San Diego has it’s very own Lotus Club!

The San Diego Lotus Club is now live as the newest Chapter of the Golden Gate Lotus Club. SDLC is proud to join the Bay Area parent organization as well as the sister Chapters in Sacramento and Los Angeles (Lotus Club of Southern California).

SDLC is dedicated to the enjoyment of, and enthusiasm for, one of the world’s great automotive Marques: Lotus. The club serves as a satellite chapter of the Golden Gate Lotus Club (GGLC) as a convenience to residents of San Diego and Imperial Counties as well as nearby residents of the greater Temecula Valley area of Riverside County. San Diego Lotus Club is open to all who have an appreciation for Lotus cars, Lotus’ rich history of motorsports competition and technical innovation. The San Diego Lotus Club exists to promote interest in Lotus cars by bringing together Lotus owners and interested people to engage in club events for the exclusive enjoyment of members that center around the usage of members cars.

The new SDLC organizes weekend drives to enjoy the beautiful back roads of Southern California as well as any other activity that provides for the enjoyment of our cars and things automotive. Our “fun runs” are generally scheduled on Saturday or Sunday mornings and usually include a stop for breakfast or a snack along the way.

Our inaugural event will be a San Diego County back country fun run/morning drive on Sunday 1 July.
Check out the Events page on the SDLC website to sign up / get the details.
http://sandiegolotusclub.org

Wanna join the club?
Visit the SDLC website to to learn more. Click on the membership button to join in on the fun!

We look forward to sharing our enthusiasm for the Lotus marque with you.

GGLC Autocross dates confirmed

The Golden Gate Lotus Club is pleased to announce 8 events on the 2012 calendar. Currently they are all at Marina:

Sat, April 21
Sat, May 12
Mon, May 28
Sat, July 7
Sat, Aug 18
Mon, Sept 3
Sat, Sept 15
Sat, Oct 13 (with a BBQ lunch)

We’ll have a few changes to the classing system this year, I’ll let everybody know when they are all finalized. Registration for the first event will open sometime in the middle of March.

I hope you all had a good time over the winter and are ready to compete for this year’s championship!

Colm.
GGLC Autocross Chair

Laguna Seca track day registration now open

Traffic jam at the Corkscrew
Registration is now open for the Golden Gate Lotus Club’s first track day of the year at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California on Tuesday, February 21, 2012. Please note that this event is not open to beginners. In order to maximize track time, there will only be two run groups for this event – Open Passing Group and Restricted Passing Group. You must have a minimum of 20 track days experience to register for the Open Passing Group and a minimum of 5 track days (or equivalent – driver’s schools, etc.) to register for the Restricted Passing Group.

Sessions will be approximately 30 minutes long. Cost will be $230 for members and $250 for non-members. There will be no bridging of run groups. Also, be aware that there will be absolutely no refunds. If you cancel before February 7 and we can fill your spot, we will give you a rain check for a future event. Only sign up if you know you can attend.

Click here to sign up, please sign up early to ensure a spot.

In addition, we currently have the 5 following track days tentatively scheduled for 2012. If you attend the first 4 track days, we will offer the 5th track day to you at $99.

Feb 21, Tuesday – Laguna Seca
April 4, Weds – Laguna Seca
July 6, Fri – Thunderhill
Sept 25, Tues – Thunderhill
Oct 23, Tues – Thunderhill

See you at the track,

John & Scott

LOG 31 updates

Martin Donnelly as Guest Speaker
Former Lotus F1 driver Martin Donnelly will be joining LOG 31 as the guest speaker for the Saturday Banquet. Martin, is an Ambassador for Lotus Cars alongside Jean Alesi and Nigel Mansell. He is also Chief Instructor at the Lotus Driving Academy. After competing in Formula 3 and Formula 3000 he won 3 races and was a championship contender. During 1988, as well as fulfilling his racing commitments, Donnelly was the test driver for Lotus Formula One team. But it was during 1989 that Donnelly got his first race start when he substituted for Arrows driver Derek Warwick at the 1989 French Grand Prix. In 1990 he continued in F1 with Lotus as a race driver alongside new team mate Derek Warwick. Donnelly has since managed a Formula Vauxhall team. On July 2, 2011 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Donnelly drove a Lotus 102 similar to that which nearly took his life. The Lamborghini-powered car was the same specification as the car he drove in 1990, the original car having been completely destroyed in the crash. Having worked as sporting director and driver development manager at Comtec Racing, Donnelly has recently formed the Donnelly track academy specialising in Lotus trackday events and racing services in Norfolk.

