2021 Lotus Evora Gt 1 Owner on 2040-cars

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Nissan GT-R, Armada and the new Kia Sorento | Autoblog Podcast #658

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer for the final episode of 2020. They've been driving some interesting cars, including the Nissan GT-R, the new Nissan Armada, a Mercedes-Benz GLA and a pair of new-gen Kia Sorentos. They talk a bit about an interesting new EV called the Ace from Alpha Motor Corporation. Finally, the trio takes turns talking about their favorite cars they drove this year. Enjoy, and we'll be back with more episodes in 2021. Autoblog Podcast #658 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:2021 Nissan GT-R 2021 Nissan Armada 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 2021 Kia Sorento Alpha Motor Corporation unveils Ace electric coupe Our favorite cars of the year: Zac: Lotus Evora GT John: Polestar 2 Greg: McLaren GT Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Kia Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Nissan Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Performance Sedan Polestar

Lotus Advanced Performance offers hints about special projects

Four months ago, Lotus teased the creation of an Advanced Performance division. The legendary sports car maker divulged that the department would build "ultra-exclusive and unique vehicles" outside of the firm's regular-production lineup, developing Lotus race cars, manage Lotus motorsports programs, work on customer commissions and create customer experiences from Hethel production tours and track days to global driving academies and "money can't buy" opportunities. In further comments to Autocar and Auto Express, the head of Lotus Advanced Performance (LAP), Simon Lane, gave clues about what's coming. Lane suggested a number of creations, but the part we're most excited about is "while wider Lotus Group moves towards full-on electrification, LAP is 'reserving the right to still play with combustion engines.'" These ICE powerplants could be slated for coming restomod projects based on plans and technical drawings for Lotus products in the 1960s and 1970s that were never produced. Lane said his 15-person team is "well advanced" on work on what he calls "scratch build" vehicles that will hearken to vintage wares but be "easier to drive and maybe [have] a better power-to-weight ratio and better brakes." We love our electric cars here at Autoblog, but the idea of lightweight revivals recalling Lotus' best years with classic lines, small-displacement engines and maybe even manual transmissions would be glorious. These won't be continuation cars, but all-new products with production runs said to be smaller than anyone would expect.    It's possible we could see something this year, 2022 being the 50th anniversary of Emerson Fittipaldi and Lotus winning the 1972 Formula 1 Driver's and Constructor's Championships in the Lotus-Ford 72D. That might explain the teaser image from February, if not the colors of the car in the teaser. Know what other momentous Lotus moment occurred in 1972? The Esprit concept debuted at the Turin Motor Show. Lane, who comes from service in Aston Martin's Q division, calls LAP "the most all-encompassing special operations department" among automakers. That means there will be work done on the electric side, too, potential services being electric drivetrain conversions of traditional Lotus cars, and creating new bodywork for the new range of battery-electric cars.

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: