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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Today has become a British Car DOTS-O-Rama Sunday! More »
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Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Doesn't everyone want to own a Lotus at some point? Hell yes! More »
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A spokesman for Tesla today confirms that they knew "something" about Chrysler's surprise reveal of a Lotus-based electric vehicle and essentially calls it vaporware. Darryl Siry, Tesla's VP of Global Sales, Marketing And Service responded to a question today about the Dodge EV, revealed last month, by saying "I think what it is its something for showcasing. More of a public relations thing to support their application for their share of a 25 billion loan guarantee." Siry is of course referring to the possibly delayed automaker loan package. Why this is so hilariously ironic below the jump. More »
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It's been 60 years of Lotus, and in that time the British cottage automaker has produced a bevy of light, tossable cars that capture the essence of spirited driving. For that reason, we'll give them a bit of a break with their Diamond Lotus Europa. That's right, this is a fully-loaded Europa with leather stripped off the most aristocratic cows in England...and diamonds. Oh the diamonds. The gear knob, steering wheel and other surfaces feature jewels set in cool matte black metal (they call it "matt" black in the press release). The best touch is the rev counter and speed dial that each include diamonds highlighted by hidden LED lights. The car is valued at more than $250,000, but we imagine this one isn't going up for sale anytime soon. Press release below the jump. More »
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Everyone was pretty impressed by the Aston Martins driving from Panama to Alaska, but we must assume that rally was loaded with top-flight mechanics equipped with the correct tools. How would you feel about buying a Lotus Europa in San Francisco, hopping in, and driving straight to Alabama- across mountains and desert in the height of summer, with room for only a couple of hammers in the toolkit, no less? Reader Matt has done just that, and he's been kind enough to send us photos and a well-written description of his adventure. Jump, jump! [Picasaweb] More »
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We saw the Chuck D-centric Olds 98 in Toronto a couple weeks back, and now the Canadian contingent is back with a whole bunch of seriously rare machines for our enjoyment. Donkeyassman has spotted a Lotus Europa, Lotus Elan, Chevy Chevelle, Mazda Eunos, and a pair of Honda Beats in the city of Burnaby, B.C. So put on your tuques and make the jump for many more photos and Donkeyassman's description. More »
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There's no doubt the late-model Lotus Europa is a touring car with neither the punch nor the tautness of an Exige or Elise. But if you've got more than a slice of salami to transport, the Europa is your bastard. Here in Geneva, the company introduced a more upscale model, the SE (you go, 1984 naming conventions, you). It's the Lotus Europa SE and it comes with a more powerful two-liter turbocharged engine, upclocked to 222 horsepower and with 221 lb-ft. That's good for a zero-to-60 time of 5.5 seconds and a 13-second sprint to 100 mph and on up to an estimated 143 mph ceiling. The SE also comes with new wheels, 17" in the front and 18" at the rear, under which reside a set of four pot brakes and larger (308 mm) diameter discs by AP Racing. Lotus Design put its swank thumbprint on the SE's interior, using four whole hides of high-grade leather. All that can be yours for 10 grand over the Europa's equivalent dollar price of $55,000. Go high-profit-margin marketing schemes, go! More »
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The Lotus Europa is the Elise for people with bags to carry. Though not quite as light as the Elise, or as fast as the Exige, the Europa is a car you might be able to live with as your daily driver. Despite the addition of a bit of room and some creature comforts, the new Europa is still good for a 0-60 mph trot of 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph, thanks to a 25 horsepower boost to its 2.0 Liter turbocharged I4. The new base model comes in at a cheap $55,500 with the range topping Europa SE adding another $10,000. Despite being mostly an Elise, the Europa SE manages to distinguish itself with a unique look. Press release below the jump. More »
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With the '67 Scout 800 just barely ahead of the '78 Scout II in yesterday's International Harvester Choose Your Eternity poll, I figured today would be a good time to return to Sports Car Hell. Now, it's child's play to find innumerable cool/nightmarish British machines beckoning to you from the smoldering gates to Hell, but after seeing the Honda S800 earlier I knew what I needed to find to pair up with today's Blightymobile. More »
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While protons may be absolutely essential subatomic bits of your joe-schmoe lotus, who knew that Proton was planning to diversify and outsource its Hethel acquisition's creations? But Malaysia's Proton is doing just that, giving China's Jinhua Neoplan the go-ahead to build two Lotus models, which may be the Europa and the Gen-2 (assumedly rebranded with a moniker beginning with "e" so as to maintain the British marque's alliterative legacy. [China Daily] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=287593&view=rss&microfeed=true Don't buy a vintage Europa. Just don't. You'll screw up our fantasy of a Winnebago Brave converted into a diagonal-backed car carrier with a de-Lucased Europa on its back and a Manta on the trailer behind it. Said fantasy is all we've got. Please, please don't fuck it up. Thanks. – Davey G. Johnson More »
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What happens when Lotus develops a Proton exotic and then has it handed back to itself? The answer, unfortunately, is not Tesla. Nor is it Exige. Or Elise. Or even submarine Esprit. If the Inside Line-types ensconced in the Edmunds compound are to be believed, the new Europa S fits into a no-man's land that isn't particularly pleasing. They say it's too pricey, too noisy for the intended segment and too impure to be a proper Lotus, plus it's too off the mark to slot in anywhere else. Ouch. – Davey G. Johnson More »
