2006 Lotus Elise Base Convertible 2-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Jay Leno checks out Ronin RS 211, a Lotus Elise transformed

You know a vehicle is going to be something special when you need a pair of goggles to drive it, and this highly customized Lotus lives up to that promise. The owner refers to his one-off as the Ronin RS 211, but underneath that barely there body are a few parts left from a 2005 Lotus Elise. Owner Frank Profera totaled his Elise when a Porsche rear-ended it, but he wasn't willing to give the sports car up. With a canvas to build from, Profera took inspiration from the Lotus 2-Eleven and Can-Am cars, and the Ronin resulted. Not content with just a svelte body, the powertrain received just as thorough an upgrade as the looks. The engine still displaces 1.8 liters but features improved internals. The piece de resistance, though, is the custom turbocharger setup that runs on a mix of pump gas and alcohol to put out a claimed 680 horsepower, which sounds great screaming through the California canyons. "Ronin" is a Japanese word for a master-less samurai, and with its featherlight weight, just a vestigial windshield and gobs of power, the RS 211 is a fantastic automotive symbol for the type of sword such a warrior might carry. Watch as Jay takes an extra long drive on the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage.

Detroit Electric SP:01 electric Lotus project not dead yet

Detroit Electric is still on board to produce the Lotus Exige-based SP:01 electric sports car, which has been delayed more than once already. According to the carmaker, the SP:01 prototype is currently undergoing testing at a facility in Europe, as we can see in the above photo provided by Detroit Electric. Details about the production schedule and on-sale date for the SP:01 are still unclear, but Detroit Electric says it will announce more about that in the coming weeks. Production was originally supposed to begin last year, but was delayed when plans to build the car in Plymouth, MI fell through. Production is now planned to take place in Holland, but there's still potential for future models to be made in Detroit. The company has stated that the SP:01 will come with a base price tag of $135,000. Like the Tesla Roadster, the Detroit Electric SP:01 uses a Lotus chassis. The car's electric motor provides 201 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels, pushing the car to 62 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds, with a top speed of 155 mph. Range on a full charge is said to be more than 180 miles. The SP:01 has been off to a bit of a rocky start, but this bit of news shows there's still life in the project. Let's just hope it all continues smoothly. See what Detroit Electric has to say for itself in the press release below, or check out our original post about the SP:01 for all the details about the car. World's Fastest Production Electric Vehicle Prepares for Launch Detroit Electric, the international electric vehicle manufacturer, is finalising dynamic testing of its SP:01 pure-electric sportscar at a facility in Europe ahead of its introduction in several world markets. The lightweight, two-seat, rear-wheel-drive, open-top sportscar promises to thrill the EV market with its blistering performance and exhilarating dynamics. This latest version of the SP:01 has seen additional development work carried out by Detroit Electric's engineers and designers since a pre-production version of the vehicle was revealed to the media at events in Detroit, USA, and Shanghai, China, last year. Further details of the car and Detroit Electric's production and sales plans will be announced in the coming weeks. Related Gallery Detroit Electric SP:01: Live View 11 Photos Related Gallery Detroit Electric SP:01 View 9 Photos News Source: Detroit Electric Green Lotus Electric prototype testing detroit electric detroit electric sp:01 sp:01

Lotus cars to be 'Made in China' at new Geely plant, according to documents

BEIJING/SHANGHAI — The Chinese owner of Lotus plans to start producing the British sports car brand in China for the first time with the opening of a new 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) factory in Wuhan city, company job advertisements and government documents showed. The previously unreported plans are Zhejiang Geely Holding Group's first move to shake up the British brand since its purchase of a majority stake in 2017. The move is in line with Geely's ambitions to build more up-market cars and throw off its reputation for copycat designs and shoddy quality. For Lotus, it could mean greater production volumes and new models such as SUVs to boost sales. "For Geely, going high-end can help it take more market share," said Alan Kang, Shanghai based analyst at LMC Automotive. "Geely needs to do that to better compete with global brands." Lotus cars are currently built in Norfolk, England. Geely and Lotus said in a joint statement that while Norfolk was Lotus's manufacturing home, a key part of the firm's strategy to revive the brand was expanding the brand's manufacturing footprint globally. "Details on additional locations and models will be confirmed in due course," the company said in an e-mail to Reuters. The planning authority of Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan, last month approved Geely's plans for the plant. The factory will be able to manufacture 150,000 cars annually, according to a document posted on the authority's website. The Wuhan Development Zone, where the factory will be based, said in a statement posted on its website last month that production at the plant would include "Geely's Lotus project". The Wuhan Development Zone did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. The documents did not say when the plant would start operations. The facility is approved to build all-electric battery cars, electric hybrids as well as combustion engine cars like Lotuses. Job advertisements on Geely's website show the automaker is looking to fill at least 20 Wuhan-based roles for the Lotus project. LUXURY AMBITIONS While is not clear what portion of the new Chinese production line would be devoted to the British brand, greater production volumes would be consistent with Geely's stated ambition to grow the market for Lotus by broadening its line-up. Geely sold only 1,630 Lotuses globally in 2018. Lotus currently produces models such as the Evora and Elise.