Lotus CEO Danny Bahar signs new four year contract with Lotus

The word is out that Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus, has signed a fresh four-year contract following a meeting with parent company Proton last week. His original contract was due to expire next year. “The Proton dedication to our plans has always been solid, and the decision to extend my contract a year early is a signal of that commitment,” Bahar said.

The ex-Ferrari man came into Lotus back in October 2009. He then formulated an ambitious five-year business plan that was unveiled for the world to see at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. At the French capital, Lotus brought out a full range of sports cars that it will use to challenge the likes of Porsche.

Besides the fantastic five, which ranged from the next Elise to a Aston Rapide style four-door, Lotus also has plans for a small city car called Ethos. Of the lot, the first on the scene will be the new Esprit in 2013. Lotus is also planning to develop its own V6 and V8 engines for its future range.

To support the road car grand plans, Group Lotus is putting motorsports and racing heritage as a main pillar. This has seen it got into Formula 1 as a sponsor to Renault. The team will race next year as Lotus after a long battle with Tony Fernandes’ Team Lotus. The company also returned to Le Mans and is involved in IndyCar in America.

Read more »

Lotus happy for Raikkonen to take risks

  

Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus team have ruled out reining in the 2007 Formula One world champion after the Finn crashed and hurt his wrist while competing in a snowmobile race at the weekend. Memories of Robert Kubica's near-fatal rally accident last February are still raw at the former Renault outfit, with the Pole yet to get back in the cockpit after missing the entire 2011 season.

However Lotus Group CEO Dany Bahar, whose Malaysian-owned sportscar company are now the renamed team's title sponsors, made clear today that racing drivers could never be wrapped in cotton wool."It is part of our job to do things that are risky, we do it commercially and corporately, Kimi does it in his own life," he told reporters at a lunch.

"I like these characters. It's unfortunate if he hurts himself but it's part of life. "Kimi is Kimi and it will be difficult to change the way he lives," added Bahar. "It's not something we are focused on from a group perspective, saying: 'This is Kimi now you have to do everything to protect him from going out of his own house'. It doesn't work."

Lotus said at the weekend that Raikkonen, a champion with Ferrari and now making his F1 comeback after two seasons in rallying, had a sore wrist after the spill in Austria but it was "nothing to worry about".Kubica would have been the team leader on the track this year but may never drive for them again.In any case, his role has now transferred to Raikkonen whose services have not come cheap.

The team have signed France's Romain Grosjean as their second driver, dropping Russian Vitaly Petrov in a move that spoke volumes for their ambitions over the next three years. Petrov was a competent driver, good enough to get on the podium in Australia this year, but the funding he brought with him was also important. "The decision we took was that we need to bring the team to the next level," said Bahar, who was embroiled for much of the year with rivals Team Lotus over the use of the iconic brand in Formula One.

That dispute has now been resolved, with Malaysian-owned Team Lotus renamed Caterham.
"Now we have one issue solved, we have a clear identity and a clear brand. "Now it's the next step, to restructure the team, to bring in new talent, technical talent, an experienced driver, maybe not to go after 'pay drivers' any more, not to look to the highest bidder any more," said Bahar.

 "It's really to get more and more competitive." Petrov's departure will have financial consequences but Bahar hailed it as a bold move, just as Raikkonen's arrival was a gamble. "It's a brave decision to say: 'We're not after the money, we try to go the hard way...we try to succeed through performance, with the best people coming in, best driver coming in, and make the team better'," he said.

"We have to fight even harder to get the money, even harder to race and to get sponsorships, but we believe we have a nice offer especially now with the two brands combined."Bahar said Raikkonen, 32, had matured a lot and knew what he was letting himself in for."It's a different time and he has to deliver, and I think he realises that," he said."If we get the car right then the sky is the limit for us."

Read more »

Lotus hope new line-up heralds return to top in F1

Lotus aim to be back at the top in Formula One within three years, team principal Eric Boullier said today after announcing France's Romain Grosjean would partner Kimi Raikkonen next season.The team were constructors champions as Renault in 2005 and 2006, with Fernando Alonso also winning the drivers' crowns, but have not won a race since 2008 and finished a distant fifth overall this year.

Both their 2012 drivers will be making comebacks, with 2007 world champion Raikkonen returning after two years in world rallying. Grosjean, the 2011 champion in the GP2 support series, started seven races with Renault in 2009 without scoring a point.

"We've changed our two drivers, which is not fashionable but corresponds to owners Genii's desire to become a 'Top Team' again," Boullier told reporters."The plan is to be world champions in two or three years' time." Grosjean could not resist a smile at that idea. "World champion in two or three years, that's fine by me," grinned the Swiss-born driver. "It's hard to describe how I feel.

"I've had a rather unusual journey with a first stint in Formula One which ended in 2009 in a not very glorious fashion but which was necessary for my maturity.It all makes me believe that perseverance pays off."

Grosjean, who worked in a Swiss private bank while racing his way up to Formula One, will not be over-awed by Raikkonen after previously being with Alonso in a team built around the Spaniard, now with Ferrari.  starting to get used to racing alongside a world champion," he said.

"I will have to try and match his pace. He has stopped for two years but is a great champion capable of doing good things." Grosjean will be one of at least two French drivers on the starting grid, with Charles Pic lining up for Russian-backed Marussia, the renamed Virgin Racing who have yet to score a point."We are both there now and even if the aim is to be the best on a sporting level, there's no rivalry."

Boullier said the team's relationship with Robert Kubica, the Pole who would have been their number one this year but ruled himself out for the season with a near-fatal rally accident, was at 'point zero'."I don't know if there will be a future between Lotus Renault and Robert," he said.

"We have two race drivers, we'll see who is the third (reserve)." Belgian Jerome d'Ambrosio, who lost his seat at Virgin/Marussia after a rookie 2011 season, could be in the frame as one of the drivers in Genii's Gravity Sport Management stable run by Boullier.

Read more »

Lotus goes hybrid

Buy a base model, new-era Lotus and it’ll be a hybrid. Go for the hardcore version and it’ll strip out the electric motor and plenty more besides to offer a lightweight, utterly focused sports machine.

That was the message from boss Dany Bahar yesterday as he revealed more about the future line up, which starts in 2013 with the launch of the V8 Esprit at the Geneva Motor Show.

“There is one powertrain, with two configurations. One is hybrid and the sporting variants are non-hybrid. That is the same approach for every car,” Bahar said. He admitted the sporting variant might actually put out less horsepower once you’d taken away the 74KW (100hp) electric motor, despite a hike in power of the V8 (he mentioned a figure of 640bhp), but he promised the difference would be made up by shedding kilograms, achieved partly by extensive use of carbon.

“They’ll be pure driver’s cars, nothing unnecessary, no leather, and even the seats in carbon fibre. Whereas the base version is more mainstream,” he told us. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale.He suggested the hotter versions could be dubbed R, with another, even more focused model above that. Talking about the Esprit he said “there will a second derivative of the R which is even more hardcore, which is even lighter. It’s pure nothing. We call it [internally] GT3.”


Way down the other end of the scale, he revealed the Ethos supermini, developed as a range-extended hybrid or pure EV, will cost around £29-30,000 when it goes on sale after the cooking Proton version is launched in 2014.

Bahar also talked about the future for the current range of cars. The cost of the carbon-fibre bodied Evora GTE, which will go on sale in March, will be between £110,000-£120.000. Powered by a 444hp supercharged version of the 3.5 V6, it loses around 120kg compared to the standard car.

Traditionalists rejoice - there's life in the Elise til 2015

He also confirmed a “heavy programme” of improvement for the current Elise, continuing to 2015, and the Exige, which goes beyond that. Lotus already has 270 orders for the 3.5-litre V6 Exige S.

And finally we had to ask him about the Lotus partnership with Swizz Beatz. Sorry, but we just don’t get it…. “It’s because it’s not meant for this part of the world, it’s meant for the US,” Bahar said unapologetically.

“What our tie-up with him has done in three to four months is incredible. Our products are in many music videos, we have designed five really, really very good looking chrome-coloured cars and we’ve sold five of them for a silly price, and all through him. It’s a different world.”

V6 Exige S has already got 270 orders

V6 Exige S has already got 270 orders

Read more »

Factory-Approved Mansory Lotus Evora Due At Geneva

"Is it always wise to customise?" said the Lotus press release that landed in the PH virtual in-tray the other day. Well, um, probably not if you choose to do it with Mansory. But that's exactly what Lotus has done.

This is the Mansory-tweaked Evora, Lotus having teamed up with the German tuner to create a rather special concept for the Geneva show.

The strange thing is, considering Mansory's epic reputation for creating automotive monstrosities (you can see some of our 'favourites' at the bottom of this article), Mansory seems to have been impressively restrained. Dare we say we quite like it. Lotus is keeping quiet on the exact details of its Geneva show 'star', but it is most definite that this is not a freshened-up version of the Evora.

"Let's be clear on this: contrary to media reports, what you'll see in Geneva is NOT an Evora facelift," says Lotus. "It's a taste of the future of Lotus product customisation. Merely the first toe in the water and a showcase of the potential future."

We reckon Lotus and Mansory have missed a bit of a trick, though - if they're going to make Lotuses more expensive and heavier (as the Mansory additions almost certainly will), why not do it more extravagantly in the traditional Mansory mould? How about a bright-purple paint job on the Evora, or a gold-plated Elise?

In fact, this sounds like a call to arms for all the PH Photoshop-istas out there to create your own Mansory-ised Lotuses. So come on, show us (and Lotus) what you can do. You never know, Hethel might commission you to actually make it...

Read more »

Lotus Finally Gets Government Cash

£10m from Regional Growth Fund helps to safeguard Hethel's future

Lotus has finally managed to secure a cash injection from the government's Regional Growth Fund (RGF), having previously failed to convince the government that it was worthy of support. Originally Lotus was looking for £27.5 million, but Proton, the firm's Malaysian parent company, has since reduced that figure to £10 million. That's also expected to be backed up by an estimated £200m of its own money over the next decade that will help Lotus realise its ambitious product plans.

Crucially, the RGF money will also help to ensure that the manufacture of Lotus products remain in the UK for the foreseeable future. "This is great news for all those concerned about Group Lotus moving production overseas, to say that we're pleased with the result would be an understatement," says Group Lotus CEO, Dany Bahar.

"We are an authentic British automotive manufacturer with an incredible heritage and an exciting future ahead, this funding will play a role in assisting with the realisation of our business plan to produce a new range of sports cars with best in class performance and emissions."

"We would like to thank everyone for their support during the bid process. The local authorities, MPs and the local enterprise partnership have all played a role in helping us secure this funding - we're very grateful, it's nice to know people feel strongly enough to act on our behalf."

Read more »

Sweeter for Lotus Renault to win in Sepang – Proton

The Formula 1 World Championship kicked off with much fanfare last weekend and now the eyes are switched towards our shores when the Petronas Malaysia F1 GP kicks . As expected, it will be surely an interesting contest with 3 teams expected to fly the Malaysian flag.

Deemed as the veteran is Petronas who will be racing under the Petronas Mercedes team label with 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher in the team.

And then there is the rookie team last year under the stewardship of Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, the 1Malaysia Racing Team who had previously raced under Lotus Racing and has since changed its name to Team Lotus after the withdrawal of sponsorship from Proton who will be up on the track under Lotus Renault Racing.

Of all the 3 teams, it was Lotus Renault that caught the limelight in Melbourne when its driver Vitaly Petrov finished third and Proton Holdings Berhad, the parent company of Lotus Group is looking to build on that success and do better when the circus comes to town.

Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, the Group Managing Director of Proton said that they are confident that Petrov would be able to continue his good run from Australia into Sepang.




Set for the weekend of April 8 – 10, Syed Zainal said that a victory for Lotus Renault would be more meaningful in Malaysia as compared to Australia because it is considered as the ‘home race’ for Proton. In Australia, Petrov finished behind Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing, who is also the reigning world champion and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.




