2011 Lotus Evora 2+2 Damaged Wrecked Rebuildable Salvage Project Low Reserve Wow on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lotus Esprit spied wearing mismatched Evora bodywork

The sorta funky looking Lotus Evora you see above isn't really an Evora at all. In fact, it's a mule for an upcoming new Lotus in the spirit of the Esprit, which, rumor has it, will be introduced in the first half of 2021. It may even be called the Esprit, reviving the name of one of the company's most recognizable and well-loved nameplates, though that has yet to be confirmed by the British automaker. Power is expected to come from a Toyota-sourced V6 engine, as is the case with the Evora. But instead of the Evora's 2+2 seating configuration, the reborn Esprit would be a two-seater. While we aren't privy to the automaker's engineering offices, it seems the space vacated by the vestigial rear seating area might be used to hold some battery packs, as the upcoming car is going to be a hybrid. The 2020 Lotus Evora spins 416 horsepower out of its supercharged 3.5-liter V6; the hybridized Esprit is rumored to pack over 500 ponies, buoyed by an electric motor and lithium ion battery pack that's thought to be cribbed from the Volvo parts bin. That makes sense, as Lotus and Volvo both fall under Chinese automaker Geely's umbrella. The Evora offers the choice of six-speed manual or automatic gearboxes, but we'll have to wait and see if those choices are shared with the Esprit. The mule seen above is sporting some mismatched Evora bodywork — seemingly sprayed black in haste, judging by the specks of blue and yellow at the front and rear along with the lone green pop just ahead of the rear wheels — that has been widened with some tacked on wheel arches. The production version is expected to crib styling elements from Lotus' range-topping electric Evija. We can't wait to see how it all turns out. Related Video:

New Lotus owners ditch ambitious five-year plan

This didn't take long. The new overlords at Lotus have reportedly scrapped the company's five-year plan. DRB-Hicom ditched the turnaround strategy, penned by ousted CEO Danny Bahar, because it believes the market viewed the plan as overly ambitious.
The new product plan will slim the number of new model lines from five to three, and Lotus will likely slash the number planned consultants in favor of relying more heavily on in-house talent. According to The Star, the move should help expedite product development and save cash at the same time.
Even so, nothing is written in stone as of yet. DRB-Hicom says the new plan will take up to a year to finalize. The company has dumped around $242 million into Lotus so far this year, and the struggling automaker may require another $121 million by 2013. Lotus all but stopped production earlier this year during a loan freeze, but the lights came back on in April. The company now produces around 44 vehicles per week.

2015 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix puts a dark horse in the desert [spoilers]

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen had said after Malaysia that Ferrari can challenge Mercedes-AMG Petronas purely on pace, beyond the scope of tire wear, in the dry. We didn't see that in China, where Lewis Hamilton easily kept everyone behind and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel only got close to Mercedes' Nico Rosberg when Rosberg slowed down to conserve his tires. But the Iceman's words seemed prescient during qualifying for the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. At the front, nothing has changed so far this year: four races, four pole positions for Lewis Hamilton. Instead of teammate Rosberg next to him, though, he'll look over to see the scarlet Ferrari of Vettel, who took advantage of Rosberg's cautiousness to snatch second place on the grid. In Q2, Rosberg tried to conserve the tires he'd start the race on and said he couldn't get into a groove in Q3, putting in a time 0.147 seconds slower than Vettel. The second Silver Arrows will share his row with the second Ferrari, Raikkonen – yet again – saying he might have left some time on the table during his hot lap but getting around just one tenth off Rosberg's time. Williams is established as the best of the rest behind two teams this year instead of just one last year, Valtteri Bottas claiming fifth ahead of Felipe Massa. Daniel Ricciardo of Infiniti Red Bull Racing said he wants to fight with the Williams', he'll be helped with a good start off the line for the first time this year. Nico Hulkenberg got Force India into Q3 for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix last year and into eighth on the grid, ahead of Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso and Romain Grosjean putting in another excellent day's work for Lotus. Come race time, it turned into Mercedes power against Ferrari strategy. When Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle talks about the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team he often mentions how their engine advantage leads to other advantages throughout the car. Not having to use aerodynamic changes to make up for power unit deficiencies, for instance, means they can run the aero setup they want, which optimizes speed and tire wear throughout a lap. It equates to advantage on top of advantage on top of advantage. That's where Lewis Hamilton is right now, so fundamentally dialed in to his car and his racing that he run the races he wants to run. From the front spot, the Brit ripped off another perfect start and led the field into Turn 1, relinquishing the lead only during pit stops.