2010 Lotus Evora Base Coupe 2-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Lotus Emeya concludes winter testing, brings unique treats

Think of the Lotus Emeya as the sedan form of the Eletre SUV, transferring Lotus' newest brand values into a body style closer in spirit to the old Lotus. As the automaker marches toward production later this year, we've got a few more details on what's to come with the English foe of the Taycan competitor. Battery size is said to be 102 kWh; if that's accurate, that would be down slightly on the Eletre SUV's gross 112-kWh battery that provides a usable 109-kWh. Lotus says the sedan's range will be "broadly similar" to the Eletre, which is rated to go up to 373 miles on the WLTP cycle. The sedan, like its brother, is built on an 800-volt system capable of 350-kW fast-charging, and uses two motors to power both axles. A top-shelf Emeya R trim should pack the same power as the Eletre R, 905 horsepower and 726 pound-feet, the Emeya's lower profile and lighter weight taking a coupe of tenths off the Eletre's 2.95-second sprint to 60 miles per hour.  At least two wild specs separate the Emeya from the Eletre: A 55-inch augmented-reality head-up display. Lotus says the projection on the Electre is 29 inches. In addition to being "the largest and most advanced in any Lotus," it offers "a Snow Mode which turns the display blue, helping the driver to see the outline of the road more easily against a white background." Who needs an Apple Vision Pro, eh?  The sedan also fits an active rear spoiler that's four inches broader than the SUV's from front to back, at 11.7 inches compared to 7.7 inches. Adjusting the spoiler's angle on the SUV can produce up to 112.5 kilograms of downforce. The sedan's spoiler rings up a maximum of 215 kg of downforce at speed. The Emeya's top speed is an electronically capped 159 mph, six miles per hour below the SUV's, done to preserve battery health.  Lotus recently concluded a series of winter tests that are part of the company's three-year development testing across 15 countries, working out the Emeya in temps as low as negative 13 Fahrenheit and locking the car in a freezer at -40 F to gauge how its systems performed.  After going on sale in China, the Emeya heads to Europe and then to the U.S., so we shouldn't expect it until sometime next year, joined by the Evija hypercar. Car magazine said it saw a Lotus presentation that mentioned an MSRP of $100,000, almost identical to the base Porsche Taycan's U.S. MSRP.  Related Video:

Lotus bankruptcy case dismissed in UK

Times have not been easy for Lotus lately, so when its name came up on a list of companies scheduled for a liquidation court, it seemed like the end could be near for the fabled British builder of lightweight sports cars. As it turns out, Lotus was on the Companies Court Winding Up list in the UK due to a contractual dispute with a supplier, and the High Court has since dismissed the case.
According to Autocar, Lotus and the supplier actually resolved their issue earlier in the year, but the process couldn't be stopped until seen by a judge. The report says that the case was initiated when Group Lotus failed to pay some of its debts, which is probably a fair indication that Lotus is far from out of the weeds in regards to its financial difficulties.

Lotus Elise Sprint adds lightness to lightness

Lotus announced the introduction of a new Elise trim level that exemplifies founder Colin Chapman's famous phrase of "simplify and add lightness." The new Elise Sprint combines the weight savings of the current standard Elise, along with a number of Sprint-exclusive parts for what Lotus claims is the model's most significant weight loss yet of about 90 pounds over the old model, bringing the car's dry weight (not curb weight) to 1,759 pounds. The exclusive Sprint parts account for about 57 pounds of that loss. They include a lithium-ion battery, forged wheels, polycarbonate rear window, and carbon fiber for the seats, roll bar cover, engine cover, and access panel. Interestingly, the biggest savings come from the lithium-ion battery, which is roughly 20 pounds lighter than the normal battery. Lotus also includes the optional two-piece brake rotors and carbon fiber door sills to reach the 90 pound total. This all translates to slightly quicker 0-60 mph times for Elise Sprint models over their Sport counterparts. Both the 1.6-liter 134-horsepower Sprint and 1.8-liter 217-horsepower Sprint 220 models complete the run to 60 mph a tenth of a second quicker than the equivalent Sport versions, with times of 5.9 and 4.1 seconds respectively. The weight loss also results in a price gain. For either Sprint model, you'll end up paying an extra GBP5,000, which is a bit over $6,100 at current exchange rates. Of course, the Elise isn't available in the US anyway, so it's a moot point. Related Video: