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Forza Horizon announces January Recaro Car Pack with LFA N"urburgring Edition

Another month, another car pack for Forza Horizon. This time it's the Recaro Car Pack featuring a motley gang of cars and trucks: the 1983 GMC Vandura G-1500, 1995 Ford Mustang Cobra R, 2012 Cadillac Escalade ESV, 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR, 2012 Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition and 2012 Lotus Exige S.
It'll be up for download on Xbox Live on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 for 400 MS Points. As usual, if you have the Forza Horizon Season Pass you can get them all free, and Season Pass holders will also get a bonus car that's not pictured: the 2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster.
The Pagani is everything opposite to that Vandura, but while you might not ever win anything with the van, you can always use the back of it as a place to give out free hugs. Check out the video and press release below for more details.

Lotus-based Radford Type 62-2 shows its retro-styled interior

England-based Radford introduced the Type 62-2, a limited-edition coupe with a heritage-laced design, earlier in 2021. But it didn't show us the interior. Now, Radford finally revealed what the car looks like inside, and it's a blend of retro styling cues and modern tech that enthusiasts will love. At first glance, the Type 62-2's cockpit looks like it's from a different era. The driver faces a meaty three-spoke steering wheel, the shift linkage is exposed, and there is a pair of Bremont instruments (one is a clock, the other is a stopwatch) positioned on the passenger-side of the dashboard. We could be describing a 1970s rally car. However, a closer inspection reveals features buyers expect from a car in 2021. Look behind the steering wheel (whose spokes are made with carbon fiber) and you'll spot a digital instrument cluster with a layout that can be configured by each buyer. You could, in theory, ask for the tachometer to be front and center, for example. Screens positioned on either side of the dashboard display the footage from the cameras that replace the exterior mirrors, and a phone dock that doubles as a wireless charger is hidden behind the build plate located on the center stack. Users can set their phone there to access navigation and music apps.  Radford Type 62-2 John Player Special View 5 Photos Buyers will have three basic trim levels to choose from: Classic, Gold Leaf, and John Player Special. Each one will receive a specific look inspired by liveries that Lotus race cars have used in the past, though buyers will be invited to configure their car exactly how they want it. What won't change is the engine: it's a supercharged, 3.5-liter V6 that found its way into the Type 62-2 from Toyota via the Lotus Emira. Bolted to either a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, it develops about 430 horsepower in the Classic model, around 500 in the Gold Leaf, and approximately 600 in the John Player Special thanks in part to a specific supercharger. Radford will build 62 units of the Type 62-2, and production is scheduled to start before the end of 2021. Deliveries will begin in early 2022. Pricing information hasn't been announced, but don't expect this rare British coupe built largely by hand to come with a bargain price. Check out the Autoblog Podcast #686 where we talk Porsche and Lotus: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lotus bows out of Paris Motor Show

The plan put forth by former Lotus CEO Dany Bahar was to explode the British brand into the high-dollar sports car segment and directly challenge its marquee names. The first explosion came with the surprise introduction of five concepts at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. What has continued to surprise, though, is that the explosions haven't stopped: parent company Proton has had troubles leading to a reworking of its Formula One involvement, its IndyCar effort has had a rough ride, Proton's sale to Malaysian conglomerate DRB Hicom led to a production stoppage, and while the company was reassured that it wouldn't be sold, Bahar was shown the door - along with four of those Paris concepts, as far as we can tell. Yet the company is still making highly regarded cars and going racing.
So it shouldn't be all that surprising that, according to a report in Car and Driver, Lotus won't be attending this year's Paris Motor Show at all. Lotus didn't have much to show off at the Geneva Motor Show or the New York Show as all development was halted for two months, and the new corporate owner and new CEO installed by that owner are still working through the details of its niche English property. We will hope this is nothing more than a step in the reorganization, and look forward to seeing the Hethel firm again in Los Angeles or Detroit.