The podium finish for Petrov was made sweeter after he successfully fend off the attacks and overtaking manouvers by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso for most of the race. This surely marks a good start for Lotus who only acquired Renault Racing at the end of last season after the bitter feud with 1Malaysia Racing Team over the use of the Lotus brand in their participation.

The issue is still on-going and the court decision has yet to be made and while that is not yet finalized, both teams are still using the ‘Lotus’ banner in their team names.

Read more »

Lotus Renault GP R31

 

Technical Specifications

Chassis
Moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque, manufactured by Lotus Renault GP and designed for maximum strength with minimum weight. RS27-2011 V8 engine installed as a fully-stressed member.

Front suspension
Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones operate an inboard rocker via a pushrod system. This is connected to a torsion bar and damper units which are mounted inside the front of the monocoque. Aluminium uprights and OZ machined magnesium wheels.





Rear suspension
Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones with pull rod operated torsion springs and transverse-mounted damper units mounted in the top of the gearbox casing. Aluminium uprights and OZ machined magnesium wheels.




Transmission
Seven-speed semi-automatic titanium gearbox with reverse gear. “Quickshift” system in operation to maximise speed of gearshifts.



Fuel system
Kevlar-reinforced rubber fuel cell by ATL.





Cooling system
Separate oil and water radiators located in the car’s sidepods and cooled using airflow from the car’s forward motion.




Electrical
MES-Microsoft Standard Electronic Control Unit.




Braking system
Carbon discs and pads.
Calipers by AP Racing.
Master cylinders by AP racing and Brembo.





Cockpit
Removable driver’s seat made of anatomically formed carbon composite, with six-point harness seat belt by OMP Racing. Steering wheel integrates gear change and clutch paddles, and rear wing adjuster.


KERS
Motor generator unit driving into front of engine with batteries as an energy store.
Motor Generator supplied by Renault Sport F1.
Electronic control unit by Magneti-Marelli.

Read more »

Renault F1 team to be renamed Lotus Renault GP in 2011

Proton's decision to buy into the Renault team and promote its Lotus brand is the latest development in ambitious plans for future expansion by Lotus. The Renault car company has sold its remaining shares in the eponymous Formula 1 team, which will be renamed Lotus
Renault in 2011.



The chief executive officer of Group Lotus, Dany Bahar, said: "I can think of no better platform for automotive brand communications than motorsport and F1 is the very pinnacle of open-wheel racing.

"We're well aware that there has been a lot of controversy around the usage of our brand in F1 and I'm delighted to be able to formally clarify our position once and for all: we are Lotus and we are back."

Renault was left with a 25% shareholding in the team in 2010 after selling the remainder to private investment group Genii Capital.  Those shares have been sold to Genii and will be then taken by Lotus Cars, which is owned by Proton.

The move means there will be two F1 teams in 2011 with Lotus in their name. The team that competed as Lotus Racing in 2010 will be renamed Team Lotus after buying the historic rights to the name under which Lotus raced from the 1960s until collapsing with financial difficulties in 1994.



The cars produced by Lotus Renault will still be called Renaults - changing that would need the permission of all the other F1 teams. A Renault F1 statement said: "Lotus plc will become a major equity partner of Genii Capital in Lotus Renault GP, and the two parties have concluded a title sponsorship agreement that will run until the end of the 2017 season."

It appears as if both teams plan to run their cars with black and gold liveries, reflecting the historic John Player Special sponsorship of Lotus in the 1970s and 1980s. Renault's statement said: "For 2011, the Lotus Renault GP cars will race in a new interpretation of the iconic black and gold colours that were last used when Lotus and Renault joined forces in the 1980s.



"This livery, which has been on the drawing board for over two months in order to reinterpret its iconic graphic signature to suit modern media requirements, is sure to strike a powerful chord with the sport's enthusiasts around the world."

