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Leaked patent images show forthcoming Lotus SUV

Upon discovering leaked patent images of a Lotus SUV, the proper response is, "It's about time." Not because we've been insomniac with anticipation of a people-hauler from Hethel, but because we've had at least three years to prepare. Make that ten years if you start the clock from when Lotus blitzed the 2006 Paris Motor Show with the seven-seat APX concept in 2006. The APX first brandished the company's Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA). An evolution of that VVA - which can withstand a 3,520-pound curb weight - still supports the Evora. In 2015, when Malaysian carmaker Proton owned Lotus, Lotus CEO Mark Gales announced an SUV already in development that would be "the fastest and most agile" of its kind, and target the Porsche Macan. Now, with a new owner, better sales, and much bigger profits, we get a clearer view of what this slow-cooked, swoopy Lotus van might bring. The front clip, center roof channel, what look like bulging rear wheel arches, and the taillight treatment establish Lotus ties. The side view stands as notable for its rear window treatment and high-altitude fuel filler cap, both design elements echoing the 1974 Lotus Elite and foreshadowed by Gales two years ago. Tech rumors posit a Toyota-sourced four-cylinder engine and a 1,600-kilogram curb weight objective. That's 3,520 pounds in US speak, yet with a new car range in the works and more Geely-funded tools to choose from, the SUV won't use the aged Versatile Vehicle Architecture. If Lotus succeeds at the scales, the SUV would subtract roughly 1,000 pounds from a Porsche Macan. As Gales told Top Gear earlier this month, "[W]hat an Evora is to a 911 our SUV needs to be to a Cayenne." Intended for global export, Lotus plans to manufacture the SUV in China, and we're likely four years away from an on-sale date. Although we're promised the family offering will handle "like nothing else," it won't be a sports car, and only Lotus sports cars are welcome at Hethel. Related Video:

Lotus Evora 'Sports Racer' is oddly named and fully loaded

Lotus has just announced a new Evora 'Sports Racer' model that is, well, frankly not much more sporty or racy than the standard Evora or Evora S. Instead, the British company calls the Sports Racer a "visually enhanced and optimized version" of both the Evora and supercharged Evora S. To unpack that a little: The new trim will get a new set of unique exterior colors and a revised interior treatment, and it's fully decked out with options.
The 'Sports Racer' will be available in the buyer's choice of Carbon Grey, Nightfall Blue and the Ardent Red that you see in the image above (the only image we've seen of the car so far). Gloss black accents set the model apart and can be seen on the roof, forged wheels, mirrors and rear badges. Inside, one may choose between black-leather sports seats with red piping and stitching, or a Venom Red leather interior with black piping and stitching. How naughty.
In terms of tech, the 'Sports Racer' gets Lotus' Sports Pack and its remapped throttle response, higher redline, more powerful cross-drilled brakes and a more aggressively programmed Dynamic Performance Management system. The stereo system is also upgraded from the basic Evora, with a DVD player and seven-inch touchscreen display thrown in for good measure.

Lotus Eletre configurator welcomes virtual tire kickers

The Lotus Eletre configurator is ready to be toyed with. There aren't that many customization options to play with, but the total experience is quite fun. The exterior palette consists of seven colors. The odd bit is that, try what browser we may, we couldn't get the names of those seven colors to appear anywhere. The menu looks like black, green, red, yellow, and three shades of silver, but clicking the latter three reveals what looks like a metallic silver, a flat gray, and a rose-tinted-something. Same with the interior, which comes in green, black, white, or beige. All but black result in a two-tone cabin. Things are much easier when it comes to wheels. The floral petal rims either come in all black or black with polished accents, the center caps are either Lotus yellow or black, and the calipers are either yellow, red, green, black, or charcoal.  For those of you unsure about the Eletre's looks, the well stocked Animations, Beautyshots, and Environments sections could get you on board with the styling — it did for us; a red Eletre under a cosmopolitan setting spoke to us in a way the yellow debut model did not. A couple of notes, though. Choose your colors in one of the Environments; the ambient lighting in the Beautyshots changes the vehicle lighting like in real life, turning the bright yellow calipers into a dusty gray in one instance, for example. The animations that show off features like the aero shutters in the grille and the active rear spoiler need a couple of clicks to perform. And again, just like in real life, the Eletre only does what you tell it; if you leave the hatch up in the Boot animation then click the Spoiler or Front Left Door, the boot stays up. Click to a city environment with the driver's door and hatch open and you'll be crystal clear as to what the Eletre looks at the end of a shopping run, a feature we've never seen in a configurator before. You have your mission and your cautions, now go play. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2017 Lotus Evora 400 Review | Autoblog