1988 Lotus Esprit Turbo.red, Nice Condition.a Fun Affordable Exotic Sports Car. on 2040-cars

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Kimi Raikkonen moving to Ferrari?

Kimi Raikkonen, easily one of our favorite current drivers in Formula 1, may be making a move from Lotus to Ferrari, according to a Finnish tabloid called Ilta-Sanomat. Raikkonen, who won the driver's championship in 2007 with the Italian brand, is in high demand and is also rumored to have options on the table from Red Bull and his current team.
Of course, a move by Kimi to Ferrari means at least one of the Maranello-based outfit would need to find another ride. Driving ace Fernando Alonso has publicly voiced his displeasure with the Ferrari chassis, and rumors have the Spaniard considering a move to Red Bull to replace Mark Webber. Buckle up, folks, this Silly Season is shaping up to be bumpy...

James Bond Lotus submarine sells in London for $966,560

With the $966,560 sale ($863,000 plus a 12-percent buyer's premium) of the white 1977 Lotus Esprit S1 submarine used in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, we now know "the Roger Moore discount."
Recall that Sean Connery's silver 1964 Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 was sold by RM Auctions in London in 2010 for $4.6 million. Three years later, the same auction company in the same city has sold the aforementioned Lotus for just under $1 million.
An unscientific poll of those in the room showed that people preferred Sean Connery's Bond to Roger Moore's by a rate of four to one. And thus it translated into the bidding for their respective cars. No word on the identity of the buyer or his plans for what is, in fact, a working submarine.

Born-again Lotus Esprit will be a hybrid in more ways than one

Volvo parent company Geely is helping Lotus end its drought of new products. The storied British company is allegedly developing a mid-engined hybrid coupe it will position as a spiritual successor to the Esprit. The yet-unnamed model will slot above the existing Evora as a more usable and more refined alternative, according to sources who spoke to Autocar. It will ride on a modified Evora platform, but the two cars won't look anything alike; the upcoming hybrid will liberally borrow styling cues from the electric Evija hypercar.  The planned gasoline-electric powertrain will make the coupe a hybrid in more ways than one. The space directly behind the two-seater cabin will be occupied by a V6 sourced from the Toyota parts bin, and the electrified portion of the system will consist mainly of components provided by Volvo. An output over the 500-horsepower mark is likely, but more specific technical specifications remain guarded. What's nearly certain is that the Lotus engineering team will go to significant lengths to offset the weight added by the lithium-ion battery pack. Insiders described the coupe as a stop-gap between the current-generation Lotus models, including the Elise still sold in many global markets, and an array of upcoming sports cars that will ride on a new platform. Another one of the company's future models is an SUV — its first — built on Volvo bones and aimed at the Porsche Macan.  Lotus will introduce its mid-engined coupe during the first half of 2021, still according to Autocar, and sales will begin shortly after. It's too early to tell whether the model will be sold in the United States, but the company has previously indicated it wants to broaden its foothold in our market in order to grow, so we'd bet on seeing it here. This isn't the first time Lotus has tried to reboot the Esprit. In 2010, under the leadership of Dany Bahar, the company took the Paris auto show by storm when it unveiled five close-to-production concept cars including one that previewed a modern-day Esprit. The project was far too ambitious and none of the models shown in the French capital made it to production. In 2012, Lotus vehemently refuted rumors claiming it had canceled the Esprit, which was penciled-in for a 2013 launch, but hindsight is 20/20. Time will tell if two's the charm.