Lotus

Lotus presenting Evora GTE concept

Aug 17 2011

Lotus presenting Evora GTE concept

Lotus presenting Evora GTE concept
No, it’s not about to unveil six new concepts at once like it did at the Paris Motor Show last year, but it does have a couple of tricks up its proverbial sleeve. First up is the Evora GTE road car concept we’ve been anticipating since last month, which looks poised to take a page out of the less Lotus Exige Matte Black Final Editionweight, more power playbook employed on such favorites as the Ferrari 430 Scuderia and Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. The concept starts with the Evora GTE race car and retunes it for the road, with 420 horsepower on tap, a competition-spec sequential gearbox and center-locking forged aluminum wheels.

Lotus to turbocharge new Esprit into UK’s fastest supercar?

Jun 30 2011

Lotus to turbocharge new Esprit into UK’s fastest supercar?

Lotus to turbocharge new Esprit into UKs fastest supercar?

Fast. Lightweight. Eminently enticing. There are a lot of things you could call a Lotus, but perhaps “ambitious” would be the most suitable. The company’s been snapping up former Ferrari personnel en masse, unveiled five new concepts at the same time last year, and plans on returning to producing its own engines to bring them to market.

Now it seems that Lotus has its eye on a rather boastful prize indeed: that of the fastest supercar built in the UK. That’s quite the goal when you consider it’ll be up against the likes of the McLaren MP4-12C and Aston Martin One-77. To get there, Lotus reportedly plans on turbocharging its new V8 up to 612 horsepower, and stripping out the new Esprit to pump up the power-to-weight ratio from both ends in Superleggera fashion.

As it stands, the naturally-aspirated V8 is anticipated to produce 562 horsepower from its 4.8 liters of displacement. Lopping off a couple of cylinders or chopping the block in half could also give Lotus six- and four-cylinder versions of the modular engine for use in a variety of cars. But while the engine may be raced initially (for example in a new LMP2 car) and shoehorned into the other products Lotus plans to bring to market, its first road-going application is expected to be in the new Esprit.

[Source: AutoExpress, Car]

Lotus CEO talks smack about Ferrari 458, McLaren MP4-12C

Jun 20 2011

Lotus CEO talks smack about Ferrari 458, McLaren MP4-12C

Lotus CEO talks smack about Ferrari 458, McLaren MP4 12C
Lotus CEO Dany Bahar told a recent press conference audience that its upcoming flagship will offer a more “authentic” driving experience than the targeted Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP4-12C. Those are fighting words, directed at very lofty rivals. Furthermore, according to Bahar, any injection of KERS-style (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) technology in the new Esprit will be to add to the driving experience, not detract from it.

In other engine-related news, the in-house V8 is rumored to be both lighter and smaller than the reportedly dropped Toyota 5.0-liter (currently found under the hood of the Lexus IS-F). The new eight should debut with a power rating of about 570 horsepower. That’s potent, and it’s necessary to be a genuine contender in this segment. As a reminder, when the last Esprit ended production in early 2004 its twin-turbo 3.5-liter V8 was rated at “only” 350 horsepower.

[Source: Autocar]

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