What's new?

On this page you will find a list with the latest Lotus related news, and a list of the most recent changes on the Lotus Drivers Guide website. In this way it is easy for you to see what is new on these pages. The most recent update was on 01-08-2010. I like to thank everybody who is sending emails with information and/or images!! You can contact us here if you wish.

I do know that there is still a lot of work to be done on this website, and to be honest, I hope there allways will be as I do this as a hobby! As it is a hobby and not a business, I will take my time to do it. So please be patient and see the website grow  from time to time.

Lotus news headlines:

Search on this website:

Newsletter:

We have a newsletter,  please click here for information.

Video

Have a look at these Lotus related movies! Please click here.

Latest news and recent changes on this website:

September 2010

The new Seven
As I wrote before, rumours are that a new Seven will be shown during the Paris Motor Show, based on an aborted Spanish project and the car may even be produced in Spain. The car is supposed to be heavier and more comfort orientated than the original Seven. And this may be the car that the rumours are refering to, the IFR Aspid, a Spanish design:

New in the modelcar section of this website:

Lotus Elan S1 by Ebbro (Spark) in scale 1/43 in white or green

Lotus Racing: looking ahead at the next Grand Prix, Monza
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza marks the last European race of the 2010 FIA Formula One™ World Championship. As the Lotus Racing team heads to Jarno Trulli’s home country, Jarno and a number of key team members take the time to look ahead to what promises to be another exciting race for the Anglo-Malaysian squad.

Race day is the 12th September, which is exactly one year to the day since the team heard that their entry into the 2010 Formula One™ World Championship had been accepted.

Read more here.

New in the classifieds section: Elise S1 50th Anniversary for sale.

Lotus Racing: Nabil Jeffri becomes youngest F1 test driver
The Imperial War Museum runway at Duxford played host to the youngest ever test driver in Formula One™ history today, with 16 year old Nabil Jeffri seeing his F1™ dream come true as he conducted a day of aero testing for Lotus Racing on the museum’s Cambridgeshire runway. Fairuz Fauzy and Heikki Kovalainen were both on hand to lend their advice to the young Malaysian and Nabil, a key member of the AirAsia ASEAN Driver Development programme, completed the day’s testing, and gave the team valuable pitstop practice throughout a busy day on track for the Anglo – Malaysian squad. Read more here.

August 2010

The August newsletter has been send to al subscribers

Lotus Racing Belgian Grand Prix report.
The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa lived up to all expectations and produced an incident packed race that saw Lotus Racing again finish ahead of their nearest rivals. Heikki Kovalainen recovered from a slow start to finish 16th, and Jarno Trulli crossed the line in 19th, a spin late on dropping him back a few places after he had put in a very strong performance in the constantly changing weather conditions. Read more here.

After the Belgian Grand Prix; the results of the practice and race in Belgium and the new standings.

New in the modelcar section of this website:

Elite, M250 and Exige slot car bodies made by Totalbodies from clear plastic, HO scale

Europa, an other new livery for the old Matchbox model in scale 1/64

About Paris....
Of course there are already lots of rumours about what to expect at the large Lotus stand at the Paris Motorshow (October 2 to 17, 2010). This is what I have heard, we will soon see what is correct....

Lotus will take four all-new models to Paris, including two (!) hybrids. But it will take 1 to 2 years before these cars will actually be for sale.

Expect from Lotus todays version of the Seven, but it will be more comfortable (air conditioning) and heavier than the original Seven. This car is based on a Spanish concept and may even be built is Spain. The price wil be around the ¤ 100.000 mark.

Next will be what many have been looking out for, the new Esprit. Expect a turbocharged, mid-engine V8 sportscar that will be heavier than we are used to see from Lotus.

The most important introduction in Paris will be two front engined hybrid cars, a four-door hatchback (like the Porsche Panamera) and a two-door coupe. This coupe could be developped into a convertable later on. Of course these cars will use the modular-hybrid concept chassis that Lotus showed during the Geneva motor show earlier this year.

Spa brings out the best in Lotus Racing
Lotus Racing CEO Riad Asmat and the Malaysian flag brought a touch of luck to the team today at the Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying session as Heikki Kovalainen made it through to his second appearance of the season in Q2, and finished the session 16th. Jarno Trulli just missed out on Q2 after yellow flags at the end of an action packed Q1 forced him to back off, robbing him of the chance of joining his team-mate in the afternoon’s second session. Read more here.

