Lotus Straightline Archives

The Evora Cup doesn't have much relevance to you unless you're going to move to Europe and race in Lotus' 2010 GT4 manufacturer series. Actually, though, with a prize fund of "at least 100,000 euros," maybe you should look into it if you have some skill.

Full details on the Lotus Evora Cup car won't be released until the 2010 Geneva Auto Show in March, but already we know it will have an enlarged 4.0-liter version of the Toyota 2GR-FE V6 with dry-sump oiling.

Lotus estimates the mid-mounted V6 will develop about 400 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and about 295 pound-feet of torque at 6,000 rpm. Redline will be 7,250 rpm. The Cup car is supposed to weigh under 1,200 kg (~ 2,645 pounds). The transmission will be a Cima 6-speed dog box with paddle shifters.

The car will have an aero package with a carbon fiber front splitter, diffuser and rear wing developed by Dallara. Running gear will include adjustable dampers and more serious brakes with two-piece aluminum rotors, and six-piston calipers up front and 2-pots in back.

First Drive: 2010 Lotus Evora

Categories: Geneva Motor Show,Lotus,Motorsports,Sports Cars

Some of the entries this week were uproariously funny.

Picking the winner wasn't so hard because the Colin Chapman reference is just so apt in reference to the Lotus Super Trolley. Congratulations, wshuff.

However, narrowing down the honorable mentions proved difficult, because so many of them made us laugh hard. Here's how the list shaped out, but even if your entry isn't on it, it's still fair to assume we found it damn funny. Thanks for playing, everyone.

Low and high maintenance rolled into one. (mrryte)
Aisle 9... hot women. (robert4380)
Proof that a Lotus can indeed pick up women. (lmbvette)
"We build track-ready cars; wait until you see our track-ready shopping carts for holiday shopping moms!" (inlinesix)
Does it still have the problem with wheels sticking? That would really throw you off into the produce isle under hard cornering! (djsho91)
it has no bar at the back so you can't run and stand on the cart. damn british, taking all the fun away. (jackson611)
Fortunately, this one is not a 'stripper' model. (dougtheeng)
So, how's she handle? (zoomzoomn)
Lotus begins testing on new LF-A fighter. 5 wheel ultra steering (WUS) is being introduced as part of a revolutionary new drive system, its lightweight aluminium body features a rigid roll cage. Seating arraignment allows for one + one seating; tho don't expect to fit any more then a baby in the rear seat. Prices will start in upwards of a billion dollars and are expected to go even higher for a hardtop model. Slated for release in 2012, lotus hopes to bring in a new family of buyers into the supercar(t) niche. (93aero)

You can read all the contest entries here. Then, check the caption contest winner on our Long-Term Road Test Blog.

Categories: Lotus,Sports Cars,Trends

You think the Lotus Exige's handling is sharp? Well, wait until you test-drive the Lotus Super Trolley. We hear that fifth wheel makes all the difference.

Yes, indeed, another caption contest. Do your worst.

Then, hop on over to the Long-Term Road Test blog and submit an entry in that caption contest.

Categories: Lotus,Sports Cars,Trends

Hennessey Performance Engineering's latest project-car news is the Venom GT, which is based on the Lotus Exige. Like the Ford GT-derived GT1000, it combines both a supercharger and a pair of turbocchargers.

But Hennessey being Hennessey, the Exige's stock, supercharged 1.8-liter inline-4 was immediately excised in favor something more manly: the Corvette ZR1's 6.2-liter LS9 V8, conveniently also supercharged.

Hennessey claims the finished car will make over 1,000 horsepower just as the GT1000 reportedly did. The same Ricardo six-speed manual will drive the Exige's rear wheels, and it's hoped that the finished, 2,395-pound car will hit 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. For comparison, we timed the 3,485-pound GT1000 at 3.7 seconds to 60. Hennessey also says it's aiming for a 262-mph top speed for the Venom GT.

Plans have been made to take the car to the Nurburgring Nordschleife, where Hennessey is betting the Venom Exige will break 7 minutes -- quite a claim when you remember that the Corvette ZR1 reportedly ran a 7:26 there

In the pictures here you can see the first right-hand-drive prototype that's being built in England. Once finished, the car will look like this (right). Hennessey says it has 3 orders in so far for this monster of an Exige. If the demand is there, the company would plan to build 10-12 Venom GTs in a year. Considering the slower GT1000 cost $250,000, though, we wouldn't make any bets.

Full Test: 2006 Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo

Categories: Lotus,Sports Cars,Tuners and Modifications

Curious whether the new 2010 Honda Accord has an optional neck massager? How about the tow rating on the Ford F-150? And what about those European cars, they're always adding some new totally nonessential technological "feature."

Now there's an easy way to find out. Our 2010 Buyer's Guide lists every model change from every manufacturer. From colors to options to full redesigns, it's all there.

2010 Buyer's Guide 

Categories: Acura,Aston Martin,Audi,BMW,Bentley,Bugatti,Buick,Cadillac,Chevrolet,Chrysler,Dodge,Ferrari,Fiat,Ford,GMC,General Motors,HUMMER,Honda,Hyundai,Infiniti,Jaguar,Jeep,Kia,Lamborghini,Land Rover,Lexus,Lincoln,Lotus,MINI,Maserati,Maybach,Mazda,Mercedes-Benz,Mercury,Mitsubishi,Nissan,Pontiac,Porsche,Rolls-Royce,SMART,Saab,Saturn,Scion,Subaru,Suzuki,Tesla Motors,Toyota,Volkswagen,Volvo

So the 2010 Lotus Evora won't be cheap. Should be fast though.

It weighs less than 3,000 pounds and is powered by a 276-horsepower Toyota V6. Lotus says to expect a 0-to-60mph time of less than 5.0-seconds and a 155mph top speed. U.S. sales are expected to begin in the first quarter of next year.

First Drive: 2010 Lotus Evora
  

Categories: Coupes,Future Vehicles,Lotus,Sports Cars

One man's 2010 Lotus Exige Scura is another man's 2010 Lotus Exige Stealth, particularly if that man lives in Japan. Yep, this is the matte-black Lotus Scura we wrote about earlier this week, except in Japan another manufacturer holds the trademark to "Scura" so it's the Stealth here.

You really can't know just how compelling the matte-black finish is on this car until you walk up and touch it -- and it gives a little. Yes, the the Exige Stealth is soft-touch, because the matte-black is not actual paint. It's rubberized material based on the stuff Lotus normally uses for dash material. The black racing "stripes" are the actual paint, i.e., the car gets painted glossy black at the factory and then the matte material is applied.

"It's five times more resilient to chip than normal paint," Roger Becker, engineering director for Lotus Cars, told us, adding that the star shield appliques applied to the lower bodywork of most U.S.-bound Exiges aren't necessary on the Scura/Stealth.

We reported earlier that Lotus would build only 35 Exige Scura/Stealths (all of them pre-sold), but Becker said demand for the car will necessitate a larger production run. He also told us the U.S. arm of Lotus has taken the opinion that the Exige Scura wouldn't have much appeal to Americans. The car won't be shown at the L.A. auto show in December.

"I totally disagree," Becker told us. "If it was my choice, I would have shown the car in L.A."

So is Becker right to take up the case of the Exige Scura/Stealth? Bear in mind that this Exige 260 Cup-based car could conceivably cost over $10,000 more than the U.S.-spec Exige S 260 ($75K).

More pictures after the jump.

Erin Riches, Senior Editor

Continue reading 2010 Lotus Exige Stealth at 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.

Categories: Lotus,Sports Cars,Tokyo Motor Show

Lotus today released photographs of an upcoming special-edition Exige called the Scura which is to debut at this month's Tokyo Auto Show. In related news, the three lumens of sunlight that visit the UK on a daily basis have been sucked into the matte-blackness of the Scura's paint, where they died horrible, screeching deaths.

Those black panels are nicely offset by triple stripes in--you guessed it--black. But those are glossy. The interior though gets special trim made of carbon fiber, which is black and also hand-brake and gearshift knob anodized with a an anthracite color. The color Anthracite is derived from a variety of coal, which is also referred to as "black coal."

The Scura comes with a supercharged and intercooled motor making 257 horsepower, which, routed through a lightweight 6-speed gearbox with a racy clutch, should be enough to get the Scura to 60 mph from a standstill in "around 4 seconds." But this is clearly no drag-racer. The suspension and racy body work are tuned for a road course. Sadly, none of the 35 cars to be constructed are apparently destined for the U.S. We can say that it's going to cost the equivalent of about $90,000 in the various European markets.

Make the jump for an enlightening discussion of blackness.

Continue reading 2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Lotus Exige Scura.

Categories: Coupes,Lotus,Sports Cars,Tokyo Motor Show

Lotus has updated the Exige S240 for 2010, and the handful of changes all relate to aerodynamics. Probably the interesting one is the new wing in back, which is based on the one on the Exige GT3 concept from the 2007 Geneva Auto Show. This composite wing is 7.1 inches wider than last year's wing, and it sits 1.8 inches higher and 2.4 inches farther back on the car. Lotus claims 93 pounds of downforce at 100 mph.

Up front, the company has redone the air intakes to get more cooling winds to the supercharged, 1.8-liter engine and its twin oil coolers. The front splitter is also redesigned.

Pricing stands pat at $65,690, and the 2010 Exige goes on sale in the U.S. in November.

Categories: Lotus,Sports Cars

A quick roundup of the news in Formula One today:

First off, there's the mess that is Renault. FIA announced it would call team representatives before the World Motor Sport Council on Monday in Paris to answer charges that the team conspired with former driver Nelson Piquet to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Said crash resulted in the deployment of the safety car -- to the advantage of teammate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win that race.

