You may have to ask a second time for their name and you probably need to take more than a couple of looks to tell them apart, but that doesn't mean we're not impressed by the next generation of Lotus sports cars.
Unveiled for the first time as concept studies at the Paris Motor Show in October, with the North American debut taking place at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, the new Elise, Esprit, Elite, Elan are a wild bunch. And while we don't have anything new to add about the four sports coupes, Lotus has unleashed a beautiful photo gallery shot in Hollywood, which you can enjoy in high-resolution quality right after the jump.
Remember Hennessey’s barnstorming, 1,200 hp (895 kW) Venom GT? Well its back and the journalistic titans at Road & Track have driven it. And there’s a video, to boot. Weighing in at a lithe 2,685 lbs (1,218 kg), the phenomenal Venom GT builds on Hennessey’s experience with tuning the Viper, 5th generation Camaro and various Cadillacs, among many others. It’s a simple formula, really. Big power + light weight = big fun.
Hennessey first takes a Lotus Elise, arguably one of the best mass produced, lightweight track cars ever made. They strip it down the chassis, lengthen it and rebuild it with a slippery, restyled body that offers the right mix of down force and engine cooling. Then they swap out the Elise’s 1.8 L turbocharged four-pot for a twin-turbo variant of Chevrolet’s 6.9 L LS9 V8, add carbon ceramic brakes and a KW adjustable suspension setup and et voila, the Hennessey Venom GT.
So what’s the verdict? Well, you’ll have to watch the video and make up your own mind. A small hint, but that’s all I’m giving away: the GT is capable of doing 135 mph (217 km/h) in 3rd gear. If that doesn’t make your automotive blood boil, then nothing will.
Hennessey intends to build just 29 of the cars over three years, with a price topping US$600,000 (€455,373). If this were any other car by any other tuner, I’d call that outrageous, but this is a Hennessey and the culmination of all their engineering knowhow. Believe the hype: there’s a new king and his name is Venom GT.
It appears that Aston Martin won't be the only British sports car maker to have a controversial small city car in its range. Lotus chief executive Dany Bahar told Car magazine that the Concept City Car, which was previewed at the recent Paris Motor Show alongside five sports car studies, has been approved for production. The comapny's CEO said the car will be manufactured in cooperation with Lotus parent company Proton and an undisclosed third party.
"Our city car has been confirmed and will be launched in October 2013," Mr. Bahar told the British magazine. "We are doing this together with Proton and another OEM [original equipment manufacturer, or car maker]. We will build three versions: one for the Asian market, one for Europe and a sportier one."
The Lotus flavored Concept City Car is based on one of the three Giugiaro-penned Proton EMAS design studies, which were first shown in Geneva earlier this year.
Built on a platform that was designed in-house by Italdesign Giugiaro, the EV concept model features a 45 kW (75kW peak power) electric motor that can be recharged by a 1.2 liter 3-cylinder engine. The hybrid plug-in drive system was developed entirely by Lotus. Unlike the front-wheel drive iQ-Cygnet, British supermini gets a rear-wheel drive setup.
With a total vehicle weight of less than 1400 kg [3,086 lbs] and 240 Nm [177 lb-ft] of torque instantly available, the City Car concept is said to complete the 0 - 50 km/h sprint in 4.5 seconds and the 0 - 100 km/h [62 mph] in 9 seconds, when operating as an EV under battery power. The top speed is pegged at 170 km/h, [105mph] with a charge sustaining top speed of 120 km/h [63 mph].
The pure electric drive range is 50 km or 31 miles, but can be extended to a total of 500 km or 311 miles when the petrol engine kicks. Lotus claims that the drivetrain returns CO2 emissions of 60 g/km.
Mr. Bahar did not say if the production model will keep the concept's extended-range hybrid drivetrain or if Lotus will offer the car with a traditional petrol engine as well.
Layout: 3-door, 4-seater, rear-wheel drive Drivetrain Series hybrid drivetrain Range extender engine 35 kW, 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder engine Engine fuel Flex-fuel (methanol, ethanol and petrol) Battery Capacity 14.8 kWh Power/Torque 162 kW peak (54 kW continuous)/240 Nm, 0-50 km/h 4.5 seconds, 0-100 km/h 9.0 seconds Top speed 170km/h Range 500 km EV range 60km CO2 emissions 60g/km on the ECE-R101 cycle Weight Less than 1400 kg Transmission Single-speed transmission
Suppose you are cash strapped motoring enthusiast living in Northampton, England. You live in a council flat and own a third-hand Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. You’re earning a steady if unimpressive income of £180 (US$284) a week, of which you manage to squirrel away a small amount into your savings.
From this, you deduce that your chances of getting behind a £149,000+ (US$235,450) Lamborghini Gallardo are about as good as bedding Natalie Portman. What is a poor boy to do?
Well, I have good news my (imaginary) friend! Silverstone Circuit, home of the British Grand Prix, is now offering a £99 (US$156 or €133) Supercar Thrill package that lets you take the wheel of a Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Ferrari or Lotus for a few hot laps around the famous circuit. There's also a limited offer on a Lamborghini Thrill package for December 19 only with a discount that brings the price down to £60 or US$95 / €80.
And that’s not all. You’ll also get tips from Silverstone’s very own racing experts, professional photography of your driving antics and a certificate that you can hang up on your wall. And it’s available to anyone who’s able to fork up the cash, not just those poncy weekend track jockeys in their souped up Golf GTIs.
Your day starts with a briefing whereby a professional racing instructor takes you through the basics of track driving including how to identify the racing line, how to corner correctly and how to anticipate and compensate for oversteer and understeer.
You’ll then put it all into practice on the track, with your professional co-driver egging you on the whole time. It’s surely one of those things you buy for a friend or relative and then end up keeping for yourself.
The Supercar Thrill package is just one of several “experiences” Silverstone is offering including rally days and the chance to get behind the wheel of a “baby F1” car (kind of like go-karting for big boys), all of which can be found on the circuit’s official website.
Lotus announced today that it’s taking over the “Renault F1 Team” and creating a new team named “Lotus Renault GP” that will compete in the 2011 Formula 1 season and onwards. This is not the first time that the two companies have worked together in Formula 1, as in the 1980s, Lotus used turbocharged engines sourced from the French carmaker.
While Renault will continue to supply engines and technical support, the Lotus Group will own and run the newly formed F1 team along with Genii Capital, a Luxembourg-based company that acquired Renault's stake in the team.
The British maker said that the new partnership brings the ability to quickly incorporate new technologies from F1 cars into its own road cars including hybrid technology, Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), aero advancements and lightweight materials.
Genii will contribute to the partnership with non-Formula 1 technolgies such as lightweight braking systems, variable compression engine technology and software. Furthermore, Genii Capital will help Proton, owner of Lotus, to expand into new markets, such as Russia, and potentially access additional automotive technologies.
Gerard Lopez, founding partner of Genii Capital, said: “For Group Lotus, access to Formula 1™ opens up new marketing opportunities and a major platform for business exchanges and development. In this regard, Genii Capital possesses shareholdings in, and direct access to, cutting edge companies in the automotive industry. Our tie-up with Group Lotus and Proton, which will enable its future road car ranges to take advantage of significant new technologies, is a natural step.”
Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, commented: “I can think of no better platform for automotive brand communications than motorsport and F1 We’re well aware that there has been a lot of controversy around the usage of our brand in F1 and I’m delighted to be able to formally clarify our position: We are Lotus, and we are back.”
Taking center stage at Proton's 2010 Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show booth alongside the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO-esque Jebat study, is yet one more concept model based on another manufacturer's vehicle, the Lekir. This time, Proton looked into its own car bin and in particular, Lotus, which it acquired back in 1994, as the Lekir is essentially a rebagded Europa coupe. Mind you, it's not the first time we've seen the Europa wearing different logos as Dodge displayed an EV concept of the model at the 2009 Detroit Show.
Depending on which part of Proton's description of the car you read, the Lekir is powered either by a 2.0-liter turbocharged unit or a 1.6-liter engine with some 220-ponies (167kW). Malaysia's state-controlled carmaker didn't say whether it plans to resurrect the Europa as a Proton.