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We love Lotus. We love the odd designs, we love the sheer randomness of the cars and their penchant for finding obscure words that begin with the letter E. (Seriously, who thought "Eclat" was a good name for a car? It sounds like a bowel dysfunction.) We love the Seven because it's like a well-endwed featherweight bear, if such a thing could possibly exist. We love the Esprit because it fires missiles and can travel underwater. We love the Elise because who else has the guts anymore to build such a raw vehicle and not feel the need to apologize for it? More »
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Ecotec? Really? Weird. Lotus drops the Europa S on Europa this September, and some of us are going, "We want!" 200hp in a 2200lb car? "We want!" But why, when you've got a blown Toyota mill as an available option on the Exige would you go for a turbo Ecotec that doesn't even meet Solstice GXP and Sky Red Line power numbers? It's priced around 50k, but you can't have one, because Americans don't like heavier, more comfortable cars. More »
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It's a mystery. No car whose design we've ever endorsed on this site has gotten such a unilateral thumbs-down from the Jalopnik audience as the new Lotus Europa. Most readers who've seen the press photos have (either publicly or by inbox-to-inbox, heat-seeking missive) decried it as a reject from Lotus parent Proton's factory (cross-breeding still not confirmed), with Revell kit build quality and a design-language impediment. Nonetheless, we happened on it in person today, and while we can't impart the 3-D experience in two dimensions, we at least feel vindicated to ourselves. To be sure, the Europa is no Elise or Exige, and next to those cars' slippery shapes the Europa's planar geometry appears at some angles to be as backdated as a box of animal crackers. And anyway, it's small as a toboggan and can carry a decent-sized overnight bag, despite looking like a pedal car next to the turntable model. We're rubber, you're glue. More »
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Those turned off by the cocktail-bag stowage capacity of the Lotus Elise and Exige sportsters will look toward the Lotus Europa S as God's gift to the long weekend. It's a GT car, meaning it can carry at least a change of clothing and a toothbrush, that still has its siblings' approach to weight (not a lot of it) and sports a 200-hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged mill, oriented midship, that will likely render many a country lane as "that greenish-brown blur on the way to the day spa." According to the company's Book of Facts, the engine gets 90% of torque at a mere 2,000 rpm, and all of it at 4,200, leading to a zero-to-60 time of around 5.5 seconds. And she's not a bad looker, either. (Sorry Yanks, she's only for those on the Continent, natch.) More pics after the jump. More »
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After months of waitin' and speculatin' on our part, Lotus has released pics and info on its new Europa S. Not a 2+2 as had been rumored, the new two-seat GT car will get a 2.0-liter turbo from the Opel Astra OPC, producing 200hp and 194 ft-lbs of torque. Performance figures aren't spectacular, but reflect its svelte 2,193lbs curb weight (zero to 60 in 5.5 seconds, and a top speed of 140mph). No word on an American release, but the Europa S will cost the equivalent of $58,000 in the UK. [Update: No plans for North American release.] More »
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According to the UK's Autocar Lotus won't build the upcoming Europa coupe and other models in one of the Malaysian plants owned by parent Proton. Instead, the center of Lotus's production will remain in the Hethel plant where Lotuses have been built for some forty years. Rumors circulating for the past year indicated Lotus was planning to shift production of some cars — including the next-generation Esprit V8, Europa and new Elise-based GT — to Malaysia, presumably for cost savings and to ease a ramp-up into Asian markets. Now, according to AC, the company is bringing the production materials that have already been moved to Malaysia back to the UK, including fixtures and kegs of Guiness. Still, despite the inauspicious return, the Europa is reportedly set to launch in early 2006. More »
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The UK's Car magazine is dropping choice nuggets of science on Lotus's new Europa GT car. Confirmed are the following: the Europa, to be launched in mid-2006, will be built on the Elise's aluminum chassis — giving it a weight in the 2000-lbs range, but it won't use any other Elise parts. It will, however, be powered by a version of the Opel/Vauxhall Astra's 197hp, 2.0-liter turbo four and have a power-to-weight ratio of 214hp/ton. Pistonheads found out the Europa (yes, that will be its name) will be a more relaxed, driver's car, have different headlights than the Elise, more headroom and a "flat-fronted nose" (Jake La Motta call the front desk). The price in the UK will likely be around 30,000 ($52,779), putting it in range of the Nissan 350Z, BMW Z4 Coupe and Porsche Cayman in that market. No word on US availability of the 450 cars to be built, yet. More »
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Easy folks, the new Lotus Europa is coming, just not the same one we've heard. According to sources at Lotus, a set of spy photos reportedly of the company's new Europa GT coupe aren't what they appear to be. According to the UK's PistonHeads, sources at the company say the car in question is a version of the Lotus Elise that will be marketed by the company's parent, Proton in Malaysia (and, to court another rumor, will be the next-generation US model, built in Malaysia). The spy car is a twin seater, where the Europa — due at the end of 2007 as a 2008 model — will be a 2+2. What's more, reports have indicated that the Europa would share GM's 2.2-liter Ecotec engine with the Pontiac Solstice, a rumor PH reports is pure fiction; the car will have an equally well-mannered, but far more upscale powerplant. More »
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Lotus's new model, which will resurrect the erstwhile Europa nameplate, will be a coupe worthy of a staredown with Porsche's Cayman. The newest Lotus in the pipeline will be "less frenetic" than the company's Toyota-powered Elise — drawing on the 2.2-liter GM-derived Ecotec four, found in the Opel Speedster / Vauxhall V220 to propel it (highly modified, we'd imagine). Sources at the company say the two-seater Europa, the development of which is taking an, er, back seat to the new-generation V8 Esprit currently in the works, will be more of a grand tourer than the coltish Elise — with less noise, more room and a more comfortable ride. "Auntie Elise," if you will. More »
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