Renault moved quickly, dismissing Managing Director Flavio Briatore and Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds. The team issued this statement on its web site: "The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix."

The UK-based Times has published a piece with some of the radio traffic from the day of the race, and it does little to exonerate Renault. Notably, there's considerable conversation between Symonds and Piquet reconfirming lap numbers; plus, Symonds orders an unusually early pit for Alonso.

Times Online 

IL News: Scandal in Formula 1 as Renault Won't Contest Race-Fixing Charges and Team Heads Quit

More on Lotus and BMW after the jump.

Photo source: ING Renault F1

Continue reading F1: Renault Goes Into Self-Destruct, Lotus Returns, BMW Sells .

Categories: BMW,Lotus,Motorsports,Renault

Leave it to Lotus to find the smallest, simplest solution to a problem. This one involves series hybrids, like the Chevrolet Volt, which have a gas engine on-board to power the car's electric drive motor when the battery pack lacks sufficient charge. This gas engine will never actually drive the wheels directly, so it doesn't need to be large, which is why we've always questioned why the Volt will have a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gas engine.

At the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show next week, Lotus Engineering will show a 1.2-liter, SOHC, 2-valve-per-cylinder, all-aluminum three-cylinder engine developed expressly for series-hybrid use. It could power an electric motor or recharge a battery pack. You could put gasoline in it or use an alcohol-based fuel like ethanol.

The engine is tuned to provide 20 hp at 1,500 rpm via its built-in electrical generator, with a peak 47 hp at 3,500 rpm. Torque is rated 79 pound-feet at 2,500 rpm.

More important than the numbers, though, are the engine's potential packaging and cost advantages. Monoblock construction blends the engine block and cylinder head together, eliminating the need for a head gasket. This reduces weight -- Lotus says the 1.2-liter's dry weight is 123 lbs -- which is a key consideration in a car with heavy batteries. In addition, the cylinder head design integrates the exhaust manifold, which would save on manufacturing costs -- a key consideration in a car with expensive batteries.

IL News: 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show Preview: Lotus Range Extender Engine for Hybrids

Categories: Frankfurt Auto Show,Lotus

This long list of events is your chance to throw away your inhibitions and lay down some rubber. Some of the track days make you bring your own vehicle, while others provide you with a machine to pilot. Either way, find the right event and brush up on your driving skills by booking some track time at the links below.

Continue reading Hit Up the Track With These Events.

Categories: Audi,BMW,Bentley,Chevrolet,Chrysler,Consumer Track Events,Dodge,Ferrari,Ford,Infiniti,Jaguar,Jeep,Lamborghini,Land Rover,Lotus,MINI,Maserati,Mazda,Mitsubishi,Porsche,Saab,Scion,Subaru,Toyota

Starting with the release of the Exige Cup 240 in '06, Lotus has built up quite the following for its track-focused but built-for-the-road model. For the 2010 variant called the Exige Cup 260, Lotus shaves off a few pounds by upping the carbon-fiber treatment.

Continue reading Detailed: 2010 Lotus Exige Cup 260.

Categories: Lotus

Lotus has just released a 50-state legal supercharger kit for its naturally aspirated Elise and Exige models.

It's the same supercharger and intake manifold unit from the production Elise SC, and can be strapped onto any Elise or Exige with Toyota's 1.8-liter 2ZZ-GE under the hood. New high-flow fuel injectors and a reprogrammed ECU are also added to the mix, and help give quite a hefty kick in the pants to the respective vehicles.

Stock output is rated at 189 hp and 133 pound-feet of torque, and the new system will bump that up to 218 hp and 155 pound-feet. More power isn't the only notable change, though. Maximum torque is now available at a lower rpm (5k vs. 6.8k), giving the driver a more flexible powerband to work with.

The kit is ready for purchase at all authorized Lotus dealers in the U.S. and Canada.

Categories: Lotus

After last year's success of the Lotus Challenge Series, the program will be expanded to ten western U.S. events for 2010 that begin this January. Lotus will again be the title sponsor for the series.

Started by Lotus owner Jim Navarro, the series is basically just a place for Lotus owners to get together and bond over their vehicles. Eight races were held in its first year, with six in Cali and two at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada - where the Lotus Driving School resides.

"The Lotus Challenge Series is a very well run organization that's expanding through providing Lotus owners a fun, safe and positive environment in which to enjoy their Lotus vehicles and improve their driving skills," said Lotus director of operations Arnie Johnson.  

It's comprised of several classes that include both the Elise and Exige street cars and the track-only racers like the Exige Cup Car 255 and 2-Eleven. The Lotus Challenge Series kicks off January 23 just outside of Rosamond, CA at Willow Springs Raceway.  

Categories: Lotus,Motorsports