Lotus Cars

Chapman Graphic Biography

This beautifully realised hardcover book tells the true life story of Colin Chapman in a graphic novel

This book puts motor racing at the heart of the comic book novel in beautiful full colour, with the added thrill of relating the story of Colin Chapman’s work with Lotus on and off the track.

Illustrators Nedzad Kamenica, Christian Papazoglakis, Robert Paquet and Tanja Cinna superbly support the text (although it has to be said that the cover is not up to the quality of the inside work). Each spread is a feast for the eyes, and the book makes great reading for young or old.

First published in 2012, the text was originally by Denis Bernard. This edition has been translated to English by Ken Smith.

It begins with qualifying for the 1956 French Grand Prix where Chapman’s Vanwall collides with teammate Mike Hawthorn’s, damaging the cars too badly for both to race. Hawthorn is chosen to drive over Chapman, and the story goes from there, concluding with Chapman’s death in late 1982, the formation of Classic Team Lotus in 1992 and a recap of his legacy.

There’s an endorsement by the Chapman family and a foreword by his son Clive.

Available for just $39.95 plus postage from The Pitstop Bookshop.

Mini Lotus

Mark Ibbott from England sent this pic to Garry Saunderson.

“OK its not a car I’ve had, but what an interesting twist on a theme. I didn’t think that this could be done, but the proof is here and yes, it does run and yes, its modded and extremely quick.”

Lotus Europa S2

Lotus Europa S2 formerly owned by Club Member Grant Beckett

I personally like to keep a history of owners of cars and what happens to the car. So for those interested, here is a little information on former club car Lotus Europa S2 Chassis 54/1187 I purchased from a boutique classic car yard in Sydney on the 14th of November 2013.

It came with receipts so I was able to track down the previous owner – Grant Beckett of Brisbane. Grant sold the Europa in June 2013 to an individual from Sydney who owned a car yard. I have had a lifetime desire to own an S2 Europa and like many before me, an unexpected serious illness has pushed me to re-assess time and what it means to me, and get my finger out.

I flew to Sydney on the 14th of November, had a 3 hour inspection and road test, made an offer and purchased the car. As of 15/11/13, it has just been loaded on road transport in Sydney. After being sold new in NSW the car later made its way to QLD, back to NSW and is now headed for Townsville in QLD.

Murray Hopkins, Townsville
makapam@bigpond.com

Caterham 7 vs Morgan

Morgan Three Wheeler and Caterham Seven: Brilliant British Flyweights

They’re small, light, fast and deliver the most singular driving experiences. In this video (link supplied by Jon Young) IDrive’s Chris Harris takes them to some beautiful UK roads to discover why they offer something even the latest hypercars simply cannot match.

Lotus sees brighter future

Lotus sees brighter future as it recruits 100 new staff

By Nick Gibbs | Automotive News Europe | August 2013

Lotus Cars is expanding its workforce 18 months after the UK sport car maker’s future was put in doubt by its new owners.

Lotus will add just over 100 staff at its headquarters near Norwich in eastern England, the company said in a statement.

“It’s been a period of substantial change at Lotus and we are now in a strong position to expand our work on future products and to increase production in our manufacturing facilities,” Lotus Chief Operating Officer Aslam Farikullah said in a statement.

Lotus’ recruitment drive follows a 100 million pound investment by owners DRB-Hicom which Lotus says will enable it to strengthen its engineering, productivity, efficiency and quality.

DRB-Hicom executive chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil

Last year, Malaysian investment company DRB-Hicom, said it was open to selling the unprofitable carmaker after taking over Lotus parent Proton Holding. Reports said Volkswagen was among potential buyers.

DRB-Hicom fired CEO Dany Bahar in June 2012 and cancelled his strategy to boost annual sales to 10,000 by introducing five new models. Bahar, a former Ferrari global sales and marketing director, had planned to leverage Lotus’s rich history and create a brand to rival Ferrari and Porsche.

DRB-Hicom scaled back plans to expand the sports car brand’s product lineup to five cars from three because it believed the project was not viable.

DRB-Hicom executive chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil told the Malaysian New Straits Times in January that he aims to at least triple Lotus sales to 3000-4000 to the end of March 2015. He said the main markets would be China, Japan and the United States.

The sales increase would come from new variants of the existing three-car sportscar range of the Elise, Exige and Evora, Jamil told the Business Times in Malaysia in a separate interview.

