Lotus Cars have updated the Exige S Mini-Site with another development video, this time featuring Lotus Renault GP driver Bruno Senna and Vehicle Dynamics Engineer Paul Flemming as they test the new Exige on the Hethel test track.
There’s some interesting information on the changes to the cars dynamics and electronics, including the Dynamic Performance Management (DPM) system, so we strongly recommend you take a look.
Source: Lotus Cars – Exige Development
Lotus is set to take centre stage at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2012 as the company celebrates 60 years since the first Lotus company was founded by Colin Chapman in 1952, and the 50th anniversary of the iconic Lotus Elan sportscar.
The enviable global reputation that Lotus enjoys today grew out of Chapman’s unparalleled technical ingenuity to dominate all levels of motor sport, from club racing to Formula 1, to create a glorious and enduring legacy.
To date Lotus has gone on to win 13 Formula 1 World Championships (six drivers, and seven constructers titles), and a spectacular collection of these victorious F1 cars will be at Goodwood in the summer, along with an impressive selection of Lotus Indycars, saloons, sports and road cars, all forming a key attraction at the 2012 Festival of Speed. A wealth of current and ex-works Lotus drivers are also expected to appear at Goodwood.
Source: Goodwood – Lotus Take Centre Stage
Discussion: SELOC Chat – Lotus To Take Centre Stage at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
Lotus Renault GP have posted an interview with returning driver Romain Grosjean, who last raced for the team in 2009, about his preparations for next season.
You have mentioned the physical preparation needed for the challenge of Formula 1. Have there been any significant differences in your approach to training?
My training has remained very similar, but I must now focus more on strengthening the neck as this is essential for a Formula 1 driver and a difficult area to train. The main problem with training in winter is trying not to get too cold outside!
After a week of preview events showing off the new Exige S we thought it was only right that we weighed in with our thoughts on Lotus’s latest model.
You can read our First Impressions here, check out the full image gallery and let us know what you think in our forums.
With the new Exige S, Elise S and revised Evora it’s looking like 2012 could be a golden year for Lotus.
Over the past 7 years the Elise Garden Party and associated auctions and evenings, with the help of the Lotus community including Group Lotus, have raised £170,000 for charities such as Little Havens and HALOW.
The Elise Garden Party website has today been revamped, and organiser Michael Hipperson has sent news that further events are planned for 2012, with an aim of breaking the £200,000 mark.
To find out more about the Elise Garden Party and the supported charities take a look at their site.
The EliseParts Christmas Sale is now on until December 22nd with at least 5% off almost everything in the store – making it the perfect time to pick up a gift for that Lotus owning friend/partner/yourself!
Amongst the deals you can find 15% off uprated uniball toe link kits, 10% off a baffled sump for Toyota engined cars and a whooping 35% off fire extinguishers.
You can find out more on the EliseParts site, or in our forum thread.
Dealer preview days of the new Exige S are now under way, with the Frankfurt show car being taken on a tour of some of the UK dealerships after the Ride and Handling development car originally scheduled for use was unfortunately damaged during testing at the companies Hethel test track.
You can find the times and dates for the events along with pictures from the preview days below.
Discussion: SELOC Chat – Exige S Preview Day Photos
Lotus Renault GP have posted the second of their pieces on the technical regulation changes for the 2012 F1 season with Technical Director James Allison.
Today’s piece looks at changes to the rules regarding suspension, the car floor, the use of helium to power wheel guns, changes to the testing of the energy absorbing structures, exhaust routing and the inclusion of past Technical Directives in to the Technical Regulations.
Source: LRGP – 2012 FIA Regulations Highlights (Part 2) – with James Allison
Discussion: SELOC Chat – 2012 F1 Regulations Changes
After taking a look yesterday at the new Exige S development video and how it validates Lotus’s performance claims from Frankfurt we’ve taken the liberty of extracting the standing start sequence from the video and overlaid timing data on top of it.
As you can see the test driver reaches for fourth gear at around 105mph just 8.1 seconds after launching the car. A clear demonstration of the cars straight line performance and the effect of the new Launch Control system.
Looking at the video we can also see that along with the optional Race Pack the test car is clearly sporting the optional Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo tyres, which no doubt help it achieve this rapid getaway!
Discussion: SELOC Chat – Exige S Mini-site updated – 0-100mph content
There have been a fair few new Lotus stories in the last day or so, so rather than retread ground you can find a selection of articles to hit the web in the last 24 hours below.
Autocar – Bahar’s Lotus stay extended – Announcement of Dany Bahar signing a new contract to stay on with the company as CEO for another 4 years.
AutoExpress – Lotus city car to cost around £29,000 – Information on the electric Lotus City Car set to launch in 2015.
Autosport – Lotus: Driver choice shows intent – Dany Bahar comments on the Lotus Renault GP driver choices for 2012.
PistonHeads – Lotus goes hybrid – A brief look at the drive-trains set to power the next generation of Lotus cars. Confirmation of continued Elise development until at least 2015.
PistonHeads – Blog: Lotus design boss speaks – Dan Trent talks to Donato Coco about the Swizz Beats collaboration and the direction of Lotus styling.
If you want to have your say on this latest Lotus news then you may want to check out our forum thread.
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