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Lotus Emira V6 First Edition finally being delivered to customers

In July 2021, Lotus revealed the Emira, its final ICE-powered sports car before flipping to an all-electric lineup. By the time we got to drive it in December 2023, our Zac Palmer wrote, "you can’t spend $105,900 on a single car that would be more fun than the V6 First Edition I drove. There just isnÂ’t another option out there that drives like the Emira, putting it in a class of its own for the enthusiast who wants the most unfiltered experience possible." The problem for Emira buyers reading that — the ones sitting on reservations more than two years old — was that none of them had their cars. Last March, Gator Motorsports' franchise Indy Lotus in Indianapolis sent a letter to reservation holders explaining the holdup as U.S. certification, specifically certification by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). At the same time, CarBuzz reported that Emira V6 First Edition units destined for the U.S. would land here last summer but wouldn't be released to customers until between mid-October and mid-December. Except Lotus dealers then had to explain to buyers in January of this year that cars here were getting a software update, likely for certification purposes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had given the Emira its blessing, but Lotus didn't want to deliver units that couldn't be registered in the 14 states that adhere to CARB mandates, so it held all of them (and perhaps prevented some car-flipping). At the end of last month, the Californians approved of what Lotus had done with its engine programming, freeing the Emira to head to good homes. At one point, Lotus planned to have cars here in time to get into the 2022 model year, now it's a 2024. On the Emira Forum, in a thread about USA and Canadian delivery that's grown to more than 500 pages, someone posted the CARB approval on March 2, page 461 of the thread. The first response from a forum member in Stage 4 of the Five Stages of Grief — mentioned just four posts earlier — was, "Is this legit? This isn't something you did as a joke on the forum?" It's no joke, other forum posters are reporting that they are receiving their cars. Nay, twas not a joke. What's also serious is a higher price for the eventual entry-level trim, the Emira First Edition powered by an AMG-sourced turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.

China's Geely says it has no plan to buy Fiat Chrysler — as FCA stock leaps

HONG KONG — Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile denied media speculation on Wednesday that it planned to make a takeover bid for Fiat Chryslerk Automobiles (FCA), the world's seventh-largest automaker. Geely was one of several Chinese carmakers cited in by Automotive News, which said representatives of "a well-known Chinese automaker" had made an offer this month for FCA, which has a market value of almost $20 billion. "We don't have such a plan at the moment," Geely executive director Gui Shengyue told reporters at an earnings briefing, when asked if Geely was interested in Fiat. He said a foreign acquisition would be complicated, but he did not elaborate. "But for other (Chinese) brands, it could be a fast track for their development," Gui added. However, a source close to the matter said FCA and Geely Automobile's parent firm, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, had held initial talks late last year, without disclosing their nature. The source confirmed Geely was no longer interested in FCA, noting that the parent company had only three months ago announced its first push into Southeast Asia with the purchase of 49.9 percent of struggling Malaysian carmaker Proton, a deal that also included a stake in Lotus. Geel's denial failed to dent FCA's stock. The price of its Milan-based shares has jumped more than 10 percent to a 19-year high since Automotive News first reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources, that FCA had rejected the Chinese offer as too low. FCA stock on the New York Stock Exchange rose sharply on Monday from $11.60 to $12.38 and on Wednesday was trading at $12.84. FCA declined to comment on Wednesday. FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has repeatedly called for mergers as a way of sharing the costs of making cleaner, more advanced cars, but he has repeatedly failed to find a partner and retreated from his search for in April, saying FCA would stick to its business plan. He has also spoken of spinning the successful Jeep and Ram divisions off from FCA. Europe's largest carmaker, Volkswagen, and General Motors have both said they are not interested in talks with FCA. On Wednesday, Geely Automobile reported a doubling of first-half profit, above expectations, as cars designed with Sweden's Volvo won over domestic consumers. Volvo is a unit of the Zhejiang Geely group, and has recently announced it will share its technology with Geely.

Renault will buy back Lotus F1 Team

Renault's relationship with Red Bull may be about to crumble, but the French automaker isn't calling it quits on Formula One altogether. Instead, Renault will cease being an engine supplier and instead acquire Lotus F1 to become a full-fledged manufacturer and team owner again. The long-anticipated deal will see Renault re-acquire the team currently known as Lotus F1 from present owner Genii Capital, an investment fund. Renault owned the team outright before selling it to Genii back in 2009. This move will see the Enstone outfit move back under Renault's roof – and hopefully get more resources than Genii could muster. Renault recently had to come to the team's rescue after an outstanding tax bill threatened to send it into bankruptcy. The deal will likely mean the end of the Lotus name in F1 once again, after the rights were hotly contested between this team and the now-departed Caterham outfit. The Enstone-based outfit will become Renault's principal team, just as Mercedes and Ferrari run their own teams and also supply engines to others. Over its various eras of ownership, the team has shown that it has what it takes to win, given the right drivers and resources. The question is whether Renault can get its engines up to speed again to catch up to its rivals. The partnership between Daimler and the Renault Nissan Alliance created speculation that the two could strike a deal in F1 as well that could see Renault running Mercedes engines in the future - just like the Lotus team currently does. F1 : SIGNATURE OF A LETTER OF INTENT BETWEEN RENAULT GROUP AND GRAVITY MOTORSPORTS S.A.R.L Renault Group and Gravity Motorsports S.a.r.l., an affiliate of Genii Capital SA, are pleased to announce the signature of a Letter of Intent regarding the potential acquisition by Renault of a controlling stake in Lotus F1 Team Ltd. The signature of this Letter of Intent marks Renault's first step towards the project of a Renault Formula 1 team from the 2016 racing season thereby extending 38 years of commitment of the brand to world's premier motorsport championship series. Renault Group and Gravity will work together in the coming weeks to eventually turn this initial undertaking into a definitive transaction provided all terms and conditions are met between them and other interested parties. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lotus Renault GP 2011 livery News Source: Renault Earnings/Financials Motorsports Lotus Renault F1 genii capital