Lotus Wants to Make the World Notice its Cars to Increase Disheartening Sales

Lotus is a brand with a long and distinguished history – yet that's not enough if your present situation is dire. In the first eight months of the year, Lotus sales were merely a blip in the UK sales chart as only 272 cars were delivered, a 24% decrease to the already depressing 358 units of the same period in 2010.

Karl Heinz Kalbfell, who used to work for BMW, was brought in last year in an effort to increase sales. He says that the reason Lotus can’t sell more cars is that the public isn’t aware of the company's products.

Read more »

IAA 2011: New Lotus Elise S with 220HP and Elise SPS

The most popular car in Lotus' lineup is up for its annual model year upgrade with the presentation of the Elise S that features a new supercharged four-banger and the Elise SPS that utilizes a new lightweight, robotized automated manual transmission. Read more »

New Lotus Teaser Begs the Question: What the F…?

Despite what the title of this article may suggest, it's not what you're thinking. You see, Lotus just dropped a note into our email box titled "The Lotus Fight: What the F...rankfurt?" along with a video that is supposed to be a teaser for the British firm's world premieres at next week's automotive gathering in Frankfurt, Germany.

However, all we get is a boxer and a couple of fuzzy images of an undefined car. Lotus has stated that it will show three new models in Frankfurt, but has only named the Elise S as one of them.

Read more »

Lotus to Unveil 3 New Models in Frankfurt in Addition to the Production Evora GTE Special

Lotus is gearing up for the largest and most important automotive event of the year that takes place in Frankfurt next month with the presentation of three brand-new models, one special edition version and two new options for its current lineup.

The British company announced that one of the new models is the Elise S that replaces the Elise SC with a more capable 1.8-liter supercharged engine delivering 220-horsepower, while also returning lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Read more »

Lotus to Kill Elise and Exige for North America in August

If you’re a fan of the lightweight sports cars from Lotus, namely the Elise and its closed-top sibling, the Exige, and live in North America, then you’d better hurry up before the well dries up. That’s because production of the North American spec model will end in August according to a report from Autoblog.

The reasons behind this decision lie in the lack of “smart” airbags, which are now mandatory in the US, along with Toyota’s decision to stop production of its 2ZZ 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder engine that powers US-spec models. The Elise and the Exige will continue to be sold in Europe, as they’re equipped with a new 1.6-liter four-cylinder unit.

Read more »

New Lotus Elise 1.6 Club Racer Sheds 24 kg / 53 Pounds

True to its heritage, Lotus has unwrapped a new lighter version of its entry-level Elise 1.6 called the Club Racer. Even in stock form, the Elise is one of the lightest production sports cars in the market tipping the scales at just 876 kg or 1,931 pounds, but the company's engineers put the open top model on a crash diet and managed to shed a further 24 kg or 53 lbs. Read more »

New Photo Gallery of Lotus' Future Sports Car Lineup

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.

Read more »

VIDEO: R&T Takes Hennessey's Venom GT Out on the Track

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. Read more »

Proton Rebadges Lotus Europa to Create Lekir Sports Concept

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.

Read more »

Simbol Design K1 Attack is a Shed-Built Italian GT with an Alfa V6

From the creators of the Ferrari Enzo-emulating GTX-R comes the K1 Attack, a car that takes styling cues from the Spyker C8 Aileron, Lotus Europa and others. Simbol Design has fitted the Attack with an Alfa Romeo-sourced V6 turbo good for 246 horsepower. Mated to a 5-speed manual, this gives the custom built sports car an apparent 0 to 100 km/h [62 mph] time of 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 265 km/h [165 mph].

Read more »

Lotus Metamorphosis: An artistic take on the firm's future models [with Video]

To show that the brand is going through a metamorphosis after the presentation of five new models at the Paris Show, Lotus has joined forces with award winning French artist Gérard Rancinan to create seven artistic images that will be showcased alongside a new book by French writer, Caroline Gaudriault, at a special event in Los Angeles on Friday, November 12.

As you may have guessed, the collection of photos is called "Metamorphosis" and the focus is on the five new Lotus models that made the trip to this year's Paris Motor Show: the Esprit, Elan, Elite, Elise and Eterne, plus two extra large montages.

Read more »

Hennessey's Venom GT is a Corvette-Powered Elise with 1,200HP

Some say you can't make a Lotus any better. Well, maybe they haven't head of Hennessey and its SEMA Show-bound Venom GT. The American firm's new toy is based on the Lotus Elise and, in its flagship version, comes equipped with an out-of-this-world 1,200 hp (895 kW) twin turbocharged V8 engine sourced from the Corvette. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

Read more »

Lotus Cutting Prices from $10,000 to $18,500 in Australia

Following the Australian government's move to reduce import duties earlier this year, Lotus Cars of Australia has announced significant price reductions across the model range, with savings of up to $18,500.

Lotus Cars Australia Managing Director John Startari explains: "The government's import duty reduction at the start of 2010 has offered some assistance, whilst favorable foreign exchange rates have been a further catalyst to these announced price changes."

Read more »

2011 Lotus Elise Restyled, gets New 1.6-Liter Entry-Level Engine [Updated]

[Updated with New Photos and Details] The most popular Lotus of our time, the Elise, is entering the 2011 model year with a host of updates that include styling and mechanical tweaks as well as the introduction of a new entry-level model with a Toyota-sourced 1.6-liter gasoline engine.

The facelifted model can be recognized by the new fascia up front that boasts a redesigned hood, new bumper with a wider grille, and reshaped headlights featuring LED daytime running lights for the first time.

Read more »

Project Kahn Develops Special Edition Lotus Elise

Lotus has joined forces with tuning specialist Project Kahn to create a bespoke version of the Elise to celebrate the British automaker’s 60th Anniversary. Along with the release of a few teaser images, Project Kahn also revealed details on the limited production Elise that will be officially unveiled in September. The exterior of the Elise has been upgraded with an aerodynamic styling package, whilst the interior is given the full Kahn treatment with full leather seats and door trims. In terms of performance, the Elise’s air flow system is enhanced with the addition of the Kahn sports exhaust while the suspension is lowered with 28 stage dampeners for improved handling. -Continued


Via: Autoblog.it

Abarth Rumored to Develop Lotus Elise Based Sports Car

Ever since Fiat re-launched its Abarth brand, we’ve been hearing rumors about a stand-alone sports car that will act as a “halo” car for the Italian brand. Now, British magazine Autocar is reporting that it has learned from credible sources that Fiat has struck a deal with Lotus to use the next generation Elise that’s expected in 2010 as a base for a lightweight sports car with a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. -Continued

The two-seater that is slatted to enter production in 2011 will get its own unique styling along with a range of Fiat sourced engines that could include the 1.4-liter Turbo unit from the Grande Punto Abarth and the 1.8-liter direct-injection Turbo from the new Lancia Delta. (Picture: CarScoop)

Via: Autocar

Amazing Lotus Elise Cup Race

Couldn’t have said it better myself. The title that our friends over Autoblog put on this video clip say’s it all: Mr. Sorpasso (translated Mr Surpass). Just look at Dean Evans pass every single car in this Lotus Elise Cup race in Bathurst Australia. Via: Autoblog

Technorati Tags: Lotus+Elise, Race, Bathurst, Movie, Video, Clips, Dean+Evans, autos, auto+news, automotive, cars, automobile