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Lotus Evora 400 arrives in December for $89,900

It's been three months to the day since Lotus revealed the new Evora 400. And if you've spent the intervening time pining and wondering just how much you'd need to set aside to put one in your driveway, you need wonder no longer. The British sports car manufacturer has just released pricing for the new-and-improved Evora 400, which will retail at Lotus showrooms in America for $89,900. Now that's a fair bit more than it was charging just last year for an Evora ($68,400) or the Evora S ($78,480), but for all that extra scratch, you get a lot more. The 400-horsepower model packs 55 more horses than the Evora S, weighs almost 50 pounds less, features a new diff, carbon-ceramic brakes, bodywork and interior, and benefits from returned electronics, suspension, gearbox, and more. (Buyers will also be able to opt for an automatic transmission, upgraded interior trim, appearance package, forged alloys and painted calipers, all at additional cost.) The result of all those upgrades – costly as they are – is a 0-60 time of just 4.1 seconds, a top speed of 186 miles per hour and a lap time around the company's test track at Hethel clocked at 1:32 – a full six seconds faster than the existing Evora S. If that sound enticing, North American deliveries are set to commence in December. Related Video: Show full PR text Lotus announces prices for Evora 400 · Prices start at GBP72,000 (UK) · High level of standard specification · Fastest and most powerful production Lotus ever · Deliveries from August 2015 Lotus Cars is delighted to announce the prices of the new Evora 400. The latest supercar from Lotus combines high performance with the legendary Lotus benchmark handling and is lighter, more efficient and dynamically better than ever, providing a purer driving experience. UK prices will start from GBP72,000 (for other markets, see table below). For this price the car benefits from a high level of standard specification including 370 mm composite two piece brake discs from AP Racing, a Limited Slip Differential, automatic air-conditioning and infotainment system including satellite navigation. In addition to this, the options list includes automatic transmission at GBP2,000, Alcantara or Leather trim upgrades at GBP2,500 and metallic paint at GBP900.

Renault settles on Lotus, to take 65-percent stake in F1 team

Renault's coquettish moves toward becoming a constructor again have been news all season. The expected maneuver, should Renault say "Oui" to such, was for the French carmaker to repurchase the Lotus team - the team it sold at the end of 2010 to Genii Capital. Then last week we got the surprise news that Renault had been talking to Force India about taking a majority stake, but that information came with the context that Renault had discussions with several teams about such a move. Autosport reports that Renault has finally decided to get back together with Lotus, taking a stake worth up to 65 percent for 65 million pounds. The deciding factor was said to be the facilities that Lotus has available compared to Force India, including the Enstone factory formerly owned by Renault, plus a computational fluid dynamics program, driver-in-the-loop simulator, and a 60-percent-scale wind tunnel. The final shareholding stake will be split between Gerard Lopez at 25 percent and Renault ambassador Alain Prost at 10 percent. Renault will make a 7.5-million-pound payment immediately, completing the acquisition by paying 5.75-million-pounds per year for the next ten years. On top of that, Renault will invest a budget commensurate with those of Mercedes-AMG Petronas and Infiniti Red Bull Racing. The carmaker's board and CEO Carlos Ghosn have approved the deal, it is up to Lotus shareholders to agree to everything by Monday, when Autosport says the papers will be signed. The deal puts team drivers and the Red Bull engine supply in question. It should be expected for Romain Grosjean to remain, but keeping Pastor Maldonado is not a certainty. As for engines, Red Bull's engine supply contract states it must be Renault's priority, so Renault could stick with the Mercedes power unit Lotus currently uses for one more year, or help Red Bull get in bed with Mercedes. We should know more next week. Related Video:

Detroit Electric SP:01 electric Lotus project not dead yet

Detroit Electric is still on board to produce the Lotus Exige-based SP:01 electric sports car, which has been delayed more than once already. According to the carmaker, the SP:01 prototype is currently undergoing testing at a facility in Europe, as we can see in the above photo provided by Detroit Electric. Details about the production schedule and on-sale date for the SP:01 are still unclear, but Detroit Electric says it will announce more about that in the coming weeks. Production was originally supposed to begin last year, but was delayed when plans to build the car in Plymouth, MI fell through. Production is now planned to take place in Holland, but there's still potential for future models to be made in Detroit. The company has stated that the SP:01 will come with a base price tag of $135,000. Like the Tesla Roadster, the Detroit Electric SP:01 uses a Lotus chassis. The car's electric motor provides 201 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels, pushing the car to 62 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds, with a top speed of 155 mph. Range on a full charge is said to be more than 180 miles. The SP:01 has been off to a bit of a rocky start, but this bit of news shows there's still life in the project. Let's just hope it all continues smoothly. See what Detroit Electric has to say for itself in the press release below, or check out our original post about the SP:01 for all the details about the car. World's Fastest Production Electric Vehicle Prepares for Launch Detroit Electric, the international electric vehicle manufacturer, is finalising dynamic testing of its SP:01 pure-electric sportscar at a facility in Europe ahead of its introduction in several world markets. The lightweight, two-seat, rear-wheel-drive, open-top sportscar promises to thrill the EV market with its blistering performance and exhilarating dynamics. This latest version of the SP:01 has seen additional development work carried out by Detroit Electric's engineers and designers since a pre-production version of the vehicle was revealed to the media at events in Detroit, USA, and Shanghai, China, last year. Further details of the car and Detroit Electric's production and sales plans will be announced in the coming weeks. Related Gallery Detroit Electric SP:01: Live View 11 Photos Related Gallery Detroit Electric SP:01 View 9 Photos News Source: Detroit Electric Green Lotus Electric prototype testing detroit electric detroit electric sp:01 sp:01