2011 Lotus Evora 2+0, Navigation, 14 Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

China's Geely buying majority stake in Lotus

Geely, the Hong Kong car company that owns Volvo, is acquiring control of British car company Lotus. Geely is purchasing a 51-percent stake in Lotus from struggling Malaysian car company Proton, and a 49.9 percent stake in Proton itself. Etika Automotive will gain the other 49 percent of Lotus. France's PSA Group and Japan's Suzuki had apparently also been interested in acquiring Proton. Geely says it plans to revive both Proton and Lotus. "The agreement lays the foundation for a wider framework for both Geely Holding, Proton and Lotus to explore joint synergies in areas such as research and development, manufacturing and market presence," Geely said in a news release. Those joint synergies will be highlighted by the lightweight chassis technology Lotus is known for, which could help Geely improve fuel efficiency. Geely CFO Daniel Donghui Li said the company aims to "unleash the full potential of Lotus Cars" by expanding and accelerating new products and technologies. Proton was nationally held but was privatized in 2007 to Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom, which is owned by tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. It was supposed to be the flagship for Malaysia's economic development.Though it owns two factories, Proton mainly rebadges foreign-made cars and sells them in Malaysia. What it has, what Geely presumably wants, is a distribution network in Southeast Asia to pit Chinese cars against Japanese automotive dominance in the region. Retaining a 50.1-percent stake in Proton is seen as a face-saving move. "Proton will always remain a national car and a source of pride, as Proton will still have a majority hold of 50.1 percent," Malaysian finance official Johari Abdul Ghani said. "Our very own much-loved brand now has a real chance in making a comeback, a huge one I hope." Related Video:

Renault considers fielding its own F1 team again

Renault has a long history in Formula One, but while it successfully ran its own team until 2010, these days it participates only as an engine supplier – and just to the two Red Bull teams. That could be changing in the near future, though, as the latest reports indicate that the French automaker is considering fielding its own team once again. According to Autosport, the company has ruled out starting its own team again from scratch, but it is weighing the possibility of buying an existing team. The last time it competed was when it took over the championship-winning Benetton team in 2002, building it back up to win back-to-back world titles in 2005 and 2006. It subsequently dropped in form until Renault sold the team in 2011 to Genii Capital, which has run it under the Lotus banner ever since. The Lotus team continued using Renault engines with limited success until this season when it switched to Mercedes. With Caterham now gone from the grid, that leaves Renault with only one customer: Red Bull, which runs both the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso teams under Renault power. It's a situation in which the French company apparently doesn't particularly revel, leading it to consider buying a team again and running it in-house. Considering the difficulty the Lotus team it once owned has encountered lately, reacquiring its old operation could prove the most logical step for Renault, but of course that doesn't mean that's what it will ultimately do. It could continue strengthening ties with Red Bull until it acquires a large portion of it (or Toro Rosso) – something which Audi is said to be eying as well. Or it could look to another team altogether. Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Williams may not be up for sale, but we could easily see Renault taking over cash-strapped Force India or Sauber, or even pouring its resources into getting Caterham or Manor/Marussia back up to speed and whipping it into winning form. News Source: AutosportImage Credit: Franck Robichon/AP/Pool Motorsports Lotus Renault F1

The new Lotus Evora GT430 Sport is quicker with an automatic

Few automakers exploit platform variants as much as lotus. The company has four models, one of which is essentially a hardtop version of another. The Lotus Evora 400 sits atop the range, and since its debut last year we've seen the Evora 410, Evora 410 GP Edition and the Evora GT430. Today, the British automaker announced the Evora GT430 Sport, essentially a less hardcore but nearly as capable version of the GT430. The two biggest differences are the non-limited availability and the available six-speed automatic transmission. All 60 examples of the GT430 were only available with a manual. Both cars use the same 3.5-liter V6 topped with an Edelbrock supercharger that's good for 430 horsepower. Manual models make 325 lb-ft of torque, while automatic-equipped cars make 332 lb-ft. Despite a 24-pound penalty, the GT430 Sport automatic hits 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, a tenth quicker than the manual. While gearing in the automatic limits top speed to 170 mph, manual models can reach 196 mph. That makes this the fastest road-going Lotus ever. No matter which one you choose, the GT430 comes with Ohlins TTX two-way adjustable dampers, slotted and ventilated brake discs with AP Racing four-piston calipers, a Torsen-type limited slip differential and an adjustable traction control system. The front and rear bumpers, front access panel, roof panel, rear quarter panels and one-piece louvered tailgate and spoiler are all made of carbon fiber. The non-Sport GT430 adds a carbon fiber front splitter, rear wing, louvered wheel arches and a wider set of wheels and tires. The carbon fiber theme continues inside. The seats, door sills and parts of the instrument cluster are all made of the lightweight material. Most of the rest of the interior is trimmed in leather and black Alcantara. At $136,000, the new GT430 Sport undercuts the limited-run model by about $11,000. There's no word on if the car will make it here to the U.S. Hopefully Lotus' new parent company will keep the ball rolling. Related Video: