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Lotus runs the Emira hard - and sideways - on track

Lotus sent Gavin Kershaw – the British automaker's attributes and product integrity director – out on track with an Emira and a camera crew. In between reminding us that manual transmissions are wonderful and getting the Emira increasingly sideways, Kershaw's job was to explain how the last ICE-powered Lotus is still a Lotus. In this extended teaser, Kershaw offers us a look at a fresh new tidbit, that being the car's four driving modes. "Tour" mode will handle everyday driving, programmed for "maximum stability and control." "Sport" does what we all expect "Sport" to do, tightening responses and loosening slip angles. "Race" opens up even more slip angle, and changes the gauge cluster to display racy dials like the performance tachometer. Then there's the wonderfully named "Fully Off," which shuts down every nanny save the ABS. And remember, the Emira will be offered with two suspensions, either standard Tour or stiffer Sport, and will only come with hydraulic steering. Sounds like Lotus has delivered on its quest to make the Emira "for the drivers."  The engine in the V6 First Edition is the same Toyota-sourced supercharged 3.5-liter V6 found in the Evora, producing 400 horsepower and 310 or 317 pound-feet of torque depending on transmission — the automatic gets the greater torque, but why would you do that? This one comes just about fully loaded, graced with the Driver's Pack, Lower Black Pack, Design Pack, and Convenience Pack, plus optional 20-inch wheels with diamond-cut two-tone finish and two-piece brake discs with branded calipers. It won't cost anything to swap the wheels for silver or black versions. The only other big-time options we know about so far are the $1,400 Extended Black Pack, which adds more black accents in places like the roof, mirror caps, and exhaust finishers, and the $2,150 six-speed automatic to replace the six-speed manual.  Next year's base model will run with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder procured from AMG, producing 360 hp and shifting through a dual-clutch transmission.  While you wait, the Emira V6 First Edition configurator is online and ready for flights of fancy. To get in one when they begin arriving Stateside, the V6 First Edition opens up the bidding in early 2022 at $93,900. Late 2022 brings a base four-cylinder Emira that starts at $74,900. Neither of those prices includes destination. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

Lotus reveals extreme new 3-Eleven at Goodwood

Lotus has taken the occasion of the Goodwood Festival of Speed to reveal the new 3-Eleven. Billed as the quickest, most expensive road-going series production Lotus ever, the new 3-Eleven picks up where the previous 2-Eleven left off. And that gave the British automaker quite a starting point. An extreme evolution of the Elise and Exige, the new 3-Eleven boils things down to the bare essentials and packs a mighty punch. It's built around an aluminum chassis with composite bodywork and a completely open cockpit. That gives it a curb weight of less than 2,000 pounds to embody Colin Chapman's ethos of "adding lightness" like no other modern Lotus we've seen yet. At its heart lies an upgraded version of the company's 3.5-liter supercharged V6, producing 450 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. That makes it even more powerful than the new Evora 400, and channels through a six-speed manual transmission, limited slip differential, and traction control. Other features include double wishbone suspension front and rear, Eibach springs, adjustable Ohlins dampers, AP Racing brakes, a Lotus-tuned Bosch ABS, 18-inch alloys up front, 19 inches the rear, shod with Michelin rubber. All of those goodies translate to a 0-60 time of under 3.0 seconds and a top speed of up to 180 miles per hour. It's even quoted to lap the company's test track at Hethel in 1:22. That makes it an impressive ten seconds seconds faster than the aforementioned Evora 400 – which is already six seconds faster around the circuit than the preceding Evora S. Production will be limited to just 311 examples, and is slated to commence in February 2016, with the first deliveries to begin in April. Any potential for North American availability has yet to be announced, but in the UK pricing will start at GBP82,000 (equivalent to $129k at current exchange rates). A more extreme Race version will be offered alongside the Road model, priced at GBP96,000 ($150k) before taxes or GBP115,000 ($180k) with, upgrading with track-focused features like a more aggressive aero kit, six-point racing harness, and a six-speed sequential gearbox.

Lotus Type 66 is the Can-Am race car that never was

Most car reveals for Pebble Beach are all-new luxury and supercars, faithful recreations of classics, or some unique restomods. What Lotus has revealed isn't really any of those. The Type 66, while looking like a reproduction of a classic race car, is actually completely new, since it was never built in the first place. Apparently Lotus was considering entering the Can-Am racing series back in 1970, a time when the company was seriously competitive in Formula 1. A designer by the name of Geoff Ferris was put in charge, and drawings and models were made, but the project, called Type 66, never went any further. Those Type 66 designs survived, and to help celebrate the company's 75th anniversary, Lotus decided to bring the car to life. And the result is not exactly what it would've been built for 1970. The design is very similar, and the red, white and gold paint is what Lotus would've used. However, the body has been formed from carbon fiber (something that was definitely not used) and makes much more downforce thanks to more than 1,000 hours of aero development. Specifically, it can produce 1,764 pounds of downforce at 150 mph, more than the weight of the vehicle. The frame is more traditional, though, being made of extruded and bonded aluminum and aluminum honeycomb panels. The powertrain is a similar blend of vintage and modern. It uses a pushrod V8 of unknown manufacture, but with forged internals as well as modern fuel and engine management. It makes a huge 819 horsepower at 8,800 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque at 7,400 rpm. It also has functional and classic-looking gleaming intake trumpets sticking out the back. Safety and features that are thoroughly modern are also included in the Type 66. It has electric power steering, ABS, a modern fuel sell, sequential manual transmission and an anti-stall multiplate clutch. Only 10 Type 66s will be built, one for every race in the 1970 Can-Am season. Each one will cost more than GBP1 million, or $1.27 million. And, unsurprisingly, it's for the track only. Related Video: