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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 Lotus Wins Australian Grand Prix 
This weekend was a very successful one for the Lotus Racing Team, as Kimi Räikkönen scored the first victory for the team during the first round of the FIA 2013 World Championship Formula One race in Melbourne, Australia. According to Lotus officials, Kimi needed to face both the rain and a critical tire strategy. Still, he managed to preserve tire condition, pitting only twice over the 58-lap Albert Park course. What’s more, the fastest lap of the race was his at 1:29.274. This race was the 20th race for Räikkönen and the 81st for the Lotus team. The race had seven different leaders, but Raikkonen held the lead on 43 of the 58 laps of the race. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was second and Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull was the third on the finish line. Next weekend the team will have to face another challenge: the second round of the competition taking place at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. Volkswagen Changes its Tune on Expansion; Lotus Could be a Possibility Late last year, VW’s labor chief made it crystal clear that he would reject any additional expansion of the automakers umbrella, as they already have their hands full with the 12 brands that they are managing. Well, we were rather skeptical of that stance and threw out there that we highly doubt that VW is done just yet. And now, reports are pointing in just that direction. In an interview with Reuters Television, Martin Winterkorn – VW’s CEO – said “We are currently well positioned with 12 brands, but there are always opportunities that one cannot pass up.” Surprise, surprise, Volkswagen would hop on the right deal if one popped up, regardless of what the labor chief thinks about it. The pressing issue now is what brand would VW be interested in? At one point VW was interested in snagging up the resurging Alfa Romeo, but FIAT has made it clear that the brand is not for sale. So, what other brands could VW set its sights on? Well, there is one obvious troubled automaker that could use the shot in the arm that the German powerhouse provides, and that is Lotus. Once a successful British sports car builder, Lotus still builds a quality machine but shoddy management and poor product planning has led it down a path that few automakers can recover from. A buyout would be cheap for Volkswagen and life saving for Lotus, so we wouldn’t be shocked to see a deal between the two in the next year or so. 2013 Lotus E21
Over the past few years, the Formula One hierarchy has three established teams: Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren. But if you paid any attention, you might have noticed that a fourth team quietly made a name for itself as the kind of dark horse contender in the next few years. Led by former F1 champ, Kimi Raikkonen, and Roman Grosjean, Lotus has set its sights on bigger things in 2013. To kick off their run to the top of the leaderboard, the British-based F1 outfit unveiled their prized steed for the 2013 season: the E21. Since there aren’t a whole lot of changes in the series’ regulations, the E21 isn’t too far away from its predecessor in both form and function. On that note, the chassis of the E21 comes with a molded-carbon-fiber and aluminum-honeycomb-composite monocoque that was and designed to ensure maximum strength with minimum weight. There have also been some slight changes, though, particularly the new suspension layout and the slightly modified front wing that Lotus describes as a "continuation of concepts" dating back to 2009. Additionally, the new Coanda exhaust and the team’s modified passive double DRS system are looked at as two critical adjustments that could catapult Lotus into the ranks of the proverbial big leagues. It certainly helps that they have one of the best drivers in Formula One in the always affable Raikkonen, who managed to finish 3rd in last year’s Driver’s Championship, despite having been out of Formula One for the past few years. If the E21 proves to be a better ride than the E20, then look for Kimi to make serious noise in the 2013 season. Hennessey Releases Video of the Venom’s World-Record 0 to 300 km/h Run
A few days ago, Hennessey announced that its Venom GT supercar scored another impressive record by accelerating to 300 km/h (186 mph) in just 13.63 seconds. Today, the tuner has unveiled the video as a statement for their previous announcement. After all, this result shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone considering the impressive specifications of the Venom GT. It is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter LS9 V-8 engine, same used in the Corvette ZR1 that delivers up to 1,200 horsepower, depending on the trim level. With a curb weight of 2,685 pounds, the 1,200-horsepower Venom GT will hit a top speed of 275 mph and will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.7 seconds. As expected, such an impressive performance will set you back a nice sum — $950,000. The test was made at Ellington Airport in Houston, Texas, USA on January 10, 2013. 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: Hennessey Venom GT Spyder Delivered to Aerosmith Front Man
Hennessey’s Venom GT coupe is a one of the baddest cars around and is limited to only five units and priced from an amazing $725,000. The Spyder, which was announced a few months after the coupe version, will be also limited to only five units and is a little bit more expensive at $1.1 million. The first unit has been delivered to Steven Tyler — the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, for those that live under a rock — and today Hennessey has unveiled a video from the delivery. We are not too sure if he only received the car, or if the Latvian model, Jula Lescova, was offered as a bonus, but still the video is a great watch! Of course, you’ll have to try pay attention to the car — it is after all the star of this video! The extracurricular scenery isn’t too bad either… Let us know in the comments section bellow if you will prefer the car or the model!
2013 Lotus Evora Sports Racer
Lotus Evora is now enjoying the success Lotus was hopping for, so the company is looking for solutions to improve its sales. The latest solution found was the addition of a new "Sports Racer" package that was inspired by the Evora GTC that enjoyed a huge success in the MSA British Endurance Championship. The model is further improving the mid-engined 3.5 liter V6 sports car and will be offered in both naturally-aspirated or supercharged versions. According to the official announcement the new Evora Sports Racer delivers "phenomenal performance, exclusive style, incredible excitement and genuine affordability." The model will be offered with an exclusive exterior color scheme and comes comes fully loaded with all the technologies currently offered by Lotus. On the British market the new Evora Sports Racer is priced at £57,900 - round $94,300 at the current exchange rates for the naturally aspired version and at £65,900 - $107,300 - for the supercharged one. Hit the jump to read more about the new Lotus Evora Sports Racer. Full story
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.
If Produced, Lotus Esprit will Feature F1-Inspired KERS Technology Last month, we reported that Lotus’ future was safe and that we may see a new Esprit on the roads. Today, British magazine, AutoCar, is offering a few more details on the rumored British supercar, including some insight on its powertrain. AutoCar is reporting that the Esprit’s production is effectively complete, but there are still some lingering problems. Those problems are that Lotus is camshaft-deep in legal battles and unpaid bills, and lacks consistent management. Rumor has it that if — and we stress if — the Esprit hits production, it will feature a 5.0-liter gasoline engine that works in unison with an F1-style KERS system. So what’s so great about that? Well, that will be good for a whopping 650 ponies beneath the Esprit’s sexy hood — 20 horsepower more than the initial rumors. These 650 ponies are all well and good, but if it’s priced like the 918 Spyder, only a select few may actually be able to afford one. Lotus has your back there too, as Autocar is also putting out there that the Esprit will be closer to the price of a top-line 911, which is roughly £100,000 — around $160,000 at the current exchange rates. Not only are we anxious to hear that Lotus still has some fight left in it, but we are also ecstatic to hear that the Esprit may return in impressive form and at a relative bargain. Stay tuned!
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