Lotus Racing announced its plans to use a black and gold livery at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November. Renault's statement continued: "Renault will continue its strong support of the team with which it won the 2005 and 2006 world championships, as a supplier of engines and technological and engineering expertise. "Reflecting this technological support, Lotus Renault GP will continue to compete with the Renault chassis name and Renault will enjoy pre-eminent brand exposure on the livery."

Read more »

Paris motor show: Lotus unveils five new models

Don’t stop and think for a moment that the Lotus City Car Concept and the Lotus Elite revealed before this are the only two cars that Lotus have in store for the public at Paris 2010 – in fact Lotus has unleashed a massive onslaught of new cars, all styled with the new Lotus design language. Here are all the five cars in brief while we upload the rest of the stories for you. Our man on the ground Danny will be back soon with live photos from the motorshow floor as well.

Lotus Esprit – 2 seater, mid engined, rear wheel drive, powered by force inducted 5.0 litre V8 making 620 PS and 720Nm, redline at 8,500rpm, 0 to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds, 7-speed twin clutch transmission. Hybrid KERS system optional. Spring 2013 debut.




Lotus Elan – 2+2 seater, mid engined, rear wheel drive, force inducted 4.0 litre V6 making 450 PS and 465Nm of torque, 7 speed DCT. Debut in Summer 2013.





Lotus Elite – 2+2 seater, front-mid engined, rear wheel drive. Similar engine as the Lotus Esprit, but with front-mid engine layout. Uses a hybrid gearbox with integrated electric motors and KERS. Scheduled for Spring 2014 debut.





Lotus Elise – the bread and butter of the Lotus marque so far has been the Elise. It’s interesting to see if Lotus has done much to the original Elise’s ‘less is more’ principal. This new Elise is quoted at being 1,095kg so it’s still pretty light. The original Series 1 Elise was 725kg and the latest is about 901kg. This new baby is 200kg lighter. Power is via a 2.0 litre force inducted to make 320 PS and 330Nm of torque, taking it from 0 to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds, paired to a 6-speed manual with optional twin clutch. This Elise will debut in 2015 for about 35,000 pounds.





Lotus Eterne – this is a big bad four door super saloon from Lotus, also using a 5.0 litre V8 force inducted to make 620 PS and 720Nm with a 8,500rpm redline. It’s front-mid engined and rear wheel drive with optional all-wheel drive, and is expected to be priced at about 120,000 pounds with an intended early 2015 debut. You’ve got four doors and four seats.





Are you liking the new face of Lotus? More details coming soon! Other than these 5 cars and the Lotus City Car Concept, the Lotus stand also features the new Evora S and the automatic Evora IPS.

Read more »

Lotus announces new management team and a new Proton/Lotus model

---

Highlights: The new car will be introduced in about 18-24 months and will be sold as a 5-door Proton in Malaysia and will be sold as a 3-door Lotus in other markets around the world. It will be based on the Proton Emas concept that was shown in Geneva earlier this year but “heavily modified for daily use.”

In a joint press conference yesterday afternoon, both Proton Holdings Berhad and Group Lotus announced future business and product plans for the respective companies. Speaking at the conference were Dato Syed Zainal, Managing Director of Proton, Dato Mohamad Nazmi, Chairman of Proton and Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus.

The press conference was also held to introduce a new management team at Group Lotus comprising of some of the most respected names in the automobile manufacturing industry.Proton Chairman, Dato Mohamad Nazmi, a man known for turning around companies that are in a uncomfortable position, took to the mike first and made the bold move of apologizing for not working closer with Lotus over the past 10 years.



He mentioned that while the previous relationship between the two companies was more on a “ad hoc and contractual” basis even though Proton owned Lotus , he wants things to change under his watch with both companies to mutually benefit from each other. Proton will gain more from Lotus engineering and Lotus from Proton’s ability to produce en masse.

Next on the mike was Dany Bahar, ex-Ferrari Brand Manager and now Lotus CEO who brought us his business plan for the next five years. Of course there was the talk of bigger numbers and newer models and niches, but to help achieve the goal, Dany assembled and introduced a new management team he likens to the Real Madrid dream team.

