DRB-Hicom – ‘Paris Five’ canned, Lotus not to be sold

Posted on 15th January 2013

New Era Lotus Elite - Front three quarters, motorshowDRB-Hicom held a media event over in Malaysia during the night to discuss their plans for the future of Lotus.

The company announced that the previous plan, announced at the 2010 Paris motor show, has officially been abandoned, with the majority having been cancelled before the group acquired Proton last year. Whether this means the work on the Esprit that has been ongoing has also been cancelled however is unknown.

The company does expect to deliver replacements for the Exige and Evora, based around a new platform and engine, by 2015 or 2016 and has once again reiterated that they have no plans to sell Lotus. The £270 million received in loans has been spent, and will be paid back when the loan matures

Source: PaulTan.org – Lotus: Five concept cars canned, brand won’t be sold
Discussion: SELOC Chat – ‘Paris Five’ officially canned


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Mixed fortunes for Lotus’ in the Dubai 24hr

Posted on 12th January 2013

LoTRDC Sport 160 CrashedIt was a case of mixed fortunes for the Lotus entries in the 2013 Dubai 24hrs.

Team LoTRDC suffered heartbreak as their Elise Sport 160, veteran of numerous 24hr races along with countless Elise Trophy and Lotus Cup UK events at the hands of drivers such as Jake Humphrey and Andy Green, was written off after being hit from behind by a Porsche before making contact with the wall. Fortunately the driver was unharmed.

The second Team LoTRDC entry, a Duratec powered S1 Exige, also suffered a torrid time, with numerous visits to the pits due to a failing alternator bracket requiring running repairs. The bad luck didn’t end there, with more time lost due to a puncture and finally the time retiring with engine issues.

The Motionsport Honda powered Elise and Cor Euser Evora GT4 both fared rather better, with Motionsport taking 2nd place in the A5 class, while Cor Euser took victory in the SP3 Class and finished 13th overall.

Discussion: SELOC Chat – Want to see some race action this weekend? (Dubai 24Hr)

 

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Lotus related stands at Autosport International

Posted on 10th January 2013

photoNeed a handy guide for some of the Lotus related stands at this weekends Autosport International 2013? Well then look no further.

Motorsport

Classic Team Lotus – Stand 6730
Britcar (Team Bullrun) – Stand 2200
Lotus Racing – Stand 2550
Lotus on Track – Stand 19740
Lotus on Track Racing Drivers Club – Stand 7280
MotorSport Vision – Stand 9370 Continue reading →

Posted in Group Lotus, LoTRDC, Motorsport | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Early Exige S customer cars begin to arrive

Posted on 9th January 2013

Exige S Customer CarExige S customer cars were expected to begin delivery towards the end of January, but for one SELOC member their car came through a little early!

‘Harleston‘ was the lucky person who picked up the UK’s first customer Exige S, collecting the car on Friday 4th of January from Lotus Silverstone and bringing to an end almost a year of speculation on when the cars would begin to arrive.

You can find out what we though when we had a chance to drive the Exige S in our review, and how ‘Harleston‘ is getting on with his new car in our forum thread!

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Lotus Cars – Lotus Racing set to reveal its Motorsport mettle at Autosport International where visitors can win a Driving Academy experience

Posted on 9th January 2013

Autosport International 2013 - Exige V6 CupRIf you’re at the Autosport International show this weekend be sure to pay a visit to the Lotus Racing stand for your chance to see the Exige V6 Cup and Exige V6 CupR, along with a chance to win a Driving Experience Day with the Lotus Driving Academy.

Discussion: SELOC Chat – Lotus Racing Exige V6 CupR

Lotus Racing, the motorsport arm of Group Lotus Plc, tips a nod to its enthusiast racing heritage with its plans to unveil two new Exige models, both set to wow race car aficionados during the 2013 Autosport International show. Continue reading →

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Trio of Lotus’ to take on the Dubai 24hr race

Posted on 9th January 2013

Dubai 24hr 2013 - Pre-raceMissing out on your motor racing fix during the winter break? Well good news as a trio of Lotus’ are taking to the track this Friday for the 24hr of Dubai race.

Team Lotus on Track are there with a pair of cars – the venerable Elise Sport 160 which has competed in numerous Dubai and Barcelona 24hr races and a SWLotus built, Duratec equipped S1 Exige – while Motionsport are hoping for a repeat of their class victory in last years Barcelona 24hr race in their Honda powered S2 Elise.

You’ll be able to keep up with the action on track and off on Motors TV coverage of the race, the official race website, and through our forum thread. The best of luck to all those taking part!

Posted in GT Racing, LoTRDC | Tagged , , , , ,

Lotus Cars – Lotus opens flagship showroom and launches Exige S and Elise S in Malaysia

Posted on 8th January 2013

Lotus Malaysian ShowroomLotus have opened their new Malaysian showroom in the Sungai Penchala today, the first of it’s kind in their parent companies home country.

Lotus’ future has also been discussed by Proton Executive Chairman, Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil, who talked about a two year plan to turn around the fortunes of the Norfolk based manufacturer, with a focus on Chinese, Japanese and US markets.

Discussion threads:
SELOC Chat – Lotus new showroom in Malaysia
SELOC Chat – Proton confident of two year Lotus turnaround

KUALA LUMPUR, 8 January 2013 – LOTUS CARS MALAYSIA today announced the official opening of the first LOTUS Flagship Showroom and Centre in Malaysia, strategically located in Sungai Penchala. In conjunction of the opening, LOTUS also unveiled two of its latest stars, the Exige S and Elise S for the Malaysian market. Continue reading →

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Winter Warmer 2013

Posted on 6th January 2013

Couldn’t make the Winter Warmer? Fatwomble has put together a short video of this morning run down from Ockham Common to Hayling Island.

We also have a few photos from the run below.

Discussion: Events – Winter Warmer 2013 – 6th.Jan.13 (Sun) Continue reading →

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Lotus Racing December brochure gives more information on Evora supercharger kit and Exige V6 Cup R

Posted on 4th January 2013

Lotus Racing December 2012 Brochure - Page 8At the start of the year Lotus Racing released details of their Evora GTN packages, a set of upgrades designed to convert road going Evoras in to racing going Evora GTN spec, including a supercharger kit for converting the standard normally aspirated Evora to Evora S spec.

Now the December update to the brochure is available on Issuu, providing more detail on what this kit contains of, pricing, exhaust options and an additional oil cooling kit.

The brochure also gives details on the Exige V6 Cup R, as driven last month by SELOC member ‘jokke_vlo‘. Full details of this and the Evora supercharger kit can be found below or in the brochure along with contact details for Lotus Racing sales.

Discussion: SELOC Chat – Lotus Racing December 2012 Brochure – Exige V6 Cup R and Evora Supercharger content

Continue reading →

Posted in Group Lotus, Motorsport | Tagged , , , , ,

Events: January 6th, Winter Warmer and Chilly Willy runs

Posted on 2nd January 2013

Winter Warmer - 2If you’re getting the post-holiday blues then perhaps you should consider getting your Lotus out of hibernation and joining some of our members for a drive this Sunday…

The Winter Warmer 2013 is once again making it’s annual pilgrimage from Ockham Common to Hayling Island for an early morning breakfast, while over in Wales the Chilly Willy run is heading across from Ty Nants to the appropriately named Élan Valley visitor centre for a lunchtime gathering.

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