Private Viewing of the Senna documentary

Special LOG Package to the Indycar Season finale on Sunday
LOG 31 and Lotus Ltd have created a special package for the folks interested in attending the Indycar season finale on Sunday. The package includes Designated Infield Parking, Paddock & Neon Garage Passes and Reserved Terrace Seating. All for a Reduced Rate of $134 per Car + Driver (Your Passengers Pay Only $84 Each)

You must purchase your tickets by calling:
Jessica Canning
jcanning@lvms.com
800-644-4444 x.7098

When calling, provide your full name and Lotus, Ltd. as your group affiliation. Only 100 tickets are available. All orders must be placed by October 1st to allow for processing. Tickets will be available for pickup in the LOG registration room at the Red Rock. Tickets will NOT be available for purchase during registration!

Room reservation deadline
In order to receive the LOG 31 discounted room rate at the Red Rock Hotel and Casino, you must reserve your room by September 14th. Book Online or Call 702.797.7777 using promo code “LOTUSLTDLOG”

Current List of LOG 31 Events

Friday
Registration
Evening Reception by Lotus Cars USA
Indoor Karting Championship
Bowling
Round Table Discussions

Saturday
Concours & Car Show
Scenic Drives
4 Tech Sessions
Saturday Night Banquet
(With Guest Speaker Martin Donnelly)
BRM Watch Auction
Senna Movie Private Viewing

Sunday
Autocross
High Performance Driver Education at Spring Mountain
IZOD Indycar Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Scenic Drives
Sunday Buffet
(Guest Speaker Todd McCandless of Formula1blog.com)
KV Racing Technology Guest Appearance

Click here to visit the official LOG 31 website.

GGLC Thunderhill Track Day (31-Mar-2011)

Registration is now open for the Golden Gate Lotus Club’s second track day of the season at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California on Thursday, March 31, 2011. We will be running the long course configuration in the standard (counter-clockwise) direction. We will also be running our traditional format where we bridge the run groups in order to provide you with maximum track time. You will sign up for either Novice/Intermediate or Intermediate/Advanced.

Note that we have introduced an early-bird pricing policy. Cost will be $150 for members and $170 for non-members, up until March 17, 2011. After this date, the price will go up to $170 for members and $190 for non-members. Please sign up early to ensure the lower price. Also, Thunderhill is reminding us that they will be strictly enforcing a 103dB sound limit. This should not be an issue for most cars but please be aware of the requirement none the less.

Click here to sign up at MotorsportsReg

See you at the track,

John & Scott
Track Day Chairs

2014 Lotus Elite Unveiled

So here it is, the Lotus Elite, the first taste of what’s to come from Lotus in the future. Look up elegant in the dictionary and you’ll find variations on the following 1. dignified grace in appearance, movement, or behaviour, 2. superb taste in design, style and 3. something elegant; the ultimate refinement.

Lotus Elite 3qtr front top

The ground-breaking new Elite is exactly that. It’s compact yet chic body is elegance incarnate. It’s not only exquisitely elegant, in keeping with Lotus’ core values, it’s a car of substance incorporating some of the very latest technological innovations Lotus has to offer. The slick retractable hard top version and the optional use of hybrid technology with KERS are typical examples of Lotus tailoring technology to deliver perfect performance.

Lotus Elite side top

Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus said: “There’s no denying that the Elite is breathtakingly beautiful to look at but it’s so much more than that, it’s a car that over delivers in all other aspects as well. One could say it’s a car of perfect contradictions, it’s compact yet spacious, high performing yet low emitting, lightweight yet still reassuringly solid. It’s a car that we are exceptionally proud of at Lotus and we truly believe that there is nothing else like it out there both in terms of styling and performance.

Lotus Elite front

“Make no mistake, there’s a definite market requirement for the Elite – it’s the ultimate sports car feel with comfort and space. There will always be those who believe that Lotus should stick to small sports cars but we didn’t take the decision to design something like the Elite lightly, it’s based on months of careful research and planning. It’s worth noting this sector has been very successful for us in the past and now the Elite raises the benchmark higher still.”

Lotus Elite rear

Set for release in spring 2014, this is an innovative, exciting GT that will set a new benchmark in design, performance and emissions. And it’s not all about sleek lines and stunning bodywork with this particular 2+2, what hides beneath this shark like exterior perfectly does the aesthetics justice. A front-mid positioned 5.0l V8 engine delivering up to 620 PS meaning drivers can expect to go from 0-100 km/h in approximately 3.5 to 3.7 seconds.

