Autoblog

Hey, if you missed the For Yor Eyes Only Lotus Esprit sale a couple of years ago, your shot to own another Bond-driven Lotus is on the horizon. In December, Bonhams will auction one of the two 1976 Lotus Esprit S1s used in The Spy Who Loved Me. The film is well known for the car/motorcycle/helicopter chase that culminates with the Lotus flying into the drink and turning into a submarine (one of those famous prop cars sold last year); and the Stromberg hench-babe giving chase in a JetRanger turning into a charcoal briquette.

A look at the photos Bonhams includes with its listing make it pretty clear that the interior used in the chase sequence's dialogue scenes between Roger Moore and Barbara Bach did not match the one in the actual car being auctioned. The proud new owner of this one will surely revel in the splendor of its green-and-red plaid motif! Bonham's expects this Esprit to fetch more than £80,000 -- a healthy premium over what less famous S1s go for on the open market.. Still, we'd fork it over in about two seconds if we had that kind of walking around money. For some of us, this car was our first exposure to the Esprit, and it looks as good as ever. (Even better with Barbara Bach riding shotgun...)

Follow the jump to relive The Spy Who Loved Me's chase sequence.


[Sources: BBC, Bonham's]

In 2007, Lotus released the 2-Eleven track car for customers who wanted an affordable club racer for their weekend fun time. Now the gang at Lotus Sport, the motorsports and tuning arm of the English sports car maker, has created an even more ferocious 2-Eleven, dubbed the GT4 Supersport. As the name implies, this one is designed to conform to the SRO GT4 Supersport technical rules. The modified body work is accompanied by more power, a sequential gearbox and full roll cage. The GT4 gets an extra 15 horsepower taking it to 270 with 181 lb-ft of torque. Power is put down to the ground through a new 6-speed sequential gearbox with a fore-aft shift lever. Lotus has also tied the gear position and shift indicator into the engine management system to manage torque output during shifts. Racers can upshift without lifting their foot while the engine automatically blips the throttle for downshifts. Lotus is only planning to build 10 cars initially for delivery in March 2009. This professional race car will run £78,255, although Lotus says some of the changes can be applied to existing cars for those looking to improve performance.


[Source: Lotus]

"What is it?" people will ask. They'll keep going. "It's fast, huh? How fast does it go?" The answer will disappoint them. Yes, it is fast, but when driving the Lotus Exige S240, its 150-mph top speed is not at the forefront of one's mind. Lotuses are more classically described as accurate weapons of destructed mass; light cars that handle as an extension of the driver's body. True to the roots laid down by the Europa, the Exige is a composite monocoque, carrying 1800cc of supercharged Toyota fury admidships.

Many have glommed on to the Elise and Exige as track-day toys, but we wanted to see how this most raucous of Lotuses would do as a desert island car. If all you could swing were the payments for a single car, and you got your kicks by surgically trimming apices, could the Lotus hack it? It's certainly one of the most accurate-handling street cars we've had the pleasure of driving, and it does come with such comforts as power windows, air conditioning, and an Alpine audio system with iPod interface. Sounds like the perfect everyday car for a hardcore enthusiast, doesn't it?


Photos copyright ©2008 Dan Roth/Weblogs, Inc.

Polyphony's Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is about to get a pretty substantial upgrade. The next time you boot up your Playstation 3, an update will be available for GT5 that will add the GT by Citroen, Ferrari's new California and the Lotus Evora. Lotus fans got a sneak peek into the Evora's GT5 inclusion at the British Motor Show a few weeks back, and now everybody gets to join in on the aluminum-intensive fun. It's always a pleasure to strap yourself in a Ferrari, in real-life or virtually, and the California is the latest Italian Stallion around, so its addition was a foregone conclusion. The biggest news, though, is the new French GT, which its maker says was "a partnership between Citroën and Polyphony." In the game-realm, the new GT concept will be powered by electrons generated from a hydrogen fuel cell. Even if the technology isn't quite ready for prime time in your driveway, it can always make waves in digital form, running around various race tracks while emitting nothing but water.


[Source: PlayStation Blog via Joystiq]

Lotus released its Exige Cup 260 for the 2008 model year to terrorize much larger and pricier cars on race tracks 'round the world. For 2009, the British automaker has spiced things up by 'adding lightness' in the marque's grand tradition. Weight drops by over 80 pounds this year to just under a ton thanks to copious use of carbon fiber. Coupled with a 257-horsepower 1.8-liter Toyota-sourced mill force fed through an intercooler by an Eaton M62 supercharger, the '09 Exige Cup 260 should hit 60 mph in less than 4 seconds. Electronic goodies such as launch control combined with variable traction control, plus 40 kilograms of downforce at 100 mph, do their best to keep the car planted on the track.

Race-ready bits like forged wheels wearing Yokohama A048 LTS tires, Eibach springs over one-way adjustable Bilstein dampers and cross-drilled and ventilated discs at all four corners highlight the serious intent of this car. Plus, a standard roll over hoop, dealer-installed full front roll cage and FIA compliant electronics are there to keep your track days safe.

Those masochists wishing to drive the Exige Cup 260 on the streets can do so anywhere in the European Union where it's road-legal, but that would be missing the point entirely. Get yours in the U.K for £45,995. Full specifications and ordering information are after the break.