The list is too large to mention here but trust us that it’s very impressive. Names that would make you go wow though would be the likes of Donato Coco, once Director of Concept Design and Development at Ferrari SpA. His key projects at Ferrari include the 430 Scuderia, Spyder 16M, California, 599XX and the new 458 Italia. Coco takes on the role of Director of Design at Group Lotus. Also in the list is Claudio Bero, ex-Ferrari/Fiat F1 racing chief and now Director of Lotus Motorsports.



The list of key personnel and other revamps goes on but more interestingly Lotus introduced a product outline of an upcoming model that is to take on a new niche for Lotus.

Bahar wants Lotus to “go back to where it already was once,” an engineering and style icon. If you recall, Lotus cars were a sensation in the 70s, appearing in Bond flicks and other Hollywood movies. In his presentation, Dany said he is to take the brand more upmarket in terms of creature comforts, performance, image, and of course, sales figures.

Today’s Lotus is a very niche machine catering to those who want the ultimate driving machine without any compromises; it’s a car that only an enthusiast can appreciate. The Lotus of tomorrow though is set to be much more than just the ultimate driving machine. In his push to take the brand more upmarket, Bahar also stated that he has automakers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Martin right in the middle of his cross-hairs and aims to take these powerhouses head on in terms of drivability, exclusiveness, finesse, and numbrs.



Lotus currently sells around 2,000 cars per year but aims to take it up to over 8,000 units per year and that would mean snatching customers from other car companies. To do that Lotus will have to provide a product that can compete directly with the likes of the Ferrari 458 Italia and California, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 Carrera, and the Aston Martin Vantage. Lotus will also continue to build no-nonsense cars like the Exige and Elise.

On questioning, Bahar has confirmed that a new Lotus that will be even more upmarket than the Evora will be introduced towards the end of 2012. He also ruled out the notion of Lotus working on its own engine, insisting that Toyota engine’s work just fine with some Lotus tuning. When pressed for some information on the upcoming, more powerful than ever Lotus, Dany did not rule out the possibility of using Toyota’s V10 powerplant that currently powers the Lexus LFA.

When asked if it would be detuned, Dany simply said, " ... maybe not, maybe it does not even need to be detuned, you just have to wait and see". He did not rule out the use of a V8 or a V6 either.Also in the works for Lotus is a hybrid powerplant and transmission, an Electric Vehicle, a plug-in hybrid and more interestingly, an alcohol fueled powertrain.

Taking the mike after Dany was Dato' Syed, Managing Director of Proton Holdings Berhad. Dato' Syed spoke about the joint collaboration of the two companies and urged to “forget about the past” as the two companies work towards new goals with the new team. Dato’ Syed also confirmed that Proton will be working with Lotus on a global small car which will carry the “Proton and Lotus image.”



The new car will be introduced in about 18-24 months and will be sold as a 5-door Proton in Malaysia and will be sold as a 3-door Lotus in other markets around the world.It will be based on the Proton Emas concept that was shown in Geneva earlier this year but “heavily modified for daily use.”



The next five years or so look set to be some of the most interesting for both the companies in recent times. With a very experienced new CEO at Lotus together with a new "dream team" management as well as a new Proton/Lotus vehicle that promises to go further than just a “ride & handling by Lotus” badge, we can only hold our breath for what is to come.

First up, the Paris Motor Show where Lotus is set to introduce a new model, speculations around the internet suggest that it could be a new Esprit, or a new Exige/Elise model, it could also be a Lotus SUV but Dany has said that will not happen, or it could just be a Evora convertible. We’ll just have to wait till early October.

Read more »

Lotus Exige S

14th September 2011 Cat: Lotus Exige

Lotus unveiled the all-new Exige S in Frankfurt, since the ultimate lightweight good performance sportscar.
The Exige S achieves its great performance through lightness, and big power to weight ratio. The targeted weight just for this car is around 1080 kg, and it’s got 350 PS to transport that weight around.
The revolutionary Exige also has a race car body kit fro maximum downforce and features good performance bespoke tyre package with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres as standard. A Lotus DPM (Dynamic Performance Management) switch allows the motorist to switch between three driving modes: Touring, Sport and DPM off.

