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2013 Lotus Exige S RoadsterA few weeks before the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Lotus announced they would "blow the top off" at the show. Back then, we all thought that we would see a Convertible version of the Evora, but we were so wrong. Lotus has decided to bring out the fastest roadster ever: the Exige S Roadster. Based off the new Exige S, the roadster model will be powered by the same supercharged 3.5-liter V-6 engine that delivers a total of 345 horsepower. This engine sprints the car from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds and to 100 mph in 8.5 seconds. Being that this is a Roadster, safety precautions deem it necessary to lower the top speed from 170 mph to 145 mph. The Exige S Roadster weighs just 2,447 pounds and features the same design elements as the coupe, except of course for its factory-fitted soft top roof that makes the car look even more muscular than the coupe. Now for the bad news: the new Lotus Exige S Roadster won’t make it to the U.S. market, as it will only be offered in markets like Europe and Asia. UPDATE 4/30/2013: Lotus has unveiled a new video teasing the upcoming Exige S Roadster’s arrival in the summer of 2013. you can see the video above. Hit the jump to read more about the Lotus Exige S Roadster. Full story 2013 Lotus Exige V6 CupR 
A tumultuous 2012 has seen Lotus stumble to the brink of being irrelevant. However, the Malaysian-owned British automaker is determined to make amends in 2013, and to their credit, they’re off to a fast start with the upcoming debut of the Exige V6 CupR — a race-spec sports car that’s ready to ply its craft in numerous racing series this year. The Exige V6 CupR is set to be unveiled at the 2013 Autosport International Show in Birmingham, England. Lotus is bringing the car to the show in an attempt to attract potential entrants to the newly-announced SRO GT4 European Trophy. As far as we’re concerned, if we had a racing team and we were looking for new race cars, we’d take a real good look at the Exige V6 CupR and see how it’s going to stack up once you get to know more about it. Speaking of getting to know more about, you can find out more details about the Exige V6 CupR after the jump. Full story
Video: Turn 10 Studios Rings In New Year With January Recaro Car Pack For Forza Horizon
Not a month goes by without Turn 10 Studios releasing a car pack for its avid video game racers. For January, the developer of the Forza Motorsports franchise will be releasing the newest car pack for its latest video game offering: Forza Horizon. Dubbed the “Recaro Car Pack,” the new downloadable content will include the usual smorgasbord of vehicles, highlighted by the 2012 Lexus LF-A Nürburgring Edition. In addition to the gnarly Japanese supercar, the Recaro Car Pack will also include the 2012 Lotus Exige S, the 2012 Cadillac Escalade, the 2005 Mercedes SLR, the 1995 Ford Mustang Cobra R, and, oddly enough, the 1983 GMC Vandura G-1500. The Recaro Car Pack will go live and be up for download on January 1, 2013. As is always the case, the car pack can be had for a reasonable amount of just 400 MS Points. But if you’re a Forza Horizon Season Pass holder, you get the pack for free and on top of that, get free dibs on a 2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster. Sounds like a sweet deal to us. 2012 Lotus Extrema V8X by Composite Work
Back in 2011 Hennessey Performance has unveiled the Venom GT - a very cool customized Lotus Elise limited to just five units. And now, Italian company Composite Work has announced a very cool Extrema V8X package based on a Lotus Exige. Composite Work replaced the car’s standard 275 HP 4-cylinder engine with a more powerful one: a LS9 V8 from the Chevrolet Corvette. With an output of 649 HP, this engine will sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.9 seconds, from 0 to 100 mph in 7 seconds and up to an impressive top speed of 200 mph. The Lotus Extrema V8X will be featuring a carbon-fiber body work and will weight just 2138 lbs. On the interior it will get special SP-1 carbon fiber twin skin seats. And that huge rear wing on the rear not only improves the car’s aerodynamics but also makes it looking better than ever.
Video: The Best 1/4 Mile Drag Race Ever
After watching this video, we strongly believe it is time for us to relocate. Where exactly? Well...Poland! Because this is where all the amazing action from this video took place. The guys over at Autokult have put together one of the best 1/4 mile drag races ever - they even called it the "Super Drag Race." We have to agree with them, especially after taking a look at the cars involved in the show: Corvette Z06, Chevrolet Camaro SS, Shelby GT500, Lotus Exige, Audi TT-RS, and Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet. What followed after the cars’ presentation is beyond any imagination. We can all describe it in just one word: FUN! Even with a collection of cars such as these, as winner had to be chosen, and it looks like it was a Chevrolet Corvette tuned by Lingenfelter with a time of 12.138 seconds. At the opposite end of the spectrum - the losing side - was the Lotus Exige with a time of 13.797 seconds. If anyone knows of a better video than this, please let us know! 2013 Lotus Exige V6 Cup
When it comes to small sports cars, very few in the business make it as good as Lotus. Make no mistake, despite their recent bad press, Lotus still knows what it takes to build these babies, and more importantly, race-spec versions of these aforementioned babies. Take for example their latest toy, the Exige V6 Cup. Making their debuts at the Lotus Festival in Brands Hatch in the UK, the Exige V6 Cup has been touted as the most sinister version of the Exige line. Here’s the best part, the V6 Cup comes in two specs: Track Day and Full-On Competition Spec. In order to make it about as race-spec as can be, Lotus fitted the Exige V6 with just about every race goodie they could get their hands on. Among the new features include the company’s exclusive Lotus Dynamic Performance Management system, a system that allows the driver to switch between a number of driving modes, including Race, Sport and Touring. From there, the car also gets a new rear diffuser and wing, an aero-optimized front splitter, a multi-adjustable suspension system, a removable steering wheel, HANS-compliant race seats, a choice of 4- or 6-point race harnesses, a racing roll cage, and a fire extinguisher that’s FIA-compliant. Under its hood, the Exige V6 Cup is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine that produces 346 horsepower with a curb weight of 1,080 kg/2,381 lbs, a 0-62 mph of just 3.5 seconds, and a top speed of 170 mph. Lotus announced that the Exige V6 Cup will be produced by the end of the year with a delivery time by March next year. It will an initial schedule of 20 models. Lotus begins production for Exige S
The new Lotus Exige S made its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but the first unit has just left the assembly line today. With that, Lotus has also promised that the first customers will experience this exciting new Lotus very soon. The new Exige S is powered by a 3.5 liter V6 engine that delivers a total of 345 HP. The sports coupe will go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 170 mph. Unfortunately, US customers will only be able to take advantage of the track version of the Exige S. "We are very proud of the Exige S. It marks the first step towards consolidating and then growing the company. I know that customers have been eagerly waiting for this car, and I assure them that it will be worth the wait. We wanted to be sure that we had a product that was absolutely ready before launching it. We are confident that the right time for the Exige S is now," said Lotus Chief Operating Officer, Aslam Farikullah. Lotus withdraws from the Paris Motor Show
To say that Lotus has had a very prosperous year is akin to saying that the economies in Spain and Greek are both doing fine. It wasn’t that long ago when Lotus had ambitious plans to become a player in the supercar market, having unveiled a total of six new concepts that would inevitably give run to a fleet of production vehicles. So it’s with a dash of irony that this year, Lotus has announced that they would be skipping the 2012 Paris Motor Show, only two years removed from bringing those six concepts at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. From the optimism of those days, the company has been in dire straits recently, no more evident than the messy firing of former CEO Dany Bahar, who incidentally was the driving force behind the company’s ambitious plans two years ago. The company today is also in financial disarray; sales have been extremely low and there’s even word that the company will go back to its roots as a factory for lightweight sports cars. Despite the messy year the company has had, there are still some signs of optimism, particularly with the increased interest in their two new vehicles, the Exige V6 S and V6 Roadster. Whether they can jump start the company’s fledgling business remains to be seen, but one thing we do know is that it won’t come at a fast enough time to save Lotus from heading to the same auto show were only two years ago, they set out on an ambitious plan that ended up with nothing more than lost promises. 2012 Lotus Exige SLadies and gentlemen, the wait is over! After months of speculation, Lotus has finally unveiled the new Exige S. This "ultimate lightweight high performance sportscar" comes bearing a new look inside and out, as well as a brand new engine that adds over 100 HP to the car’s output. The look of the 2012 Lotus Exige S still claims it as an Exige, but the add-ons provided smooth out the sports car’s look, while still adding a certain degree of aggression to the design. The Exige S now carries a new front splitter that reveals a cleaner line across the front of the car and a smaller rear spoiler, both of which still improve the vehicle’s aerodynamics. As for power, the Exige S is now working with a mid-mounted, transverse 3.5 liter DOHC V6 VVI-i engine that delivers a total of 345 HP, a far cry from the previously used 257 HP 1.8L Toyota supercharged I4. The reason for this massive upgrade is clear when the car’s weight gets introduced into the equation. The previous model claimed 2,077 lbs, while the new Exige S plumps up at 2,380 lbs. Once the added weight gets brought in, the Exige S’ 0-60 mph time is still better, coming in at 3.8 seconds (from a previous time of 4.0 seconds) and its top speed hikes up to 170 mph (up from a previous 145 mph). Lotus will also be offering a Lotus DPM (Dynamic Performance Management) switch that allows the driver to switch between three driving modes: Touring, Sport, and DPM off. An optional Race Pack also gets thrown in to add a fourth driving mode (Race) to the mix, for the ultimate Lotus Exige S experience. UPDATE 12/08/11: After having to yank the Exige and Elise from the US market due to airbag restrictions, Lotus is throwing the US market a bone by bringing the new Exige S over to our side of the pond as a track-only car. This race version will feature a full roll cage, racing seats and harness, and an electrical cut-off switch, in addition to all of the features found on the road car. Pricing will start between $85,000–$90,000. (duPont Registry) UPDATE 07/13/2012: Lotus has unveiled three new videos for their brand new Exige S. In two of them, the car is being tested at the Nurburgring and at the Hethel Track at Lotus HQ, while the third video shows Donato Coco, Lotus Director of Design, as he explains the design and styling of the new Lotus Exige S, and Matt Becker, Chief Engineer of Vehicle Dynamics, as he talks through some of the fundamental changes that have been made to the Exige S. Hit the jump to read more about the new Lotus Exige S. Full story DRB-HICOM Suspends Lotus CEO Dany Bahar
Typically the CEOs of big companies stay in the background and just keep the corporate wheels turning. Most CEOs also know that it is typically not a good thing when your name ends up in the papers just as often, if not more often, than the brand you are heading up. Well, Lotus CEO Dany Bahar must have a tough time comprehending the fact that no new is good news for a CEO. It came to a head whenever DRB-HICOM purchased Proton, Lotus’s parent company, and inherited the Lotus money vacuum in the process. The media then took to speculating about the status of Lotus, given its new owner, and Bahar went on a teenage girl-like rampage via the worst possible medium, Facebook. That post still remains on the company’s page too. At that point, we started speculating that Bahar’s time with Lotus may be limited, as DRB-HICOM really has no need for a moody CEO that can’t keep his company’s head above water. Apparently, we had our crystal ball working that day, as DRB-HICOM has announced that Bahar has been “temporarily suspended” following an operational review and a full investigation of Bahar’s actions will take place during his suspension. Several executives from DRB-HICOM will take Bahar’s place during his absence. Well, I have been in the corporate world long enough to know that a “temporary suspension” during an “investigation” typically spell out “you’re fired once we find some dirt.” Rarely does a suspended employee ever return to their original position and few return at all, so we have a feeling that this will ultimately put an end to the drama of Dany Bahar. Looks like TopSpeed’s “Lotus” section is going to be dry for a while… At least until we get word that Dany is now managing a local McDonalds.
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