Lotus declined to confirm Jamil’s comments.

Lotus sells about 1,000 cars a year. The company said its vehicle sales are up by more than 20 percent to 776 cars in the first six months. The company said it will recruit 45 engineers, 40 production line staff and 18 graduates, increasing its staff to 1,200.

Lotus posted a loss of 115.2 million pounds (133 million euros) in its financial year to March 2012, according to figures released by the company earlier this year.

Lotus to build 150kW hyperbike

By Tim Beissmann | June 2013

Lotus has announced the creation of a new division, Lotus Motorcycles, which will produce two-wheelers showcasing the technology and sporting the logos and livery of the iconic British sports car brand.

The Lotus C-01 joins an eclectic portfolio for designer Daniel Simon (above) that includes the ‘Lightcycle’ and the ‘Bubbleship’ from recent sci-fi films Tron: Legacy and Oblivion, and Lotus’ black and gold livery for its LMP2 cars, as well as a stint at Bugatti last decade.

A joint project of Lotus’ motorsport partner Kodewa, high-tech parts producer Holzer Group, and car designer Daniel Simon, Lotus Motorcycles will launch with a circa-150kW ‘hyperbike’ employing Hollywood-inspired design and technology developed for Formula One.

Dubbed the Lotus C-01, the new manufacturer says its first model will be “the most impressive appearance on public roads on two wheels”.

The C-01 will incorporate materials like carbon, titanium and aerospace-quality steel in its construction, with the design team claiming to have placed emphasis on safety, ergonomics and design.

Kodewa has recently produced the new Lotus T128 Le Mans Prototype and is running the Lotus LMP2 program in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Simon described the C-01 as a “unique, state-of-the-art machine that carries its brutal forces with elegance and style”, likening it to “a high-tech monster in a tailored suit”.

“The C-01, with all its top-notch components and materials, is first and foremost emotional, heartbreaking, at times playfully retro, and always clearly a Lotus,” Simon said.

“Lotus is a glamorous name with a rich history, and the C-01 celebrates it proudly: the shapes of the marvellous Lotus 49 were a main inspiration, and all colour schemes pay homage to iconic Lotus racing liveries, such as the dashing black and gold.

“The intersection of past and future never fails to fascinate, and so does the unique idea of the C-01.”

Lotus Motorcycles will release images and additional details of the C-01 in the coming weeks.

2014 Lotus Elan

Lotus revives one of its most hallowed badges, adding a few pounds in the process

Avert your eyes, stringback-gloved purists: A new Lotus Elan is set to debut at the Paris auto show, and, for the first time, the model will not be available with an open top.

First, a bit of history: The Elan badge dates back to 1962, when Lotus was a fledgling concern known largely for its motorsport success and an impractical sports car called the Mark VII, or 7. That year, it launched a gossamer wisp of a rear-drive roadster, one that weighed just over 1700 pounds and sprinted to 60mph in 7.1 seconds. It would prove to be one of the defining moments in sports-car history.

The Elan was a massive success, injecting much-needed cash into Lotus’s coffers and serving as the benchmark for the modern sports car. A host of derivatives followed, both in-house and out (the first-generation Mazda MX5 was an unabashed Elan tribute), and although Lotus revived the name in the late 1980s for a front-wheel-drive convertible with an Isuzu-sourced powertrain, the first-generation Elan is widely hailed as Lotus’s masterstroke, and one of the greatest cars ever built.

In short, the Elan is Lotus, and Lotus the Elan, and we can therefore assume that the resurrection of the name was not taken lightly. The ingredients for success—if not an accurate recreation—are present: The car that will be shown in the Paris 2014 show is a 2900-pound, rear-wheel-drive coupe due for production this year. Power comes from a mid-mounted, 4.0-litre Toyota-sourced V6 that spins to 7800 rpm and uses forced induction—no word on what type—to produce 444hp and 343lb-ft of torque.

Top speed is claimed to be 193 mph, and Lotus says that 60mph comes up in 3.5 seconds. Two seats are standard, but as with the first Elan, a 2+2 configuration also will be offered. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is the only available gearbox, and a “push to pass” F1-inspired hybrid system will be optional. Price is said to be around £75,000, which we hear will also be the approximate price in $US.