Also you can order the Race Pack option which addds a Race mode on the driving settings, Launch Control plus an optimised suspension.
There’s 2 new interior package possibilities open: Premium and Premium Sport. The Premium Pack provides added style and comfort when the Premium Sport option targets creating an inside space optimised for ultimate driver involvement.

Lotus Exige S Technical Specifications
* Engine: Mid-mounted, transverse, 3456 cm3, 2GR-FE engine, V6, 24 valve
* Max Power: 350 PS / 257.5 kW / 345 hp @ 7000 rpm
* Max Torque: 400 Nm / 295 lb ft @ 4500 rpm
* Transmission: EA60 6 speed transverse Sports Ratios manual gearbox with open differential
* 0-100 km/h: ~3.8 seconds
* 0-160 km/h: 7.9 seconds
* Maximum speed: ~274 km/h / ~170 mph
* Gas tank capacit: 40 litres ( 8.8 gal [UK] )
* Dimensions
o Wheelbase: 2370 mm
o Track
+ front: 1453 mm
+ rear: 1499 mm
o Overall length: 4052 mm
o Overall width (door mirrors excluded): 1802 mm
o Overall height – midladen (according to unladen with 2x 75 kg occupants): 1153 mm
o Overhang
+ front: 880 mm (including splitter)
+ rear: 802 mm
o Ramp Angle
+ front: 7.4 degrees
+ rear: 16.4 degrees
o Target Vehicle mass – kerb: 1,080 kg

Read more »

Meet the people behind the car

Behind every great car is a team of dedicated individuals and they don’t come more passionate than the team at Lotus. From Design to Technical to Testing, each area at Lotus prides itself on having the cream of the automotive crop. What you see on the road are the direct results of their blood, sweat and tears – here you’ll get an insight into their worlds in their words.

The only way to pass the test is to take the test...
Lotus’ Testing Guru Matt Becker on putting the Exige S through it’s paces

Here his point of view :

Extreme conditions result in extreme performance...we just finished a great testing session at the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife track, which most people think of as the world’s toughest track, and the Exige S dealt with everything the track threw at it and then some. If you can make a car feel stable and exciting at speed at the Nordschleife then it will feel stable and exciting anywhere and our goal through any product testing is to make sure that the car is set up to perform at its best in an all locations.

We blow hot and cold... a crucial part of our recent test in Germany was brake and ESP testing. On the last morning we did some brake cooling performance measuring – four laps flat out – two people in the car, tank full – so the car was as heavy as possible, this is the worse condition test for the car. We needed to push the car as fast as we could possibly go in order to test the thermal performance of the brakes to ensure they can cope with those conditions and it passed with flying colours. After that I did one flying lap, the weather had not been so kind to us during this test so this was our only opportunity and it felt fast, very, very fast - we measured some of the highest lateral acceleration figures that we’ve ever achieved in a road car.



But how fast is fast?...
I’m thinking of suggesting renaming it the Exceed S... what surprised me the most, and I’m not an easy man to surprise, was the level of speed the car reaches through the corners – don’t get me wrong, the flat out speed alone is impressive but what’s phenomenal at this stage is the acceleration, handling and stability through the corners – this car is really something else. It exceeds the level of performance that we thought was possible and it’s very confidence inspiring. It doesn’t leave you on edge, you always feel like you’re in control of the car – you don’t feel like it’s going to get away from you.

Make the most of the moment... product development very often comes down to a question of timing and trying to squeeze as much as possible out of every session. When we were at the Nürburgring recently, the weather wasn’t brilliant which put a serious restriction on our already limited track time so we made the most of the location and conducted a lot of suspension, spring and damper testing on the local roads which are perfect for this.

Am I in pursuit of perfection? No, give me fun over perfection every time... generally speaking you can’t argue with performance but ride and handling can be subjective, not everyone likes the same thing so when we’re working on the set-up we have to consider what works best for the characteristics of the car and the kind of person who will ultimately end up driving it. With the Exige S, I think the most likely buyer is someone who wants to seriously play at the track as well as rule the roads so the car needs to work amazingly on both platforms.

