Jalopnik: Lotus

Anatomie d’un Depart Is A Silent Movie About A Turbo-Era F1 Race

Peter Orosz — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST

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At the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix, the French oil company Elf sponsored a crew to film the drivers and the teams as they readied themselves for the race. The result was Anatomie d’un Depart (“Anatomy of the Start”), ten mostly silent minutes set to a loopy Serge Franklin score, interspersed with the occasional squeak of a racing glove on a visor and some burbly turbos. More »

Lotus Will Continue To Ruin Company With Convertible Something

Patrick Frawley — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST

Lotus has produced some fine convertibles in the past — the original Seven, both front-and rear-drive Elans, the Elise — so you'd think a quirky announcement alluding to a new open-top model would be welcome. It might have been if it wasn't from Dany Bahar's Lotus. More »

Watch a Lotus thread the needle at 152 miles an hour

Raphael Orlove — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST

In the ballsiest racing pass in a long time, a Lotus Exige GT3 sliced between a Miata and a Boxster in Australia's Island Magic Enduro 2011 race, overtaking both cars at 152 miles an hour with barely inches to spare. Was this a safe pass? More »

Kimi Räikkönen was having a shit

Peter Orosz — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:30:00 EST

Hate him for poaching Lewis Hamilton’s drivers’ title or love him for his bottomless Scandinavian cool, 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen is back in Formula One, after signing a two-year deal with Lotus Renault. It’s time for embarrassingly cool moments at Grands Prix yet again, like his classic line about a pre-race bowel movement at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix. More »

For $75,000, wake up rip 'Vette winkle

graverobber — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Did you ever jones to buy a brand-spanking new C4 Corvette ZR1 but for whatever reason could never pull the trigger? Well, today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe never-been-kissed Corvette ZR1 will give you another chance, while its price may feel like you're the one getting spanked. More »

For $37,500, be special, John Player Special

graverobber — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Corinthians 13:11 famously espouses shunning childish ways upon reaching maturity. I had a go kart as a kid, and if that admonition means giving up like-handling cars such as today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Lotus Exige S, well then hells no. This particular one's price however, might have you asking its seller, what are you, kidding? More »

Lotus is the new Lotus

Peter Orosz — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:30:00 EDT

The incredibly confusing mess of the two Team Loti in Formula One has, as expected, apparently been resolved at an FIA meeting. From next year on, the gold-and-black Lotus cars will be called Lotuses, while the yellow-and-green Lotus cars will be called Caterhams. More »

Lotus finally builds something light again

Raphael Orlove — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:30:00 EDT

Lotus is finally adding lightness to its product lineup, becoming the first car manufacturer to make and run karts, the first stepping stone for a driver to top-flight motorsport. More »

Lotus to run former F1 star Jean Alesi in 2012 Indy 500

Justin Hyde — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EDT

Among the smarter moves made by the nü-wave crew at Lotus has been hiring former Formula 1 star Jean Alesi as a brand ambassador/Jeremy Clarkson ballhandler. Today, Lotus announced it was giving Alesi another job: Running the Indianapolis 500. More »

Colin Chapman’s simple and chilling definition of a Formula One race car

Peter Orosz — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 13:30:00 EDT

To see the most interesting document at the Frankfurt Motor Show, one had to get a particular stool at Lotus then not sit down on it. Beneath a layer of glass was a page from Colin Chapman’s notebook from the summer of 1975 which contains many of his iconic quotes about Formula One cars. Some are simple, some are cavalier, and some, in light of the fate of some of his team’s best drivers, are frighteningly callous. More »

Lotus has lost its Frankfurting mind

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT

Lotus just pubbed a post and video teasing what may be a facelifted 2012 Lotus Exige on its media site. The headline of the post? "The Lotus Fight: What The F...rankfurt?" It's making us continue to wonder "What The F-" as well. More »

Ride through the Alps on a Lotus

Justin Hyde — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EDT

From a 192-mile drive through the Swiss and Italian Alps to Monaco, Jasper Dekker and Ard Jacobs distilled this four-minute clip of riding along on a Lotus Elise through the Stelvio Pass and beyond. It's enough to make you swear off interstates. More »

Lotus Renault puts a Senna in its F1 car

Justin Hyde — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EDT

Confirming widespread reprorts, Lotus Renault said today that Bruno Senna, nephew of racing great Ayrton Senna, would run the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, bumping Nick Heidfeld. This can't be just another marketing ploy by Lotus, right? More »