Elite Specification*

Layout: 2+2 seater, front-mid-engined, rear wheel drive

Dimensions:

Length:                                    4.60m
Width:                                      1.90m
Height:                                     1.32m

Engine: Petrol, hybrid optional

Hybrid technology: Hybrid gearbox with integrated electric
motors and KERS

Cylinder: V8
Capacity: 5.0 litre
Power/Torque: 620 PS / 720 Nm
Rev limit: 8,500 rpm
0-100 km/h: 3.5 to 3.7 seconds
Top speed: 315 km/h
CO? approx (CO?/km): 215 g/km**
Weight: 1,650 kg
Seats: 2+2
Transmission: Full Hybrid transmission
Drive: RWD
Start of production: Early 2014
Enters the market: Spring 2014
Price indication: Circa £115,000

Lotus Challenge Series @ Laguna Seca

corkscrew4

The Lotus Challenge Series will be having a 2 day event at Laguna Seca on July 10 and 11th. They will have their own LOTUS-only run group both days. There will be a Time Trial competition and wheel-to-wheel race on Sunday. This LCS event (and run group) will be capped at 23 participants. The 92 db sound limit be enforced by the track for this event.

DSC_0230

New members are welcome to run as long as safety/driving experience requirements are met. The LCS organizers have extended a special invitation to GGLC members and Northern California Lotus owners to participate in the event. Please visit the Lotus Challenge Series website for more information.

IMG_5548

Spectators are cordially invited and there may even be some VIP surprise guests in attendance. The LCS participants had a blast last year at this historic venue, so don’t wait too long to sign up — based upon preliminary indications of interest, this event looks to be a sell-out.

laguna 2

Click here to sign up for the event. Garages will also be available to the competitors for renting.

DSC_0237

[via Lotus Challenge Series and British Speed]

GGLC Autocross #2 (June 5, 2010) Registration is now open

It's a 3 Ultralite kind of day

Registration for the second GGLC Points Event Autocross of the 2010 season is now open.

This season the Golden Gate Lotus Club is creating a new trophy and classing system for our autocrosses. There will now be just one single consolidated trophy for all Federal Elise/Exige variants that replaces all older classes for street and race tires. The new trophy uses a PAX Index based classing system which is a commonly used handicapping system for comparing times of cars which are not in the same class. The index is composed of data from across the country, and tries to take the driver out of the equation and compare only the cars. Each class in the new Elise/Exige trophy has an associated PAX index which is multiplied against your raw run time to provide single comparable time that shows the driver performance within the car. You can determine your class using the GGLC Autocross Classification tool and entering your cars specifications and modifications. Once you have found your applicable class please enter that during the registration process. The points and overall winners for the 2010 GGLC Elise/Exige trophy will be based on the class-based, PAX-indexed times only. Additionally the Open Group trophy will now mirror the SCCA classification with no special dispensations for tire compound.

Click here to register for the event.

Registration for the April 10th autocross is now open

Registration for the Saturday April 10th GGLC autocross event is now open. It is a practice event with no points and will be held at the Centennial Lot of Great America in Santa Clara. As you can see in the video we had a great time the last event there and we look forward to starting the 2010 season with another fantastic event.


Video by cxcheng

Only participating GGLC members can register during first week of registration. Club members are also given preference on the waitlist.

Click here to register on the motorsport reg site at The cost is $50 for members and $57 for non-members.


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Group Lotus and Cosworth Announce Strategic Partnership

Two of Britain’s most renowned automotive names to become closely associated through a strategic partnership looking at the opportunity to develop high performance engines for Lotus road and race cars

The new partnership includes the supply by Cosworth of high performance engines based upon existing Toyota engines for future Lotus cars and the assembly by Cosworth of racing engines for all motorsport activities which are based on Toyota powertrains. The first application of these race engines will be for the V6 engine in the new Lotus Evora Cup racing car.

Dany Bahar CEO of Group Lotus commented, “The ties between Lotus and Cosworth are, of course, already historical ones but our new strategic relationship is based purely on Cosworth’s competencies, brand and race engine development capabilities. This new strategic partnership will align two of the most renowned names in the automotive world and will be of huge benefit for both organisations.”

Tim Routsis, CEO & Managing Director of Cosworth Group said, “I am delighted that the Cosworth name is once again linked to Lotus through this new strategic partnership and these new high performance engines. Our mutual history over many decades resulted in a great number of racing successes and I expect to see further triumphs not only on the racetrack but also in the competitive high performance sportscar market, where Lotus is already acknowledged as a world leader.”

[press release from Lotus]