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Video: Hennessey Venom GT on Top Gear’s Test TrackThe Hennessey Venom GT’s recent debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show was, in some ways, a long time coming. We had to wait a little longer for the car - it was supposed to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, remember? - but upon seeing the Lotus Elise-based sports car, well, the wait was well worth it. Barely a week after making its world debut, the Hennessey Venom GT is already being tested out by numerous scribes in test tracks all over the world with everyone dying to be the first to test out the car’s supercharged 6.2 liter LS9 V8 engine. Coincidentally, the same engine used in the Corvette ZR1 that delivers a total of 725bhp. If this is not enough, the tuner will also offer 1000 bhp and 1200 bhp twin turbo V8 engine variants. With a curb weight of less than 2,400 lbs, the Venom GT will hit a top speed of 200 mph. As if on cue, we have the first sighting of the Venom GT being put through the proverbial ringer at the Dunsfold Aerodrome track in Surrey, UK. While there’s no word as to who’s doing the test run for the Venom GT, it’s worth pointing out that the Dunsfold Aerodrome track is the very same race track Top Gear uses for their test runs. Could this just be a coincidence or could that speck of white we’re seeing actually be none other than The Stig himself. There’s only one way to find out. Be sure to tune in to the 15th season of Top Gear when it returns in June. Hennessey’s Venom GT makes for great desktop wallpapers 
‘Official’ may be a little bit of a stretch considering we’ve already seen photos of the car in various spy photos, but nonetheless, Hennessey Performance is using that word to describe the first batch of ‘official’ photos of its highly-anticipated super car, the Venom GT. In another piece of information that Hennessey has kindly passed along, the American tuning house has announced that only ten Venom GTs will be made each year. So, if you just happen to be one of those that can’t wait to get your paws on one, you’re going to have to act fast because four of the ten that are being made for 2010 have already been scooped up. As for the rest of us, who will only own a Venom GT in the form of desktop wallpapers, these ‘official’ photos of the Lotus-derived machine is about as close to a God-send as we can get. We don’t know about you, but we already have ours set up. 2010 Lotus Elise Club Racer
Lotus Australia has just received an addition to their lineup fresh off the heels of delivering their first truly all new car in years, the Evora, and the release of a hard core track tuned Lotus Exige Cup, the lightweight English sports car builder has just revealed another version of their compact thrill machine. The Lotus Elise Club Racer is a very simple and straightforward sports car that borrows a few shades of paint from Colin Chapman’s personal pallet from the 1960s, colors like Elite Yellow, Carbon Grey, Sky Blue and Old English White. According to the Director of Lotus Cars, Luke Bennett, "Special Editions of the award winning Elise have always proved popular with our customers around the world, and I expect the Elise Club Racer to be no different. We have taken colour schemes from our past, used on the Elite and Elan in the 1960s and cleverly brought them up to date with a modern feel to the interior. The whole design package is modern with a classic twist, which of course matches the peerless ride and handling of a Lotus and the convertible experience of the Elise perfectly." Called the Elise Club Racer, the new lightweight English sports car is based on the 134 HP version of the Lotus Elise S and is scheduled to arrive in showrooms on September 15th and go on sale for around $40,000. The car makes use of silver and black highlights in the interior as well as an anthracite anodized gear knob and handbrake with the Club Racer "CR" logo embroidered everywhere. The Lotus engineers even saw fit to incorporate a smaller diameter steering wheel and a set of lightweight six spoke alloys for that extra sporty look and feel. The Elise Club Racer will make its official debut in February 2010 and will be priced at $72,990. Press release after the jump. Full story Hennessey Venom GT - first images
Hennessey revealed today the first official renderings of the future Venom GT supercar. Based on a Lotus Elise sportscar, Venom Gt will make its official debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.  The Venom GT will be powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine borrowed from the Corvette ZR1 tuned to deliver a total of 1000 bhp @ 6600 rpm and a peak torque of 950 lb-ft torque @ 4,800 rpm. The sprint from 0 to 60 mph will be made in 2,2 seconds and top speed will go up to 262 mph. Specifications after the jump. Full story Tiger-looking Lotus Elise Superlight looks mean and powerful Admit it; the first time you looked at the photo, you thought the owner had some weird fascinations with tigers. How else do you explain this Lotus Elise Superlight in California that looks a lot like Tigress in the movie ‘Kung-Fu Panda’? We don’t have too many details on the car but we’re thinking that with the way this Elise Superlight has been set up – notably the exposed rear engine - it’s probably got more power under its hood than a standard Lotus Elise romping around the streets these days. You don’t find a lot of cars that can pull of the ‘ferocious feline’ look and get away with it. This one sure does and it also should help that it’s got the power of one too. Hertz announces pricing for rental Lotus Elise and Exige models
Remember when Hertz announced that it was adding the Lotus Elise and the Lotus Exige to their fleet of rental cars? Well, now we know just how much it’s going to cost us to sit behind one of these bad boys for a day. The rental car agency announced that the two Lotus models can be rented out for the princely sum of €458.54 per day in Italy and around $600 per day in the US. Unfortunately, that price doesn’t include insurance packages, which you’ll probably need if you do rent out one an Elise or an Exige. It’s a lot more expensive than any of us previously thought, but then again, the thinking goes that if you can afford to pay that amount for a chance to blast off into the sunset with an Elise or an Exige, then it should be well worth every penny. In addition to announcing the rental price for the two Lotuses, Hertz also announced that they are now offering a rental BMW Z4 sDrive 23i and a Fiat 500 Barbie edition. The Z4 will be available in selected dealerships in Spain with prices starting at €121 per day, while the Fiat 500 Roso will be available in The Netherlands for just €35 a day.
2009 Lotus Elise Club Racer
Fresh off the heels of delivering their first truly all new car in years, the Evora, and the release of a hard core track tuned Lotus Exige Cup, the lightweight English sports car builder has just revealed another version of their compact thrill machine. The Lotus Elise Club Racer is a very simple and straightforward sports car that borrows a few shades of paint from Colin Chapman’s personal pallet from the 1960s, colors like Elite Yellow, Carbon Grey, Sky Blue and Old English White.  According to the Director of Lotus Cars, Luke Bennett, "Special Editions of the award winning Elise have always proved popular with our customers around the world, and I expect the Elise Club Racer to be no different. We have taken colour schemes from our past, used on the Elite and Elan in the 1960s and cleverly brought them up to date with a modern feel to the interior. The whole design package is modern with a classic twist, which of course matches the peerless ride and handling of a Lotus and the convertible experience of the Elise perfectly." Called the Elise Club Racer, the new lightweight English sports car is based on the 134 HP version of the Lotus Elise S and is scheduled to arrive in showrooms on September 15th and go on sale for around $40,000. The car makes use of silver and black highlights in the interior as well as an anthracite anodized gear knob and handbrake with the Club Racer "CR" logo embroidered everywhere. The Lotus engineers even saw fit to incorporate a smaller diameter steering wheel and a set of lightweight six spoke alloys for that extra sporty look and feel. Press release after the jump. Full story
2010 Lotus Exige Cup 260
The lightweight English sports car builder Lotus has just unleashed a whole new type of animal onto the performance car market, taking Colin Chapman’s original philosophy to a whole new level in order to create a 257 HP supercharged hard top Lotus Elise that can go from 0 to 60 MPH in only 4 seconds. By using items like a lightweight ’motorsport’ battery, ultra-light five spoke forged alloy wheels, revised rear engine subframe with lightweight coating, lightweight fly wheel, lightweight composite bulkhead panel replaces rear window as well as alloy supercharger U-bend pipes; and by deleting unnecessary items like carpets, front mud flaps, battery cover, interior mirror, sunvisors, rear tailgate gas strut the Lotus design team has been able to shed almost 250 pounds from the compact sports car.  Although the 1.8 Liter Toyota four cylinder still makes the same 257 HP and 174 lb-ft of torque thanks to a supercharger, the Lotus Exige Cup 260 is highlighted by an extensive use of carbon fiber, motorsport lightweight wheels, Ohlins 2-way adjustable dampers and rear chassis stiffness increased by 30%. The Cup car for the streets also comes with race equipment like a redesigned front end and GT3 inspired wing out back with a set of HANS device ready racing buckets inside. However this is a true track day special and the when you come to think of it $80,000 is a lot to pay for a lot of discomfort however air conditioning and an interior noise reduction pack are available at the owners request, For some owners that is only a small sacrifice to endure and a smaller price to pay for such a visceral driving experience. Press release after the jump. Full story
Lotus to offer Supercharger Kit for U.S. models
The American arm of the lightweight English sports car builder, Lotus USA, has announced that they will be offering a new Supercharger Kit for both naturally aspirated Lotus Elise and Exige models. The kit includes the same supercharger and cast intake manifold as the production Elise SC and allows owners who have decided that they rely did want that extra power after all by boosting their Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine. The kit includes a new intake manifold, high-flow fuel injectors and a re-programmed engine management system that work together to increase the engine’s power up to 218 HP from the stock 189 HP rating. It may not seem like all that much, but the 2ZZ is tuned to work as efficiently as possible as it comes from the factory. The main advantage of the kit is much more power down low in the RPM band and because the supercharger is always spinning, instantaneous throttle response. Press release after the jump. Full story
Hertz Italiana to have Lotus Elise SC in its rental fleet
The next time you find yourself in Italy and may need a rental car, we suggest that you give Hertz a call. Not only is it one of the more established car rental brands in the world, but they’re latest fleet of rentals are enough to make everyone scramble for the rental company’s phone number. When you do go through to them, might we suggest that you ask for a Lotus Elise SC. We guarantee you won’t regret it. As one of the world’s most popular sports cars, the Elise SC is now available for rent from Hertz Italiana S.p.A. Part of the agreement between the car rental company and Lotus Cars Limited, the sports car subsidiary of Group Lotus, a fleet of Lotus Elise SC’s will be made available to hire from a number of Hertz centers throughout Italy. It’s a tie-up that both companies are eager to get started.According to Michael Kimberley, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus, “I am delighted that Lotus Cars has entered into this agreement with Hertz, giving us the opportunity to make our stunning world class sports cars available to the rental market. Continued after the jump. Full story
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