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Genii capitalizing on Lotus F1 tech with new sports car?

Detractors will tell you that there's little to be applied from Formula One racing to the cars we drive, but what about the cars most of us could only dream of driving? We're talking about supercars from the likes of Ferrari and McLaren - two hugely successful F1 racing teams that have successfully made the transition into building exotic sports cars for the road. And soon there may be one more.
That would be the Lotus F1 Team, which is rumored to be working on a sports car project of its own. Now we know what you might be thinking: Lotus already makes sports cars. Indeed they do, only the F1 team has nothing more to do with the automaker behind the Exige and Evora than the name they share. Today the team (formerly known as Toleman, Benetton and Renault) is owned by Genii Capital, whose chairman Gerald Lopez recently confirmed the rumors to Auto Motor und Sport: "We are going to develop a carbon chassis for a sports car that can be built in large quantities.... But this has nothing to do with Formula 1."
With little to nothing in the way of details available, the circulating rumors had tied the venture to on-again, off-again Italian auto marque De Tomaso. But our source at ATS (which recently bought the rights to the De Tomaso name following Gian Mario Rossignolo's aborted attempt to revive it) firmly denied the prospect of any such collaboration. Spokesmen for the Lotus F1 Team would not divulge any information; neither would the press office for parent company Genii Capital, leaving the door wide open to speculation once again.

Lotus Esprit spied wearing mismatched Evora bodywork

The sorta funky looking Lotus Evora you see above isn't really an Evora at all. In fact, it's a mule for an upcoming new Lotus in the spirit of the Esprit, which, rumor has it, will be introduced in the first half of 2021. It may even be called the Esprit, reviving the name of one of the company's most recognizable and well-loved nameplates, though that has yet to be confirmed by the British automaker. Power is expected to come from a Toyota-sourced V6 engine, as is the case with the Evora. But instead of the Evora's 2+2 seating configuration, the reborn Esprit would be a two-seater. While we aren't privy to the automaker's engineering offices, it seems the space vacated by the vestigial rear seating area might be used to hold some battery packs, as the upcoming car is going to be a hybrid. The 2020 Lotus Evora spins 416 horsepower out of its supercharged 3.5-liter V6; the hybridized Esprit is rumored to pack over 500 ponies, buoyed by an electric motor and lithium ion battery pack that's thought to be cribbed from the Volvo parts bin. That makes sense, as Lotus and Volvo both fall under Chinese automaker Geely's umbrella. The Evora offers the choice of six-speed manual or automatic gearboxes, but we'll have to wait and see if those choices are shared with the Esprit. The mule seen above is sporting some mismatched Evora bodywork — seemingly sprayed black in haste, judging by the specks of blue and yellow at the front and rear along with the lone green pop just ahead of the rear wheels — that has been widened with some tacked on wheel arches. The production version is expected to crib styling elements from Lotus' range-topping electric Evija. We can't wait to see how it all turns out. Related Video:

Renault formalizes return to F1 with Lotus acquisition

No longer satisfied with simply providing engines, Renault confirmed that it will return to running its own Formula One team next season. Though the terms of the deal are still being worked out, the French automaker will re-acquire the team currently known as Lotus. Renault previously owned and operated this same operation for nearly 10 years. Renault first entered the series in 1977. The company shut down the original Equipe Renault Elf in 1985, but continued powering Lotus, Ligier, and Tyrrell for another season. After a three-year break, it returned as an engine supplier with Williams in 1989, winning championship titles with the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Damon Hill behind the wheel. The 1995 season saw the start of the partnership with the team now in question when Benetton switched over from Ford power. After several years of success and more titles, Renault bought out the team and ran it as its own from 2002 through 2011 – winning two more titles with Fernando Alonso – before selling the operation to Genii Capital, which has run it since under the Lotus name. Even after Lotus switched to Mercedes power, Renault continued supplying other teams with engines, most notably winning back-to-back world titles with Red Bull before the new turbo hybrid engines arrived and Renault's performance dropped off. Now, in another case of history repeating, Renault is gearing up to bring the team based in Enstone back in-house. The move will likely see the Lotus name disappear again, after it was hotly contested with the Caterham team that ultimately disappeared as well. With it, Renault will return as a full-on works effort with its own engines, just like rivals Ferrari and Mercedes. Renault Announces Return to Formula 1 in 2016 - Carlos Ghosn announces his decision that Renault will return to Formula 1 with its own team for 2016 season. - Renault, 12-time Constructors' Champion with nearly 40 years in the sport, is an iconic brand in Formula 1 and intends to play an active role in the sport's development. - F1 is a technology showcase and accelerates development of Renault's innovation and range of sports cars. Following the September announcement of the signing of a Letter of Intent with Lotus F1 Team, teams at Renault continued to evaluate the possibility of a return to Formula 1. Particular attention was paid to competing successfully with its own team in a financially sound way starting in 2016.