2009 Lotus Elise Sc Upgraded Exhaust Tan Leather Ac Clean on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lotus Evora update coming, new models still on hold

The trials and tribulations at Lotus over the past several years haven't put the company in best financial position, and after the dismissal of Dany Bahar as CEO, the automaker seemed rudderless. Jean-Marc Gales (pictured above) is the new captain at the helm of the British sports car brand, and he seems like the complete opposite of Bahar. Where the former boss was hugely ambitious (perhaps overly), the current CEO has crafted a plan for a gradual turnaround under what he called a "logic-based" recovery in a recent interview with Autocar. The most logical part of Gales' plan is focusing on what Lotus can actually do. Instead of launching new products, he wants to continue to refine the current lineup. "We won't have the funds to build all-new cars in the next few years," he said to Autocar. The biggest of these updates includes a heavily revised Evora with more power and less weight to debut at next year's Geneva Motor Show. An even lighter-weight Cup model is planned for later. The Exige will get a revision in 2016. Gales also hints that a future, feather-light model like the 2-Eleven is on the docket, and a crossover is on the drawing board, according to Autocar, though not yet green lit. North America is also a priority. Lotus is forever linked to founder Colin Chapman's axiom to add lightness to the brand's models, and Gales is continuing that history with the Lightweight Lab. According to Autocar, in this huge room the company's models are completely disassembled with each part labeled. The entire staff is invited to come in and make suggestions on places to reduce weight and lower costs. "This brand is like a sleeping princess, but I believe she is starting to wake up," Gales said to Autocar, but he's keeping sales projections modest. Gales wants annual numbers to increase from about 2,000 units this year to 3,000 in 2015 with his streamlined workforce but intends to keep figures at that level for a bit, while the company stabilizes.

James Bond Lotus Esprit submarine car headed to auction [w/video]

We've covered many cars from the movies and TV that have made their way to auction (the original Batmobile, good old General Lee and even Bond's iconic Aston Martin DB5), but this one ranks up there among the rarest and coolest. RM Auctions has just announced that the Lotus Esprit submarine car used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me has been added to the docket for its upcoming auction in London, September 8-9.
Of course, there are dozens of Bond cars floating around out there in collections, but none as unique as this Lotus, which ended a chase scene in the movie by taking a long walk off a short pier and transforming itself into a submersible. Since CGI was a meaningless collection of letters back then, the producers of the film actually built a fully functional Lotus Esprit submarine for the shoot. They hired Perry Oceangraphic in Florida to turn one of their six Esprit body shells into a fully functioning submarine, and former US Navy Seal Don Griffin was tapped for piloting duties. RM Auctions claims the Esprit submarine cost over $100,000 to build at the time, which is about $400,000 in today's dollars.
The submarine car comes with a incredible story, too. After filming in the '70s, it was shipped to Long Island, NY where it was kept in a storage unit that was paid in advance for ten years. When the storage contract ended in 1989 and no one claimed the contents, they were sold off in a blind auction to an area couple who had no idea what they were getting. The car has been shown occasionally in the years since, but its value remained purely speculative, until now. To date, the most valuable Bond car we know of is the original Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball that sold for $4.6 million in 2010, but when the gavel falls at RM Auctions' London sale in September, we'll find out if the car nicknamed "Wet Nellie" on set can beat it.

Lotus signs joint venture agreement with China's Goldstar

Lotus and China's Goldstar Heavy Industrial Company are forming a joint venture that will bring the historic British sports-car maker into the country. "The collaboration seeks to accelerate the development of Lotus cars in the premium sports segment in China," according to the announcement. The JV will include research projects on efficient and advanced technology, and ultimately lead to sales of cars there, Lotus said. China's auto market is no longer experiencing the double-digit growth of the past, but it still continues to expand. Meanwhile, Lotus saw sales jump 55 percent in the last fiscal year and it opened 36 new dealers, according to CEO Jean-Marc Gales. The joint venture announcement also hints at the possibility of Chinese-made models, but it shouldn't dilute the brand. Lotus is clear that core vehicles like the Evora, Exige and Elise would remain exclusively in production at the headquarters in Hethel, England. Just a couple years ago, Lotus appeared to be on its deathbed after losing a quarter of its workforce, but since that setback the company has started to crawl back. PROTON, LOTUS GROUP AND GOLDSTAR SIGNED JV AGREEMENT KUALA LUMPUR – PROTON Holdings Berhad ("PROTON") the ultimate holding company of Lotus Group, announced that it has signed a Joint Venture ("JV") Agreement with Lotus Group International Limited, United Kingdom ("Lotus Group") and Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co. Ltd. ("Goldstar") for a possible business expansion of Lotus cars in the People's Republic of China. The collaboration seeks to accelerate the development of Lotus cars in the premium sports segment in China, leveraging on the incentives offered by the Fujian Provincial Government. Both PROTON and Lotus Group are subsidiaries of DRB-HICOM Berhad. Signing on behalf of PROTON was the Honourable Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Chairman of PROTON and former Prime Minister of Malaysia and witnessed by Dato' Abdul Harith Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of PROTON. Signing on behalf of Lotus Group International Limited, United Kingdom was Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer and witnessed by Mr Rohime Shafie, Director of Lotus Group and Chief Financial Officer of PROTON; and signing on behalf of Goldstar was Mr Zheng Qianghui, Chairman of Goldstar and witnessed by Mr Zhai Wenliang, President of Goldstar.