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Lotus plans detuned Evora sans supercharger for US market

We may never see a new version of the Elise or Exige in the United States, but the legendary British marque has been steadily rolling out new versions of the Evora 2+2 sports car. According to Automotive News, the automaker based in Hethel is planning a detuned version of the Evora to help it get in line with US emissions regulations. "Over a five-year period in the U.S. we have to show a 3 percent per year reduction in carbon dioxide emissions," Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales told AN. "One option is remove the supercharger." Gales apparently feels that's a better option than downsizing to a 2.0-liter turbo four, which would require more reconfiguration than simply removing the supercharger. The former Peugeot chief cites the example of another British sports car manufacturer in McLaren, which detuned the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 from the 650S to slot into the 570S. In any event, the base Evora wouldn't be the only new version of the model we're expecting to see. The company recently rolled out the revised Evora 400, and revealed the even sharper Evora Sport 410 (pictured above) at the Geneva Motor Show last month. Lotus also has an Evora roadster in the works that's similarly targeted at the North American market. Following the base model, we wouldn't be surprised to see even more variants to follow. Related Video:

Lotus Type 130 electric hypercar confirmed for July 16 reveal

Lotus just formally announced that its electric hypercar will be revealed on July 16. It's called the Type 130, and it's confirmed for production at Lotus headquarters in Hethel, Norfolk. The name is derived directly from the production quantity, as Lotus is capping the car at just 130 units. This project is coming together at a rapid pace, as Lotus also says the first customer deliveries will happen in 2020. Meeting time goals for the production of EVs has proven troublesome for some manufacturers, so we'll see if Lotus is able to deliver in the next year and a half. The British sports car company has Chinese backing in the form of Geely now, so the funds to make this car happen appear to be there. Lotus says that it's had several hundred people express interest in buying the Type 130 since its confirmation at the Shanghai Auto Show. Of course, with only 130 slots available to buy the vehicle, we'll see how it all shakes out once Lotus announces what we expect will be an extravagant price tag. Hypercars, and especially electric hypercars, are never cheap. Lotus released a teaser photo that tells us next to nothing, but it is a photo of the car. The teaser video below is a bit more interesting with the "Hand Built in Britain By Lotus" emblem and the electric charge port hidden off to the left. It has an automatically closing door there, which doesn't exactly feel like Lotus' style. If something can be done mechanically to save weight, that's typically the path taken. We won't prejudge the car too harshly, though, as this represents an entirely new take on Lotus vehicles. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

eBay Find of the Day: 2000 Lotus 340R, claimed only street-legal example in US

These days most of the news out of Lotus comes when it releases a lighter or faster version of the Elise, Exige or Evora. However, the stripped-out, Elise-based 340R might already show the logical conclusion of that concept, despite coming out in 2000. Now, one of the 340 made is up for auction on eBay Motors, and the seller in Fort Lauderdale, FL, claims that it's the only street-legal example available in the US.
Lotus founder Colin Chapman always had an obsession with making his vehicles as light as possible, and the 340R adhered to that adage about as closely as a street car could in 2000. These minimalist roadsters eschewed opening doors, windows and a roof in the pursuit of cutting the fat off the brand's hardly portly Elise. The company's engineers also trimmed away the fenders to give their creation a semi-open wheel design that looked as wild when new as today. For the interior, they installed two racing buckets, and the most of the rest was left in bare metal, including the pedals. All of the changes reportedly brought the 340R down to around 1,545 pounds.
Power comes from a 1.8-liter four-cylinder with a five-speed manual gearbox. The 340R is available with 177 horsepower or a tuned 187-hp version from that mill, but the seller doesn't specify which one this is. It's still a pretty fresh car, though, with just 3,577 miles claimed on the odometer.