Lotus mourns death of fun with Matte Black final Exige

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:30:00 EDT

It's the end of an era — the last of the Lotus "comeback cars." Lotus will reveal the Exige Matte Black Final Edition – an exclusive bit for North America — at the Pebble Beach car-o-thon next week. More »

Performance through lightweight explained

Peter Orosz — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:30:00 EDT

This photo of the Team Lotus pits at the 1970 British Grand Prix finally reveals what Lotus founder Colin Chapman (background, with stopwatch) meant by performance through lightweight. It’s nothing to do with pencil-thin suspension pieces or cross-drilled aluminum parts and all to do with having British supermodel Twiggy (foreground, sullen), who weighed 90 pounds in her modeling days, hang out in the team’s garage as their lucky charm. More »

Italian cops now cruise in a Lotus Evora

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EDT

The Italian highway cops have their Lambo, but the hard-asses at Arma dei Carabinieri are getting two Lotus Evora S cruisers. The specially-equipped cars have voice recognition tech and a refrigerated compartment for blood-and-organs transport, or keeping their Limoncello cold. More »

The sound of 62 years of F1 cars launching

Bill Caswell — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:30:00 EDT

The sound of an F1 engine has changed so much over the years. While I like the high pitch whine of the current cars, it sounds more like a missile being fired than a race car. But I shouldn't complain as I'm sure one day they will be electric or something that doesn't make any noise. That'll really suck. Because I like the noise. More »

Spectacular collection of race cars take over Poland

Peter Orosz — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:30:00 EDT

Warsaw’s Verva Street Racing festival has officially made the Polish capital the coolest car city in Central Europe, with 110 cars racing on a street circuit in the middle of town. Famous car people were also in attendance: joining the six vintage Lotus F1 racers were, among others, Jay Kay and the artist formerly known as The Stig. Here’s Warsaw photographer Adrian Lepa’s gallery from the event, handpicked exclusively for Jalopnik. More »

The beauty of Loti against the sun

Peter Orosz — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EDT

When you had that photo of an Esprit on your bedroom’s wall in the ‘80s and closed your eyes, this is probably how you imagined life with a mid-engined Lotus: a never-ending winding road in never-ending sunset. Back then, there was no Evora an Esprit could transform into, but Richard Morris’s latest video solves even that pesky problem. Morris, whose photography and videos we’ve featured here before, shot this clip for UK-based Lotus specialist Scott Walkers. More »

92-year-old crashes Toyota Camry into Lotus dealership

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EDT

A very senior citizen from Southfield, Michigan pulled the old gas-instead-of-brake trick in her Toyota Camry and sent it barreling through the front window of a speciality European car dealership, crashing right into a $78,000 Lotus Exige. Are Toyotas programmed to destroy exciting cars? More »

Lotus vs. Lotus settled in favor of Lotus

Justin Hyde — Fri, 27 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT

A British judge ruled that Tony Fernandes' Team Lotus could keep racing in F1 as such, while Dany Bahar's Group Lotus gets the black livery for its Renault-powered team and rights to Lotus road cars. Who's appealing? Guess. More »

This is the joke Lotus has become

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:30:00 EDT

We don't normally print press releases, but no amount of spleen-venting about how Lotus has become a bunch of unrepentant starfuckers led by an over-coiffed little shit can better illustrate the joke Lotus now is than just printing their own drivel in full. More »

Formula One racer spends holiday slideways in a Seven

Justin Hyde — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:00:00 EDT

To mark its purchase of Caterham, Team Lotus turned loose Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen in the special Lotus-liveried edition Caterham Seven — a car so light it doesn't need a LCD readout to tell the driver "do a skid, bro." More »

The hypnotic wonder of fast cars slowed down

Peter Orosz — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EDT

Richard Morris’s supercar photography has been featured here on Jalopnik before. It turns out he shoots, edits, and produces video too. This is his showreel for 2011. His images of a Lotus on a B road, an Ariel Atom on a racetrack—or vice versa!—have a way of wishing away office partitions for an endless spring afternoon and something with little weight, perfect balance, and lots of yellow on its fiberglass exterior, be it paint or the setting sun. More »

Watch Vitaly Petrov's "yee-ha" jump during the Malaysian Grand Prix

Mike Spinelli — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EDT

F1 Driver Vitaly Petrov was in eighth place during the Malaysian Grand Prix today, when he ran wide at turn 7, then launched his Lotus Renault over the kerbing. The steering column snapped on impact. Podium for teammate Nick Heidfeld, though. More »

