One’s Team Lotus on Tuesday, 6/14/2011, announced a broad sponsorship deal with General Electric that will see the U.S. industrial giant’s branding on its cars starting from the British Grand Prix in July. Team principal Tony Fernandes, who is also the chief executive of AirAsia, said in a statement the tie-up would showcase GE “in race and non-race markets alike”. The deal comes as Asia’s largest budget airline negotiates a potentially massive plane order with Airbus, for which G is competing with United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney to supply jet engines. Analysts say the possible order for at least 150 Airbus planes and the related engine order are among the biggest deals expected at the Paris Air Show next week

Lotus is doing a bit of rearranging in their kitchen now that plans for the Elan sports car have been placed on the backburner. Apparently, the British manufacturer is using the money that had been set aside for the Elan to develop their very own lineup of V6 and V8 engines. During an interview, Project Boss Dany Bahar said: “This is a big [financial] hit because it’s expensive to do 
an engine,” says Bahar. “But 
because the Elan is not happening now we have got capital expenditure headroom 
for engine development.” The first engine cooking is a V8 that will set up the competition for Ferrari’s V8 engine as seen in the 458 Italia. The new Lotus V8 will deliver between 550 – 570 HP and will undergo testing in July 2011. It will be dropped in the new Esprit […]

Lotus CEO Dany Bahar is eying a possible sale or spin-off from Malaysian parent Proton. When he quit a top marketing job at Ferrari in fall 2009 to become chief executive of Lotus Cars, 37-year-old Dany Bahar already had considerable knowledge of motorsports and brand-building — but little experience in running a car company, even one as small as Lotus. Now 39, with 20 months under his belt at the helm of the tiny British sports car specialist, Bahar has embarked on an ambitious program to greatly expand the Lotus product portfolio, reposition the brand as a premium competitor to Porsche and boost annual sales volume to 6,000-8,000 cars by mid-decade, with about one-third of those going to the U.S. market. He also thinks the time may be right to separate from Malaysian parent Proton, which has owned Lotus since […]

The folks over at Formula1 have an excellent interview with the Chief Technician of Team Lotus, Mike Gascoyne. Last season Team Lotus claimed the honors as the best of the new teams. This season – in their second year – they want much, much more. The extensive upgrade they brought to last weekend’s Spanish round certainly saw them take a step into the midfield on Saturday, and though they struggled somewhat in the Barcelona race, Gascoyne is certain, given time, they can fight with the likes of Force India and Williams more regularly. Speaking exclusively to Formula1, Gascoyne discusses the team’s driver line-up, the prospect of 1.6-litre engines, their Renault and Red Bull relationships and their ongoing quest for that elusive first point… read the full interview here.

Lotus hadn’t planned on making many Elises. About 2,500 cars should do it, Lotus thought, taking the Elise from its 1996 launch to, maybe, the millennial cusp. After all, not many people would want a basic, pure, minimalist sports car costing a far from minimalist £19,000. Surely. Well, the Elise has just entered its third generation (from £27,450). About 35,000 have left Lotus’s Hethel factory to date. The idea has proved more widely seductive than the original creators dared to hope and, as I turn and go back up the twisting road by Goodwood racecourse to savour the bends yet again, I am once more completely under its spell. There is nothing quite like an Elise. Other cars have had the individual elements – light weight, simplicity, a mid-mounted engine, a British badge – but currently the Lotus is a […]