Like the original, the ’14 Elan will sit in the bottom half of Lotus’s product range, perched above a lighter, cheaper, and more focused model (the all-new ’14 Elise, which fills the slot once occupied by the 7) but below heavier, faster, and more expensive cars (the Paris-announced Elite, Esprit, and Eterne, which recall early high-dollar Lotuses like the 1970s Elite and original Esprit).

If nothing else, the parallel is interesting—Lotus founder Colin Chapman used the first Elan’s success and volume to fund the company’s growth, moving upscale and chasing profits through costly, low-volume offerings. More Lotuses are always a good thing; here’s hoping this one lives up to its name.

Devon and Cornwall Police Lotus

A Lotus Evora decked out in police livery is being used by officers in Devon and Cornwall in the UK to raise road safety awareness over the summer.

The car had already allowed officers to chat with people who might otherwise not otherwise talk to them, Devon and Cornwall Police said. However, it was not an operational police car, and was not involved in high speed chases, the force said. The car has been lent to the police by Lotus for free.

It is appearing at motoring events across both counties, including Newquay’s Run To The Sun, from 24-27 May, before going back to Lotus. Sgt Owen Messenger said responses to the car at several events so far had “been overwhelming”.

He said: “People literally flock to it. It’s a stunning looking car and with the police badges, it’s very unusual.

“Understandably we get a lot of interest from younger drivers and those with an interest in performance cars and that gives us the chance to talk with them over issues of road safety.”

World’s fastest Lotus?

Like to hear your thoughts on this

Another Electric Lotus

Detroit Electric Comes Back From The Dead To Make Yet Another Electric Lotus

Story by Travis Okulski

Without even making an electric car themselves, Lotus has inadvertently made quite a few over the years. First there was the Tesla Roadster. Then Chrysler had the Europa based Circuit EV. There was a Detroit Electric-branded Elise a few years back. And now Detroit Electric is attempting a comeback with a limited edition sports car. And yes, it’s another Lotus.

It does make sense that they’d use a Lotus. The lightweight construction will keep the weight reasonable after the heavy electric drivetrain is added. Also, Detroit Electric is run by former Lotus man Albert Lam, which gives them an inside line to the cars. The puzzle pieces keep coming together.

The Lotus used this time looks to be the brand new Exige S.

A stock Exige S has a supercharged Toyota V6 which is good for 350 horsepower and some spine tingling good times behind the wheel.

The Detroit Electric version will have electric motors (duh) in place of the V6. They are yet to say what the power or weight gain will be, but I imagine they want it to be fast.

Another sticking point is the platform in itself: The Exige is not street legal in the USA because its airbags don’t meet stringent federal regulations. If they replace the airbags and add an electric drivetrain, the Detroit Electric car will be a good hunk more expensive than the $75,000 Exige.

Detroit Electric has some aggressive plans for how they’re going to restart the company. They’re planning on building a facility in Michigan that can produce 2,500 cars each year. The Electric Exige will be officially unveiled in Michigan next month and then sent to Shanghai.

More power to them, hope it works out.

Evora to get ‘fake shifting’?

Lotus pondering ‘fake shifting’ for Evora 414E plug-in hybrid

Evora Hybrid
By Danny King

Some would say Lotus has some credibility among the green-car set since it supplied the body for the Tesla Roadster and has always been obsessed with extracting maximum performance from light weight. Now, our friends at Green Car Reports are suggesting that the UK boutique sportscar operation could lose that reputation by simulating the acceleration of a conventional geared transmission for its Evora 414E extended-range plug-in.

According to GCR, Lotus may design the car to temporarily cut power under acceleration to simulate the shifting process so that drivers can make-believe they’re driving a car with a conventional gear-based transmission. Citing what it calls “a person close to Lotus Engineering,” the report suggests Lotus may also drop in some commensurate sound effects.

As fans of the “seamless” acceleration delivered by an electric, transmission-less motor, Green Car Reports deems such efforts “idiotic,” but we are reminded of a similar technology’s popularity amongst continuously variable transmissions – artificial gear change points for paddle shifters and manual gates on gear levers on CVT-equipped models like the Mitsubishi Lancer. The false cogswaps don’t really improve acceleration – in fact, they can harm it – but the shifting sensation apparently makes some drivers feel more comfortable.

Lotus first showed off a prototype of its Evora EREV at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show and last summer revealed some if its specifications, including the delivery of 738 pound-feet of torque and a tidy 0-60 time of just four seconds.