Read more »

Lotus CEO sets out 'British Porsche' strategy

Author: Dave Leggett

A confident Dany Bahar acknowledges the plan to revive Lotus is 'super-ambitious'

Lotus Group CEO Dany Bahar has set out a medium-term growth strategy to revive the Proton-owned unit and return it to profitability.

Bahar told journalists in London that he would like to see Lotus become a 'British Porsche' rather than take on Ferrari, with the brand built up through motorsports activities and a raft of new models, racing and selling cars in every sports segment.

He also expressed a preference for Lotus to do more to develop its own engines.
"We have plans underway to think about our own engine family in our road car programmes for the future," he said."The fact that we have announced that we will be developing an engine for Indycar for 2012 shows already that we are heavily interested in becoming an engine manufacturer with our own brand."
Bahar acknowledged that the business plan for Lotus is 'super ambitious' and very aggressive. However, he said the finance is in place to fund new models and that the young management team can call on the experienced counsel of its advisory board, which includes Bob Lutz (ex-GM product czar) and Tom Purves (ex-BMW USA).

The plan on the automotive side is to transform the company with new models so that it becomes profitable over the next five years.“We aim to hit operating profit in late 2014 or early 2015,” Bahar told just-auto.
Bahar sees the addition of new models as something that Lotus is well set-up to achieve because of its low-volume manufacturing expertise.“It costs around GBP150m to develop a model in our low-volume part of the industry,” Bahar maintains. “But our manufacturing strategy means that we can do five models at the cost of only two and a half.”



The development synergies mean that total model development costs in the five-year business plan are held at GBP400m and shared vehicle architectures mean parts commonality among the new models at over 50%.  The Esprit, due to go in production in late 2012, will act as a 'donor car' for future models.
One area of continuing uncertainty is whether or not the new models, which will boost Lotus annual production to a level approaching 8,000 units a year, will be made in Britain.

Lotus is talking to the UK government about loan guarantees needed to secure funding of around GBP46m for an additional assembly facility at Hethel which would employ a further 1,000 workers.The dialogue with the UK government is now, after an initial lack of progress, going well, he says.Bahar points out that there are good contract assembly options for Lotus if it decides not to go ahead with the Hethel expansion, principally with Magna or Valmet. “If it is not UK, it will be Finland or Austria,” he concedes. “The contract assemblers are geared up to do the kind of business we are looking for [Valmet used to assemble the Boxster for Porsche] and can do it at an attractive price.”

One current fly in the ointment is the Lotus brand dispute in Formula 1.Lotus Group, he said, wanted to be recognised as the owner of the Lotus brand with the right to enter any sports activity. "We don't want other people to call their car a Lotus because the Lotus car is our brand," he said."I can see what our shareholders are trying to achieve with the other party. Since these are two Malaysian entities, I have confidence they will reach an amicable solution."

Read more »

Lotus History

 

Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics.It also owns the engineering consultancy Lotus Engineering, which has facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia and China. By 1982 the company was experiencing severe financial difficulties and Chapman sought additional capital from outside sources. The crisis resulted principally from the fact that only a handful of Lotus cars were sold each year in the world's largest market, the US. These problems were solved by a young law professor and investment banking consultant, Joe Bianco, who was able to capitalize a new and separate United States sales company for Lotus. By 1982 the company was experiencing severe financial difficulties and Chapman sought additional capital from outside sources. The crisis resulted principally from the fact that only a handful of Lotus cars were sold each year in the world's largest market, the US. These problems were solved by a young law professor and investment banking consultant, Joe Bianco, who was able to capitalize a new and separate United States sales company for Lotus.

Lotus is owned by Proton, which acquired it following the bankruptcy of former owner Romano Artioli in 1994. In 1986, the company was bought by General Motors. On 27 August 1993, GM sold the company, for £30 million, to A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg, a company controlled by Italian businessman Romano Artioli, who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996, a majority share in Lotus was sold to Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton), a Malaysian car company listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

Read more »