1978 Lotus Esprit S1 Fully Restored! on 2040-cars

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Lotus supposedly working up a new Elan, again

Geely's investment in Volvo, and giving Volvo the freedom to do what Volvo knows how to do, propelled the Swedish automaker to another level. This could be the year English automaker Lotus begins the same climb. Late last year, Bloomberg said Geely committed an initial $2 billion to the Lotus renaissance. That number was low, the Financial Times reporting Geely planned to invest billions over the next five years. In May this year, Lotus announced it was hiring 200 new engineers and opening a new engineering center to develop a new range of SUVs, GTs, and sedans that would expand consumer appeal to triple its current annual volume. Sports cars are a vital part of the new mix as well, Autocar citing Lotus insiders for a report that a new Elan convertible sports car has "a strong possibility of being revived in the next few years" as a nameplate.    Lotus made a splash about bringing back the Elan — along with a new Esprit, Eterne, Elise, Elite, and city car — at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. That was a very different Lotus, when Malaysian automaker Proton owned the English outfit and ex-Ferrari marketing honcho Dany Bahar manned the helm. In spite of promises of funding, the team at Hethel lurched through years of corporate drama and dire finances until Geely took over in 2017. The latest Elan whispers sketch a convertible targeting the Porsche 718 Boxster - Lotus in general has Porsche in its sights. The car pictured above is from the first re-animation of the Elan badge, from 1989 to 1995. A coming Elan would sit above the Elise in the lineup, with more space, amenities, and luxury, at the same time as it would focus on being the lightest and most agile in the segment. Before that arrives, however, Lotus needs to finish developing the sports car platform that will help carry the brand's new range for the next decade; The Lotus SUV uses Volvo's SPA architecture that carries the XC90 and XC60. CEO Phil Popham's Vision-80 program — which now seeks to grow annual volume not merely triple but six-fold to 10,000 cars by 2029 — will be centered around the multi-material architecture that replaces the Elise and Evora architectures presently employed. Due in two years, the rivet-bonded "alloy-core" chassis will likely include carbon fiber and other advanced materials.

The Caterham Seven Sprint is a perfect retro-style British roadster

A Caterham Seven oozes retro style. Modern engineering may mean the car no longer shares any parts with its original Lotus counterpart, but one look at the little roadster and it's easy to see the car's heritage. Caterham loves pumping out variants of the Seven, and the 2016 Goodwood Revival seemed like the perfect place to announce the latest version, the throwback Caterham Seven Sprint. Caterham calls the Seven Sprint a design "that was seemingly planned in the mid-1960s but never launched." It's apt then that the company is using it to kick off its "60 Years of the Seven" celebrations. The Seven Sprint is based off the European-only 160 model, meaning it's powered by an 80-hp turbocharged three-cylinder Suzuki engine. While the bonkers Seven 620 R may be the biggest and baddest Caterham available, the bare bones Seven 160 just feels more appropriate here. There are a number of retro styling touches throughout the car. The limited edition Seven Sprint comes wrapped in one of six colors originally offered by Lotus in 1966 and 1967. The Chassis is powder-coated grey, just like the Series 2 Lotus Seven. The cream-colored wheels feature polished hubcaps, while the interior features a wood-trimmed wheel and the interior is trimmed in a wonderful shade of red. The body has been slightly reworked to look more like the original Lotus designed car. Mechanically, not much has changed. Power from the Suzuki three is fed through a five-speed manual. Some of the suspension bits are similar to Colin Chapman's original design, but that's true of the standard 160. The car should be just as much of a riot as any other Caterham, just packed to the gills with style. The Seven Sprint is available only as a fully-complete factory car. It's unknown if any of the 60 produced will make it to the US. Prices in the UK start at GBP27,995, or about $37,000. Related Video: Featured Gallery Caterham Sprint Image Credit: Caterham Cars Design/Style Lotus Automakers Convertible caterham seven

Roger Moore dies at 89; a look back at his automotive moments

According to Reuters, actor Roger Moore passed away this morning. The news source reports he died of cancer at age 89. Moore has a place in automotive enthusiasts' hearts thanks to his connection to some of the most famous onscreen cars in history. He portrayed James Bond in multiple films, perhaps most famously in The Spy Who Loved Me, in which his Bond piloted an amphibious Lotus Esprit. That car inspired many, even Elon Musk, who purchased the submarine version of the car. He also included it as an Easter egg in the Tesla Model S. That wasn't the only memorable Moore automotive moment. In two other Bond films, his character was involved in some remarkable stunts. In The Man with the Golden Gun, Moore's Bond drives an AMC Hornet over a ramp and does a barrel roll. Although cheesy, the stunt did happen. According to The Telegraph, a Cornell University aeronautical computer ran a simulation of the stunt and calculated the variables (such as the proper speed: 40 mph). Then British stuntman Loren "Bumps" Willard executed the roll on the first take, earning a GBP30,000 bonus. Which is a lot of money for a scene that uses a slide whistle as a sound effect. You can see the jump below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Moore is also associated with a great car thanks to his other famous role on the TV show The Saint. In that series, he drove the beautiful and unusual Volvo P1800 coupe. The car was enough of an icon that Jay Leno featured it on his Jay Leno's Garage series. Related Video: