2005 Lotus Elise Base Convertible 2-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Lotus builds the final Elise, Exige and Evora

Lotus has closed one of the most important chapters of its history: It has ended production of the Elise after a 25-year run. It also built the final example of the Exige, which was closely related to the Elise, and of the Evora, which was bigger and more comfort-oriented. We knew that this day was right around the corner, Lotus announced Final Edition variants of the Elise and the Exige in February 2021, and the British company confirmed that it's keeping the very last examples of the three models for itself. Shown above, the last Elise is a Sport 240 Final Edition model in yellow. The last Exige is a Cup 430 Final Edition finished in British Racing Green, while the last Evora is a GT430 Sport model that wears Dark Metallic Gray paint. All three cars will join the carmaker's growing collection of heritage models. Lotus built 51,738 examples of the Elise, the Exige, and the Evora combined over the past quarter of a century. While that doesn't sound like much, not when Ford sold over 787,000 units of the F-Series in pandemic-ridden 2020, that figure represents nearly half of the cars Lotus has built since its inception. It's worth noting that this number doesn't include the Elise derivatives made for third-party companies; the original Tesla Roadster was built on an Elise-sourced chassis, and the Opel Speedster was developed and manufactured by Lotus. It sounds like the three nameplates have been consigned to the pantheon of automotive history — at least for now. Lotus isn't standing still, however. Funded by Volvo parent company Geely, it unveiled the Emira, a coupe powered by a mid-mounted engine, earlier in 2021, and it's planning to launch its first crossover in spring 2022. The soft-roader will be the first in a series of mass-produced electric models from the company. Looking much further ahead, Lotus will also release a sedan and an electric sports car developed jointly with Alpine.

Kimi Raikkonen moving to Ferrari?

Kimi Raikkonen, easily one of our favorite current drivers in Formula 1, may be making a move from Lotus to Ferrari, according to a Finnish tabloid called Ilta-Sanomat. Raikkonen, who won the driver's championship in 2007 with the Italian brand, is in high demand and is also rumored to have options on the table from Red Bull and his current team.
Of course, a move by Kimi to Ferrari means at least one of the Maranello-based outfit would need to find another ride. Driving ace Fernando Alonso has publicly voiced his displeasure with the Ferrari chassis, and rumors have the Spaniard considering a move to Red Bull to replace Mark Webber. Buckle up, folks, this Silly Season is shaping up to be bumpy...

Lotus Elise, Exige recalled over oil line fire risk

Lotus is recalling 451 examples of the Elise and Exige from the 2007 and 2008 model years. The cars in question, built from December 1, 2006 to October 31, 2007 could be affected by an oil cooler line that detaches from its fitting. If the line comes loose it could release oil onto the engine and possibly start a fire, or onto a tire and potentially cause a crash.
A bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates the recall is expected to begin on March 4. Notified owners can take their cars to their dealers for repairs to the lateral oil cooler hose and hose fittings. You'll find the full release from the NHTSA below with more information.