Lotus

Lotus unveiled its Exige S Roadster at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show this week, marking the sportscar manufacturer's first Exige model with a soft top equipped straight out of the factory. Read More

If you've been having trouble comfortably wrapping your brain cells around the concept of what were once proud national symbols of excellence changing countries, such as the Malaysian-owned Lotus, the Chinese-owned Saab and MG or the Indian Jaguar and Range Rover, then please be seated before reading further. It seems that India's Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest manufacturer of both bicycles and motorcycles is considering the purchase of Italy's deeply loved manufacturer of sports motorcycles, Ducati. Read More

Having previously been forced to get rid of the Elise and Exige from its U.S. lineup because of the expiration of a smart-airbag exemption coupled with Toyota ceasing production of the 1.8-liter engine found in previous models, the 2012 Lotus Exige S is set to make it stateside - although only as a track model. The vehicle is already available in European markets, and comes sporting a Lotus Evora S-derived 3.5-liter supercharged V-6 engine producing 345 hp, and weighing in some 300 pounds (136 kg) more than its predecessor. Read More

If you fell in love with the De Lorean in the Back to the Future movie series, the good news is that in 2013, you'll be able to buy a real one again. It won't have a flux capacitor, won't time-travel and it'll still be a thirty year-old design (albeit styled by Giugiaro and structurally redesigned by Colin Chapman of Lotus fame after De Lorean himself screwed up the first design), but it will have a 200+ bhp electric motor (the original had an asthmatic V6 producing 130 bhp) and those awesome gull-wing doors and it'll be … errr ... really cool. No, really! It won't be called the DMC-12 any more either, because the 12 stood for its new price at launch - US$12,000. The new one will cost you between US$90,000 and US$100,000. Read More

There have been a number of contenders for the title of world's coolest police car featured on gizmag over the years, among them a number of Lotus models. This time the British marque is venturing away from home soil and into the heart of sportscar land where it will join the Italian Carabinieri. Read More

Dale Vince, founder of British green power company Ecotricity, decided two years ago that he wanted to create a flashy, fun, fast automobile, that ran on nothing but electricity created by his company's own wind turbines. Vince and his team proceeded to buy and gut a used Lotus Exige, outfitted it with two electric motors, and after 18 months ended up with the Nemesis – a one-of-a-kind 170 mph green machine that reportedly eats V12 Ferraris for breakfast. Read More

It looks like the folks at Lotus were busy in the lead up to the 2010 Paris Motor Show with the company unveiling no less than five new concept models taking center stage at what was the most crowded press conference at the show. Under Malaysian Proton ownership since 1996, the group seems to be ready to revive the name globally with the five new concepts all set to go into production and be released over the next few years. Read More

When you think Lotus, you think diminutive, somewhat stripped-back sportscars, but the company is signaling a new direction with the roll-out of the Elite production prototype at the Paris Motor Show later this month. The 2+2 Elite GT is, well, bigger – more room, more comfort, more weight (at 1650kg it's almost 300kg heavier than the Evora) and a front-mid positioned 5.0-litre V8 engine delivering up to 456kW and 720Nm of torque. There's also a hybrid technology option with Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) on offer as well as a retractable hardtop version. The promised performance specs are impressive – 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in around 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 315 km/h (195 mph). If you're in the market for a supercar in the US$180K price range you'll have to be patient though, the Lotus Elite isn't scheduled for production until 2014. Read More

Lotus Engineering has announced plans to develop its Range Extender Engine for series production. First shown at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Range Extender is a 1.2 liter, three-cylinder engine designed specifically for series hybrid vehicles. Read More