2024 Lotus Emira V6 First Edition Coupe on 2040-cars

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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.

Watch the Lotus Esprit evolve from 1976 to 2004

Seeing a model as long-lived as the Lotus Esprit evolve over time generally requires some clever photography or graphical work, kind of like this. This video doesn't require any of that trickery, though, because it features every single model year of Espirt in one glorious row of awesome British cars.
Taken at the 2013 Lotus Festival at Brands Hatch in the UK, it features Esprits from 1976 all the way to its last model year in 2004. It really puts into perspective the slow evolution of the mid-engined, wedge-shaped Lotus, as it went from a very 1970s design to something decidedly more modern.
We've got the full video below, which starts with a red 1976 model, travels down the line to a silver 2004 Esprit, and then all the way back to the original. Take a look, and let us know what you think.

Radford Type 62-2 is rad, a coachbuilt sports car based on Lotus underpinnings

There’s a new coachbuilder out there, and the company calls itself Radford. Today, Radford revealed its first car — the Type 62-2 — and itÂ’s based on the chassis and underpinnings of the Lotus Evora. ThatÂ’s an extremely good place to begin building from. Plus, the company has some big names attached to it. F1 racer Jenson Button is the one who dialed in the carÂ’s driving dynamics. Mark Stubbs, formerly of Bentley, Bugatti, Aston Martin and more, led the design process. And Ant Anstead, now co-hosting "Wheeler Dealers," is handling the build/production work. There may be an Evora underneath all the new bodywork, but this vehicle doesnÂ’t look like one on the outside. Instead, itÂ’s meant to take after the original Lotus Type 62 race car. Take one quick look at both, and it appears as though Radford has done a standup job of getting it there. ItÂ’s even been revealed initially in livery worn by the old Type 62. WeÂ’ll note that there will be two cars with slightly different looks. The first is a “Classic” version without a wing and fitted with staggered 17/18-inch wheels. The other model is called “Gold Leaf,” and it has the Type 62Â’s wings, can be done in the livery you see here and features larger center-locking 18/19-inch wheels. Thanks to the aluminum-intensive structure of the Evora, the Radford Type 62-2 weighs just under 2,205 pounds. Radford saved additional weight by using all carbon fiber body panels. This lightweight body is propelled forward via the 3.5-liter Toyota-provided supercharged V6 used in the Evora. Its base tune in the Type 62-2 offers up 430 horsepower. However, upgrading from the Classic to the Gold Leaf brings an increase to 500 horsepower. Radford says it gets the extra power via upgraded pistons, connecting rods, camshafts and new electronic engine mapping. If you want the extra power in the Classic, Radford says you can still optionally have it. As you may already suspect, a six-speed manual transmission is available on the Type 62-2. Unlike the Evora, though, you can also spec a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. ItÂ’s the only transmission available if you spec the engine up to 500 horsepower, so pick your poison on that front — thereÂ’s no manual available for the high-power version. As for the suspension, Radford says itÂ’s lowered the car more and changed the suspension geometry a bit compared to the standard Lotus design — thanks, Jenson.