Lotus Exige owner survives horrific collision with BMW

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EDT

The driver of what's left of this Lotus Exige collided with the driver of the overturned BMW 330ci convertible late last night in Huntington Beach, California. Both were taken to the hospital, yet both somehow survived. More »

15 foreign exotic cars the feds won't seize

Keith Barry, Wired Autopia — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:30:00 EDT

Our story about the crackdown against imported Nissan Skylines raised another set of questions about which foreign exotics can be brought into the United States. Keith Barry at Wired's Autopia explores the murky world of "show and display." — Ed. More »

Is the Elise Club Racer the last lightweight Lotus?

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST

Cheaper, lighter, faster? Shouldn't every entry-level sports car share those values? Lotus's new entry Elise for Europe — the Club Racer — is at least two of those things. Just 1,931lbs, the stripped-down Elise is exactly what Chapman ordered. Is it the last hurrah of the Lotus he envisioned? More »

The government's stopping GM from re-hiring Bob Lutz

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:10:00 EST

Former General Motors product czar "Maximum" Bob Lutz left the company last year, but new GM CEO Dan Akerson's been trying to get him back. The only thing standing in his way according to The Daily Beast is the U.S. Treasury Department, which fears the move could be perceived as a golden parachute. More »

For $22,500, Pick up one share of birkin stock.

graverobber — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

Originally feted for its added lightness, the Lotus Seven has always been a heavyweight of the homage car business. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Birkin is just one of a bunch, but will its price make this Seven the one? More »

The tangled paternity of Lotus Racing, simplified

Justin Hyde — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST

This year's Formula 1 grid features Team Lotus racing against Lotus Renault GP, with both sides hiring as many lawyers as engineers. At his Grand Prix blog, Joe Saward constructed this handy chart showing the complicated peerage. Although I think Peter's is a bit more simplified, this tells an entirely different story, doesn't it? Click for full details. More »

Lotus, The Lifestyle Brand

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST

Lotus is launching Lotus Originals, "refined luxury knitwear and leather goods" representing the Lotus lifestyle. Judging by this photo, the lifestyle Lotus is trying to push is 2/3rds metro-sexual rich jags in tacky leather jackets, 1/3rd car. [Lotus Originals] More »

Lotus Versus Lotus F1 Dispute Going To Trial

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:15:00 EST

"Just been to High Court for Lotus v Lotus. Both legal teams taken aback as judge orders full trial." [@TomCaryF1] More »

REPORT: Lotus Developing Its Own V6, V8 Engines

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:45:00 EST

Lotus developing new "lighter" V6, V8 in-house. Good bad news or bad good news? You decide. [Automobilemag] More »

The Enigma Of Ayrton Senna's Nephew Bruno

Peter Orosz — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:45:00 EST

A few months before his death, Ayrton Senna remarked the now-famous line about his sister Viviane's 10-year-old son: "If you think I'm fast, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno." We've now seen him race. But have we really? More »

What Could Be Better Than One New Lotus?

Tom Joslin — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST

A line of nearly complete cars at the Lotus factory in 2008 is quite a sight. We are willing to bet memories of track days and driving fun have replaced the new car smell by now. (Photo Credit: Exfordy) More »

Where Is Ice T?

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:30:00 EST

Rapper/crime-fighter/tire-changing novice Ice T is in the garage of someone famous, but he won't name names. The Exige, Ghost, evil Mini, Icon FJ, and modded GT-R are good clues. Any guesses? More »

Lotus Returns To Formula One Yet Again

Peter Orosz — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:30:00 EST

For the 2011 season, a Malaysian team in black and gold livery named Lotus will be joined by a Malaysian team in black and gold livery named Lotus. Don't panic, we've got the org chart. More »

Clip The Corner

Tom Joslin — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:30:00 EST

It's hard to imagine a better modern day vintage racing scene then a 1969 Lola T70 MKIIIb clipping a corner at Watkins Glen with a 1963 Lotus 23b in hot pursuit. Photo Credit: omniNate More »

Lotus Explains Its New-Found Love Of Fatties

Ray Wert — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:15:00 EST

Last week, Lotus CEO Dany Bahar explained how the Proton-owned automaker is increasing the size of its cars in a new, polarizing mass-market strategy. It was, as expected, met with contempt by Lotus fan-boys. Now, Lotus responds. More »