Belgian Gand Prix Friday practice
Lotus Racing took up where they left off at the last race in Hungary, with Friday’s Belgian Grand Prix practice sessions ending up with Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli topping the new team’s time sheets in very mixed conditions on track. Read more here.

Belgian Grand Prix 2010 results, click here

New Lotus Evora Cup/GT4 race car and four Lotus 2-Eleven GT4 race cars take on the Nürburgring. The new Lotus Evora Cup/GT4 makes its racing debut this weekend (28th-29th August 2010) in the hands of Lotus rookie driver Ollie Hancock.

Lotus Motorsport has entered the Lotus Evora Cup/GT4 in the “Invitation” category of the European GT4 Championships as part of a year long development programme prior to a full GT4 championship assault in 2011. The GT4 will also be made available as a customer race car to privateer racing teams. Read more here.

As expected (see my comments from 10 days ago) Lotus has announced the more powerfull Evora S. The 3.5 litre V6 engine is now delivering 350 BHP. The new Evora S comes with a sportpack as standard featuring a ‘sport’ button which allows the driver to control throttle response and activate the exhaust by-pass valve.

Lotus Evora S

And the announcement goes on introducing the IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) option. A 6 speed automatic gearbox good for a superior automatic driving experience, according to Lotus. This new gearbox will be available with the 280 BHP version of the engine.

IPS option shifter

Both cars will be presented to the public at the comming Paris Autoshow. Read more here.

24 August 2010

Spark has just presented their new Lotus Type 76 model in 1/43, made from resin.

The car was intended to be a more advanced version of the Lotus 72, powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV and featuring modified aerodynamics, a lighter chassis, longer wheelbase and a narrower, lower monocoque. The car had problems with the electronic gearchange, the engine installation and the weight bias was out of sync. The project was abandonned in favour of keeping the Type 72 competitive.

Newsletter - don't worry, it will come. I have some other things that keep me busy so it is later than usual, sorry for that!

22 August 2010

New model from AutoArt; the Lotus Cortina Mk I in scale 1/18 as used by Jim McKeown. This is a 'limited edition' with certificate, 750 pieces will be produced.

17 August 2010

At Lotus the marketing people have found a new way to attract the attention of the press; sending out an e-mail with parts of information 'by mistake'....

Anyhow, we can expect the new Evora S and the new Evora Automatic at the Paris show, so much is clear now. These two cars will be tested at the famous Nordschleife of the Nürnburgring in Germany on 16, 17 and 18 August 2010. So it is likely that some images will pop up these days.

An Autoweek video interview about the new Lotus Exos (T125), see the videopage.

14 August 2010

Modelcar news; AutoArt just announced that will be producing a replica of the the Lotus Cortina MkI that Jim Clark drove to victory at Crystal Palace in 1964.

11 August 2010

The Exos Experience by Lotus. The Exos Experience, initiated and operated by Lotus Motorsport, is an elite club. A club in which the limited number of Lotus 125 owner drivers can refine their driving skills and challenge themselves in Formula 1™ inspired technology combined with expert one-to-one advice from former Grand Prix drivers and trainers. Read more here.

10 August 2010

A Lotus Type 33 model made from crystal! Reed more about it in the comming newsletter or have a look at the Type 33 page in the modelcar section of the website, click here.

8 August 2010

The new Lotus T125 is named Exos. As expected it is a track car. Looking at it, it is based on a Formula One car and underneath the body we will find F1 technology and a Cosworth V8 engine. The car looks like one of the F1 cars as we know them today.

The car has a weight of 650 kg and with the Cosworth GPV8 engine producing 650 BHP this must be the ultimate track day toy. The engine should be good for 4.500 km before a rebuild is needed.

The chassis is a carbon fiber monocoque, carbon ceramic brakes and a carbon fiber pushrod suspension. In the cockpit we see more F1 technology, looking at the steering wheel with a screen ant various buttons to adjust things while driving.

Lotus reveiled that according to plan there will be 25 Exos made next year and the price will be around USD 1.000.000 each. There will also be 5 so called driver events where owners will get to know the car with instructions from wel known Lotus drivers, the names Mika Häkkinen and Jarno Trulli have been mentioned in the rumours circuit...

(I did get some images by e-mail, these look like press images so I hope am not violating any copyrights)

Learn more about the Exos on the video page, please click here. Also the Genealogy Section has been updated, please look here.

7 August 2010

Heikki Kovalainen talks about the next Grand Prix, to be held in Spa after the summer break. Insight from the Lotus Racing driver on his thoughts of this legendary circuit. An official Lotus Racing video. Look here.

6 August 2010

Lotus T125
The word is that tomorrow, at Laguna Seca (as part of the Monterey Car Week) , the “most exclusive and expensive Lotus since the company began in 1952″ will be presented. The Lotus T125 will be a track and race car and may get a name that starts with "E", as usual. It is not clear when the car will be shown in the UK. In fact, for me this came as a surprise as Lotus is announcing news to be presented at the Paris show and of a sudden this new car presentation pops up. Let's wait and see...

Lotus Racing accelerates young driver development plan. Lotus Racing has today confirmed its commitment to embracing young talent with the announcement that Nabil Jeffri, the 16 year old Malaysian karting prodigy currently competing in Formula BMW Pacific with Eurasia Motorsport, will be driving for the fastest new F1™ team at an aero test the team will be running in early September at an undisclosed location in the UK. Read more here.

Lotus Racing was the winning team during the Formula One Golf Challenge last Tuesday! A team of four took on teams from across the grid, including McLaren and Mercedes, and walked away with the two trophies everyone was competing for. Chris Leslie, Dave Freeman, Jon Daly and John Gleeson have did make Lotus Racing proud with their victory.

3 August 2010

New from Vanguards is their Sunbeam Lotus 1/43 model in moonstone, should be available from your modelcar specialist soon! More Sunbeam Lotus models can be seen here.

2 August 2010

Lotus Racing enjoyed an excellent day in the heat of the Hungarian Grand Prix with Heikki Kovalainen finishing 14th and Jarno Trulli just behind in 15th. A very exciting race, full of incidents throughout the grid, saw the Anglo / Malaysian squad firmly consolidate their position at the top of the new team chart, sending the team into the summer break full of confidence for the challenges that lay ahead when the Championship reconvenes in late August. Read more here.

1 August 2010

All practice results for the Hungarian Grand Prix 2010 are now available here and the latest standings can be found here.

A changed layout for the first page of this website, all the news is now also visable on page one. For more easy reading we still have the "news" page

July 2010

Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying
Lotus Racing will start the Hungarian Grand Prix in 20th and 21st positions, with Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli qualifying within 1/10th of a second of each other at the Hungaroring in today’s official qualifying session. Read more here.

The future starts here, these are the words you can see at the website www.lotuscars.com together with a countdown clock. Lotus will show news at the comming carshow in Paris and is doing everything to attract attention. You can even download a countdown screensaver.

Hungarian Grand Prix Friday Practice
The Hungarian Grand Prix Friday Practice sessions saw Lotus Racing finish the day just under one second ahead of their nearest rival and complete a total of 88 laps, despite a hydraulics problem on Heikki’s car which curtailed his running in the afternoon session. Read more here.

The practice results for the Hungarian Grand Prix 2010 are now available here.

Will Lotus Cars be designing aero packages for Indy cars?

I did not give the Indy Series the attention that it deserves lately, as I know many of you are interested in these races. I will do my best to give more information on these webpages and/or in the newsletter. Recently there was the announcement that the race series will allow teams to design their own aero packages onto a standard Dallara chassis from 2012.

Lotus and Cosworth are partners with IndyCar team KV Racing Technology. The series uses stock V8 engines from Honda and chassis from Dallara. This creates a cheaper form racing and a level playing field for all teams.

Rumour is that Lotus Cars (Group Lotus) may be playing a bigger role in the IndyCar series, i.e. as a designer of the aerodynamic packages for the cars.

28 July 2010

Heikki Kovalainen talks ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix 2010, and gives us his insight into the track, the country and his thoughts on the race ahead, look here.

DuPont Refinish joins Lotus Racing as an official technical supplier.
DuPont Refinish has become an Official Technical Supplier to the Lotus Racing Formula One team with immediate effect. The agreement, signed at the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim on