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Lotus F1 Team promotes Joylon Palmer for next season

After letting its longtime protege Romain Grosjean go to the Haas F1 team, Lotus has named his successor for next season. Driving for the team as it transitions back to being the Renault factory outfit will be one Jolyon Palmer, the current reigning GP2 champion and possibly one of the best-poised drivers to make it into Formula One. The 24-year-old Brit has been steadily working his way up the formula racing ladder, winning races in Formula Two and GP2 over the past several years before winning the latter title last season. During that victorious campaign he also served as a test driver for Force India, before switching to Lotus this season and getting 10 grand prix practice sessions under his harness. Jolyon's own experience undoubtedly sealed the deal, but his upbringing surely put him in a prime position to make it in single-seater racing. He's the son of former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer, himself a past Formula Two champ before completing half a dozen seasons in Formula One. It's what the elder Palmer's been up to since leaving the grid, however, that's put the son in such a strong position. As head of MotorSport Vision, Jonathan Palmer controls five major racing tracks across the UK – including BrandsHatch, Outlton Park, Snetterton, Cadwell Park and the Bedford Autodrome. He also runs a couple of trackday programs, founded the now-defunct Formula Palmer Audi series and continues to operate the FIA Formula Two Championship, the BRDC Formula 4 Championship, and the British Superbike Championship. All of which gave young Jolyon plenty of room to run as he developed his career. Will that be enough to put the young Palmer in a position to win next season? Only time will tell. But he arrives at a pivotal time for the team, which is expected to transition back from the privately held Lotus operation to Renault's hands, running once again as the factory team – but saddled with an engine package that has been underperforming against the competition. One way or another, it ought to be an interesting time to be in Enstone. Related Video:

Lotus bids farewell to the Elise and the Exige with Final Edition models

Lotus will put the Elise, the Exige, and the Evora out to pasture later in 2021 to make room for a new model that internally is being called Type 131. Before it embarks on this major lineup overhaul, the firm will send off the Elise and the Exige — two of its best-known and longest-running models — with a limited Final Edition. Fittingly, the Final Edition models represent the ultimate evolution of the Elise and the Exige, nameplates released 25 and 21 years ago, respectively. Lotus added power and, somewhat surprisingly, equipment without straying from the famous "light is right" philosophy that shaped both cars. Collectors have two variants of the Elise (Sport 240 and Cup 250) and three of the Exige (Sport 390, Sport 420, and Cup 430) to choose from. Stepping inside either Final Edition version of the Elise reveals a thin-film transistor (TFT) instrument cluster that can be configured with regular gauges or a racecar-like display, depending on whether motorists plan to hit the road or the track. Lotus also redesigned the steering wheel to give taller drivers more space. New upholstery and stitching patterns round out the major updates, and every Final Edition wears a specific metal plaque. Outside, the changes include new additions to the palette, including Azure Blue, which was one of the launch colors when the Elise was presented to the press in 1996. Racing Green, the hue worn by the model when it made its global debut at the 1995 edition of the Frankfurt auto show, makes a comeback as well. If 2,032 pounds is too heavy, Lotus offers optional parts (like carbon fiber panels) that shed 53 pounds. Power for the Elise still comes from a supercharged, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine mounted directly behind the passenger compartment. It delivers 240 horsepower (23 more than stock) and 180 pound-feet of torque, figures that give the roadster a 4.1-second zero-to-60-mph time. Selecting the Cup model brings a full body kit that generates 145 pounds of downforce at 100 mph and 341 pounds at the Elise's 154-mph top speed. Like the Elise, the Exige range receives Final Edition-specific paint colors, decals, and other exterior accents. Inside, it's a similar story: Lotus added a TFT screen and a new steering wheel, among other updated parts. Instead of a four-cylinder, the Exige packs a meaner punch thanks to a supercharged, 3.5-liter V6 tuned to put 397 horsepower (a 47-horse increase) and 310 pound-feet of torque under the driver's right foot.

Lotus to move immediately forward with new variants rather than new models

It took 1.5 years, but a DRB-Hicom managing director told Malaysia's Business Times that the company has "cleaned up" the situation at Lotus from its finances to its marketing and image. The clean-up job we're most interested in, the product portfolio, will be demonstrated by financial investment in a three-year program of "variants based on existing products - variants with improved technology, improved performance."
You'll notice mention of the word "variants" three times but no mention of the phrase "new models." We knew that with the death of the five-new-model turnaround plan dreamed up by ex-Lotus CEO Dany Bahar DRB-Hicom said there'd only be three distinct lines - which is the current number - but during Lotus' trouble-plagued 2012 it sold just 80 cars all year, and for a tense spell it really wasn't clear if DRB-Hicom would commit to even keeping Lotus alive, much less investing in it.
It's not clear how much is being put into in the three-year program of offshoot models like the 345-horsepower Exige S Roadster (pictured), but it might be fair to say this is where Lotus' revival really begins, and does so with baby steps. Autocar reports that DRB-Hicom has already put 100 million pounds into the English carmaker, and as its issues were worked through Lotus has sold almost as many cars in the first five months of this year as it did all of last. That has not only convinced the Malaysian minders to throw more money its way, but the UK's business secretary has also approved a 10-million-pound investment into Lotus through the Regional Growth Facility program.