Lotus 7 S2 Dry Sump Lotus Twin Cam, Garage Find Vintage Race Car on 2040-cars

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Join XCAR as it explores the history behind the Lotus Seven

All modern Caterhams are based on the Lotus Seven – a small, lightweight roadster developed by Colin Chapman back in 1957. That car has evolved into an entire range of models, spanning from the new, affordable 160, shown below in the latest video from XCAR, to the maniacal 620R. Over the years, the Seven has come to be a known quantity among auto enthusiasts. What isn't as well known is the origin of the Seven and the cars that came before it. As XCAR points out, "What happened to [the Seven's] earlier ancestors? What happened to the Lotus numbered one through six?" The answer probably isn't what you'd expect. Scroll down for a great look at unique motorsport that inspired Colin Chapman's earliest efforts in the latest video from XCAR. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Gallery Caterham Seven 160 View 12 Photos News Source: XCARFilms via YouTube Lotus Convertible Performance Classics xcar

Lotus Advanced Performance offers hints about special projects

Four months ago, Lotus teased the creation of an Advanced Performance division. The legendary sports car maker divulged that the department would build "ultra-exclusive and unique vehicles" outside of the firm's regular-production lineup, developing Lotus race cars, manage Lotus motorsports programs, work on customer commissions and create customer experiences from Hethel production tours and track days to global driving academies and "money can't buy" opportunities. In further comments to Autocar and Auto Express, the head of Lotus Advanced Performance (LAP), Simon Lane, gave clues about what's coming. Lane suggested a number of creations, but the part we're most excited about is "while wider Lotus Group moves towards full-on electrification, LAP is 'reserving the right to still play with combustion engines.'" These ICE powerplants could be slated for coming restomod projects based on plans and technical drawings for Lotus products in the 1960s and 1970s that were never produced. Lane said his 15-person team is "well advanced" on work on what he calls "scratch build" vehicles that will hearken to vintage wares but be "easier to drive and maybe [have] a better power-to-weight ratio and better brakes." We love our electric cars here at Autoblog, but the idea of lightweight revivals recalling Lotus' best years with classic lines, small-displacement engines and maybe even manual transmissions would be glorious. These won't be continuation cars, but all-new products with production runs said to be smaller than anyone would expect.    It's possible we could see something this year, 2022 being the 50th anniversary of Emerson Fittipaldi and Lotus winning the 1972 Formula 1 Driver's and Constructor's Championships in the Lotus-Ford 72D. That might explain the teaser image from February, if not the colors of the car in the teaser. Know what other momentous Lotus moment occurred in 1972? The Esprit concept debuted at the Turin Motor Show. Lane, who comes from service in Aston Martin's Q division, calls LAP "the most all-encompassing special operations department" among automakers. That means there will be work done on the electric side, too, potential services being electric drivetrain conversions of traditional Lotus cars, and creating new bodywork for the new range of battery-electric cars.

Renault settles on Lotus, to take 65-percent stake in F1 team

Renault's coquettish moves toward becoming a constructor again have been news all season. The expected maneuver, should Renault say "Oui" to such, was for the French carmaker to repurchase the Lotus team - the team it sold at the end of 2010 to Genii Capital. Then last week we got the surprise news that Renault had been talking to Force India about taking a majority stake, but that information came with the context that Renault had discussions with several teams about such a move. Autosport reports that Renault has finally decided to get back together with Lotus, taking a stake worth up to 65 percent for 65 million pounds. The deciding factor was said to be the facilities that Lotus has available compared to Force India, including the Enstone factory formerly owned by Renault, plus a computational fluid dynamics program, driver-in-the-loop simulator, and a 60-percent-scale wind tunnel. The final shareholding stake will be split between Gerard Lopez at 25 percent and Renault ambassador Alain Prost at 10 percent. Renault will make a 7.5-million-pound payment immediately, completing the acquisition by paying 5.75-million-pounds per year for the next ten years. On top of that, Renault will invest a budget commensurate with those of Mercedes-AMG Petronas and Infiniti Red Bull Racing. The carmaker's board and CEO Carlos Ghosn have approved the deal, it is up to Lotus shareholders to agree to everything by Monday, when Autosport says the papers will be signed. The deal puts team drivers and the Red Bull engine supply in question. It should be expected for Romain Grosjean to remain, but keeping Pastor Maldonado is not a certainty. As for engines, Red Bull's engine supply contract states it must be Renault's priority, so Renault could stick with the Mercedes power unit Lotus currently uses for one more year, or help Red Bull get in bed with Mercedes. We should know more next week. Related Video: