2005 Lotus Elise on 2040-cars

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Lotus Esprit all but ready to go, but held back by management issues

Brief and disappointing is this report from Autocar on the status of the Lotus Esprit: it is finally ready and sitting at the light, but the light might not go green for a long time. The good news is that from being a concept two years ago at the Paris Motor Show, the aluminum and carbon fiber revival coupe is "purportedly almost finished." It is powered by a twin-turbo, 5.0-liter V8 with something like 650 horsepower, boosted by a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) and shifting through a seven-speed paddleshift transmission. Even with all that, the UK price is said to be around that of a Porsche 911 4S Cabriolet, and the car only needs "signing off and minor tweaking."
The bad news is that former company owner Proton couldn't stay independent long enough to see through the company's ambitious five-concept-car assault - led by then-CEO Dany Bahar who was hired explicitly to lead such a campaign - and was swallowed up by Malaysian auto supplier DRB-Hicom. For a brief spell Lotus had to shut down production for lack of funds. Then the new owner cleaned house, sweeping out Bahar and, according to the Financial Times just one month ago, the Esprit and every other concept with it. Just after the FT piece came out, Lotus denied the Esprit had been canceled. Still, according to Autocar, the management whirlpool is keeping the Esprit "far from becoming a production reality."
If we're honest with ourselves, we'll keep in mind that the Esprit has been slipping into and out of a terminal ether for what seems like decades. None of us knows what is going on inside Hethel HQ, but the fact that there really is a lightweight, twin-turbo, 650-hp Lotus Esprit finally ready to be produced has to be, in spite of all else, very good news.

Lotus wants to find its first car, built by Colin Chapman

Lotus is looking for the first car its founder ever built. The Lotus Mark I, a trials special Colin Chapman built in a small garage in London in 1948, has been lost to history and the company has been trying to find it for ages. As Lotus is 70 this year, the first Lotus would be quite the icing on its birthday cake. Colin Chapman constructed the first Lotus in a garage that belonged to his girlfriend's parents, at the age of 20. The car was reportedly an instant competition success, but Chapman's competitive spirit meant he soon started on the car's successor, the Mark II, and sold the Mark I in November 1950 for GBP135 after advertising it in Motor Sport magazine. Both the Mark I and II were based on Austin 7 hardware, but the latter used different Ford engines while the Mark I retained an Austin 7 engine. Experiments with lightening the vehicle and developing a better suspension design were Lotus hallmarks from the very beginning, as the car needed to beat Britain's rough rally terrain and have enough grunt to climb hills. Lotus Engineering was set up in 1952, later spawning Team Lotus that started out in Formula 1 by the end of the 1950s — and the rest is history. But Lotus owes everything to the humble Mark I. "The Mark I is the holy grail of Lotus' history," Clive Chapman, Colin's son explains. "It's the first time that my father was able to put his theories for improved performance into practice when designing and building a car. To locate this landmark Lotus, as we celebrate the 70 th anniversary, would be a monumental achievement. "We want fans to take this opportunity to look in every garage, shed, barn and lock up they're allowed to," added Chapman. "It's even possible that the Mark I was shipped from the UK, and we'd love to know if it survives in another country." This means the first Lotus could even reside in the United States, if it is still in one piece. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1948 Lotus Mark I News Source: Lotus CarsImage Credit: Colin Chapman Foundation Lotus Automotive History Convertible Classics

Lotus Type 132 crossover EV teased five ways in video

Lotus has combined its series of video teasers of the Type 132 crossover into one reel. The result provides peeks at five of the features we can expect on the electric CUV when it launches next year. Under the "Breathe" section, there's the active lower grille, divvied-up hexagonal openings that twirl open or closed to provide the right combination of powertrain cooling and vehicle aerodynamics. Titled with "See," there's what looks like a sensor detection unit rising from the roof; it looks like a LIDAR unit pointed toward the rear, but it's impossible to know from the clip. In the "Stretch" section, we see an active rear spoiler moving into a higher drag configuration, connected to a fender with lines that evoke the Evija and Emira. Finally, in "Awaken," there's what looks like a giant screen canted toward the driver and towering over the instrument panel. The Type 132 will commence Lotus' EV-only series production future, the first of four models due in the next few years, and the largest. After it will come a sedan marketed as a four-door coupe known as Type 133, expected on sale in 2023, a smaller crossover called the Type 134 that will debut in 2025, and a sports car currently dubbed Type 135 that's planned for 2026 and could get an Alpine-branded sibling. The four-door models are expected to ride on Lotus' Evolution architecture for "premium" vehicles, with available dual-motor powertrains that might get up to 750 horsepower powered by batteries up to 120-kWh. The sports car will get the E-Sports platform Lotus will share with Alpine and sell to other manufacturers, the junior relative of the Extreme platform that supports the 1,973-hp Evija.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.