Lotus has announced its newest track toy, and it will be available to racers in the US. The Lotus Elise S Cup R in the 2014 Lotus Cup one-make race series in various countries throughout the world.
Lotus will not be creating any of the new models it had planned, with the Esprit the latest to be cancelled. Instead, it will focus on selling variants of current models—Elise, Exige, and Evora.
Lotus is different. And, if we’re completely honest about it, Lotus is mostly better, too. Not better as a manufacturer, or as a “brand,” or as a cultural force; though the company could probably make interesting claims on all three of those fronts as well. No, Lotus is better at building engaging, high-performing, exactly-as-you’d-build-it-yourself-if-you-could sports cars.
Ahead of its official debut in Geneva, Lotus has given up the details on the lightweight Elise Club racer. The racy stripper is more than 50 pounds lighter, thanks in great part to a lightweight battery and the removal of sound-deadening materials.
As I stepped into the Lotus Evora, it occurred to me, as it might to you, that I knew the car had received its share of plaudits, but I wasn’t exactly sure what character was really being delivered. “Well”, thought I, “let’s see.”
Our spy photographer caught this Lotus prototype out testing. Could it be a mule for a V-8 engine for the new Lotus Esprit?