[Source: Lotus via ConceptCarz]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the K.07 Spyder

When the K.O7 Spyder broke cover in Geneva we were struck by its bold design (it was penned by the guy who gave us the Enzo and the Quattroporte), but seriously doubted that the track star/supercar would ever see production. Well, a limited run of 99 K.O7s will go on sale on November 1st for the princely sum of 19,500,000 Yen. Yep, that's near-as-makes-no-difference $200,000 -- an awful lot of money for very little car.

And when you consider that it's essentially a modern remake of the fenderless Lotus 340R, which itself seemed expensive back in 2000 at $70,000, you've got to wonder how many more orders Okuyama-san will be taking beyond the 24 cars pre-ordered by Tag-Heuer, who've had a hand in the project since its inception just a year ago. You may remember that the Lotus 340R never reached its performance target of 340 bhp/ton, largely because it was powered by Rover's asthmatic K-series engine. This is why three-hundred and forty 340Rs were built -- the number had to stand for something.

Similar doubts surround the final performance figures for the 750-kg (1,653-pound) K.O7. Okuyama Design say that the good ol' Toyota 2.0-liter found in the Elise and Exige will be good for "200-240bhp", but we don't see a supercharger, nor room for one. However fast it turns out to be, it's a fine looking machine and is bound to remain exclusive.

Check out the gallery of images taken at yesterday's launch deep beneath Tokyo's streets. Note there was an K.O8 electric EV in attendance, sans batteries or electric motor, but since it took Ken just a year to get the 7 from drawing board to production, who knows... we may be back in that garage again in a year's time, reporting for AutoblogGreen.

Lotus is celebrating its 60th birthday this Sunday at its Hethel headquarters in England, and the British sportscar maker has put together a special edition of the Europa to celebrate. This one is specially configured for the diamond anniversary just to appeal to the likes of Paris Hilton. The special custom gear shift lever and other switches are in-set with diamonds in black metal so they will be all sparkly! On the outside, the high-gloss black paint has tiny bits of glass in it similar to the tuxedo black finish on the Lincoln MKS. The glass adds even more sparkle to the paint in sunlight than a conventional metallic finish. All kidding aside, if the paint is anything like the Lincoln finish it will look great. The Europa also gets some unspecified performance upgrades to give it a sub 5-second 0-60 dash and 146 mph top end. It's not clear, however, if this £150,000 Europa is a one-off or if Lotus is planning to build more.


[Source: Lotus]

Click for updated gallery of the Lotus Clark Type-25 Elise SC

Lotus has a dedicated following around the world, and many of them were undoubtedly disappointed that the first special edition of the new supercharged Elise was limited to just 25 examples, all of which were sold within the UK and Ireland. Although Lotus enthusiasts in the U.S. will surely remain disappointed, a handful of those in Europe will get another lucky chance at limited edition Elise ownership with Lotus' announcement that it will produce an additional run of 25 examples of the Clark Type-25 Elise SC for sale on the continent.

The special edition is named for legendary Scottish racing driver Jim Clark and features an array of special retro touches, including a British racing green paint job with a broad yellow stripe and white circle on the door. It's based on the 218 hp blown Elise SC, which remains mechanically unchanged. An additional 25 examples of the special Lotus are available now in Europe for €44,100 before local taxes, which translates to about €54k in Germany, France and Italy.

Follow the jump for the full press release, and click on the thumbnails to view our updated gallery of images of the special edition Elise.

[Source: Lotus]

Click above for a gallery of the Lotus Elise by Kahn.

Special edition Elises are becoming a dime-a-dozen, but Lotus decided Kahn Design should be tasked with creating its own bespoke version of the Elise to celebrate the automaker's 60th anniversary.

Kahn, primarily known for its body-kit-equipped Astons, Benzes, Landies and Rollers, has taken the standard Elise and given it an aesthetic once-over in an attempt to justify it's yet-to-be-disclosed price tag. The enhancements include a new front splitter, side skirts and rear wing, along with silver mesh fitted to the side air intakes and rear clam. The seats have replaced with thicker, leather thones and the Kahn logo has been embossed on the headrests, center console and steering wheel. In keeping with Kahn tradition, performance modifications are limited to 19-inch wheels, a new suspension and a sports exhaust.

The Kahn Elise will officially debut next month, with sales beginning later this year through the UK's Dream Machines Lotus dealership.


[Source: Autoblog.nl]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lotus Concept Ice Vehicle

We can forget all about the price of gas when we get news like this. Sure, we'll probably never ride in the Concept Ice Vehicle (CIV), but just knowing that folks at Lotus are working on things like this while we sleep... well, it's like finding out that there is a Santa Claus.

The CIV was developed to aid research for the Moon Regan TransAntarctic Expedition. The biofuel powered, propeller-driven trike on skids is 4.5 meters long and 4.5 meters wide with an independent suspension all around. It also has an ice penetrating radar to detect crevasses and is light enough for a man to pull it across difficult terrain, which basically makes it an Elise for explorers. It also appears to have a spiked "foot" under the cockpit, perhaps for stopping on icy terrain.

The CIV will lead the way for two other, heavier support vehicles as the explorers make their way from one Antarctic coast to the other. If you think the CIV is cool, have a look at the Econoline van, each with six independently-driven 44" tires. These monster vehicles were engineered by those kooky folks in, where else, Iceland. Check out the gallery of CIV photos below, and follow the jump for two videos of the slickest sled on snow.


[Source: Zercustoms]