1978 Lotus Esprit Base Coupe 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Lotus adds lightness to new Exige S Club Racer

If there are two things Lotus is good at, they're trimming weight off already lightweight cars and getting the most out of its existing products. And those are just the talents it's called on to roll out the new Exige S Club Racer. Based on the Exige that's been on the market since 2000 – itself based on the Elise that dates back to 1996 – the new Exige S Club Racer manages to cut an extra 33 pounds off the vehicle's already featherlike curb weight, now down to under 2,600 lbs. The weight reduction comes down largely to the lightweight battery, center console, doors and sports seats. Yet measured at 100 miles per hour, the coupe also produces 93 lbs of extra downforce thanks to the revised aero package that includes a new front splitter, rear wing and flat underbody. Joining the Elise 20th Anniversary Edition (which itself replaces the Elise S Club Racer), the new Lotus Exige S Club Racer packs a 3.5-liter V6 to run to 62 in four seconds flat and on to a top speed of 170 mph. That's some rather impressive performance for a vehicle that only costs GBP56,900 in the UK, which is about what you'd pay for a Porsche Cayman GTS over there that would cost us around $75k. Unfortunately, Lotus doesn't sell the Exige in the US anymore, so this is one further improvement on a model we'll just have to admire from across the ocean. NEW LOTUS EXIGE S CLUB RACER - FASTER AND LIGHTER - Club Racer ethos applied to searingly quick Exige S - Weight reduced by 15 kg - Lotus benchmarks for handling and pure driving experience Applying the Lotus refined Club Racer principles to the already stunning Exige S results in the most inspiring version of an already class-leading sports car. The Exige S is a model that already excels, thanks to its lightweight aluminium chassis-tub and aerodynamically enhanced composite bodywork. Its 3.5-litre supercharged V6 engine delivers exciting performance, benchmark handling and a pure driving experience combined with a 4.0 seconds 0-62mph (0-100km/h) acceleration time and a top speed of 274 km/h (170 mph). Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc, expressed his enthusiasm for the new model: "Factoring the Club Racer ethos into the Exige enhances the track-focussed potential of this important model.

Lotus opens the 2013 Formula One season with the launch of the E21 [w/video]

Lotus has broken the seal on the 2013 Formula One season, launching the E21 car at its factory in Enstone. With the regulations this year quite similar to those of last year, there are no dramatic changes in form compared to the E20. After some teams lobbied to be able to cover the stepped nose with a "vanity panel," Lotus retained the configuration, the team's technical director saying that the panel would add more weight and didn't make sense to put on the car unless it also added performance.
Beyond that, the E21 is said to be an comprehensive advance in its details - the suspension gets a new layout, the Coanda exhaust and the passive double DRS system are evolutions from last year, the front wing is "a continuation of concepts" from 2009.
After securing fourth in the Constructor's Championship last year, this is the chassis that drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean will use to try and move the team up a place, which would mean beating one of the big three teams over the course of the season. The quietly and impressively consistent Räikkönen managed third in the Driver's Championship, and we're sure he wouldn't mind a move up in the standings, either.

Lotus Type 130 electric supercar officially named Evija

Only known as the Type 130 to this point, the new Lotus supercar finally has its official name: Evija. Lotus made the announcement at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and some fans have the lucky opportunity to get a sneak preview of the all-electric performance vehicle during the event. The Evija, which is pronounced "ev-eye-a," will be the first car Lotus has produced under the ownership of Chinese umbrella company Geely. Evija means "the first in existence" or "the living one," according to Lotus, thought the company did not go into the origins of the word. With cars such as the Rimac C_Two already in existence, the Evija is not the first electric supercar, but Lotus says it is the "first all-electric hypercar" from a British automaker. It's also the first electric Lotus. The Evija is slated for its world debut in London on July 16, 2019, and production is expected to start in 2020. However, Lotus set up a light show experience at Goodwood that involves that car. So, fans won't see the full vehicle, but the experience will tease small yet-to-be-seen details.  Very little information is known about the car yet, save for a nebulous aero image and a couple short video teasers. It will have a push-button gear selector, a light-up rear Lotus badge, an electric charging dock cover, and it appears it will have a tablet style dash setup. And, of course, carbon fiber will be the material of choice inside and out. We'll have full specs, photos, and information shortly. Auto News Green Green Lotus Lotus Evija