Month: March 2010

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Evora on Ice

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Winding Road magazine has driven the Lotus Evora on the Circuit de Serre Chevalier ice-racing circuit and came away impressed with the poise and handling

There’s a perfect feeling when you set up a curve just right, because it’s a delicate balance that you learn only after lots of tries. When we started hitting it curve after curve in the Evora with the spikey Sottozeros, we were in heaven. The 276-horsepower, 258-pound-foot Toyota 3.5-liter V-6, combined with all of the Lotus magic at the chassis and very responsive throttle setup, really did make us damned near invincible.

Click through to read the full article.

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Lotus F1 Racing heads to Bahrain

Lotus T127

By 3am on Saturday morning Lotus Racing had finally finished packing up the six airfreight boxes needed for the journey to Bahrain and the beginning of the 2010 Formula One™ season. Two cars and a 60-strong team have now made their way to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Bahrain International Circuit for the first race of much anticipated 2010 season.

On 12th September 2009 Lotus Racing gained entry onto the grid. As the team gears up for the first Grand Prix, the whole team, including the drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, remain upbeat and honest about their expectations for the first few races. Trulli commented, “It would be nice to score a point, but it is not going to be easy. We have to be realistic.”

Chief Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne said, “Our test season was extremely productive – in general we’ve had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race.”

Lotus Racing remain confident of their continuing progress. Team Principle Tony Fernandes commented, “We are all looking forward to Bahrain; to have Lotus Racing on the grid will be a momentous occasion for all involved and, indeed, for our fans, whose support has been absolutely fantastic since we launched just under six months ago. Yes we are a little slower than the major leading teams, however we will get there, with passion, hard work and a clear vision – our aim for this first Grand Prix will be to finish and steadily but surely improve, race by race.”

Lotus Racing will spend the week preparing in Bahrain and look forward to hitting the track in anger for the first practice session on Friday, exactly six months to the day after gaining their entry place into 2010 Formula One™ World Championship.

[press release from Lotus Racing]

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Evora Carbon and 414E Hybrid photo galleries

Evora Carbon and 414E Hybrid concepts

Autoblog has posted some fantastic live photographs of the Lotus Evora Carbon and the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid concept cars from Geneva. Click on the images below to see the full gallery on Autoblog.

Evora Carbon Concept
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The Evora Carbon Concept car emphasises Lotus’ motorsport pedigree, utilising beautiful high quality materials with exposed carbon fibre and plush alcantara. The striking white concept car is finished in an advanced water based pearlesent paint that contrasts with the exquisitely finished weave on the carbon fibre panels.

Evora 414E Hybrid Concept
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The Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid, so-named because this latest environmentally-focused technology demonstrator from Lotus Engineering produces 414 PS (306 kW) of power, promises breathtaking performance from a highly efficient propulsion system. The concept showcases new developments in plug-in, range-extended electric propulsion, new electronic technologies to enhance driver involvement, the adaptability of the Lotus Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) that underpins the Evora 414E Hybrid and a dramatic new roof system and interior concept from Lotus Design.

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Lotus and Naomi Campbell raise €1.4m for Haiti

The eight special edition ‘Naomi for Haiti’ Evoras auctioned to raise money for Haiti relief charities have raised in excess of €1.4 million.

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As part of a collaboration with Naomi Campbell and the White Ribbon Alliance’s Fashion for Relief campaign, Lotus has designed and donated eight bespoke charity cars to help raise essential funds for mothers, children and babies struggling to survive in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake that hit the Caribbean country of Haiti on 12th of January.

Naomi commented on Lotus Cars’ contribution, “Lotus Cars has been Fashion for Relief’s biggest supporter and has been instrumental in helping us to raise crucial funds for The White Ribbon Alliance and its partners in Haiti who are working towards rebuilding the healthcare system for mothers and babies.

“To have Lotus on board supporting Fashion for Relief is very important to Sarah Brown, myself and everyone at The White Ribbon Alliance and we are truly very grateful.”

Lotus CEO, Dany Bahar said “It was a great pleasure for Lotus to work with Naomi and the White Ribbon Alliance for this excellent cause and we are delighted that by working with Naomi, our suppliers and the generosity of the bidders, we have been able to raise such a significant sum of money to help those in need during this difficult time.”

[press release from Lotus]

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CNN to sponsor Lotus Racing

CNNLotus Racing and CNN International have today announced a partnership deal that sees the newest Formula One™ team entering into a long-term agreement with the world’s leading news network. CNN’s world famous logos will feature on the T127 race cars, the drivers’ overalls and on all team clothing.

The deal will be managed by CNN’s commercial ‘Partner Solutions Group’ and is led by Rani Raad, senior vice president CNN International Advertising Sales.

“The combination of two such iconic and aspirational global brands fits perfectly with CNN International’s worldwide reach and brand positioning,” said Raad. “This unique partnership with Lotus Racing takes CNN International into a new era of marketing and promotions and puts us in front of a worldwide audience of millions.”

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A delighted Lotus Racing Team Principal Tony Fernandes commented: “We are very proud to welcome CNN into the Lotus Racing family. It is a sign of the positive impact we have already made in the global business market that such a prestigious brand, familiar to millions around the world as the definitive source of news and current affairs, has made the decision to partner with us. The whole team and I are looking forward to working with CNN in the months and years to come on some very exciting campaigns.”

[press release from Lotus Racing]

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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]

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Evora Carbon concept revealed

The multi-award winning Lotus Evora provides the basis of the stunning carbon design concept unveiled at the 80th Geneva Motorshow. The car boasts a stylish carbon fibre, leather and alcantara interior, aggressive carbon diffuser and an evocative high tech composite body.

Lotus Evora Carbon Concept

The Evora Carbon Concept car emphasises Lotus’ motorsport pedigree, utilising beautiful high quality materials with exposed carbon fibre and plush alcantara. The striking white concept car is finished in an advanced water based pearlesent paint that contrasts with the exquisitely finished weave on the carbon fibre panels.

The head turning looks of the Evora Carbon Concept car provide a more purposeful, planted stance with the car looking lower and more aggressive. This styling direction is continued with a structural carbon fibre roof, Lotus Motorsport influenced carbon diffuser and carbon splitter. The Evora Carbon Concept car retains the same class leading handling and high tech aluminium bonded and extruded chassis of the production car.

The contemporary interior of the Evora Carbon Concept car combines the lustre of the carbon panels with perforated leather and matt alcantara. The bespoke interior uses swathes of sumptuous grey alcantara to cover the footwell, dashboard and roof. The soft texture of the leather and alcantara are juxtaposed with the hard surfaces of the carbon fibre to provide a satisfying sensory experience. k

The Evora Carbon Concept car has diamond cut forged 19” alloy wheels front and rear, shod with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres (235/35 wide front and 285/30 wide rear). The wheels and tyres give the Evora real presence filling the wheel arches and giving the car a purposeful appearance.

Donato Coco, Director of Lotus Design commented, “The design of the Evora Carbon Concept car features exotic, high tech materials that offer a good synergy with the Lotus brand image, expressing our motorsport heritage and history of stylish sports cars for which Lotus are renowned.”

[press release from Lotus]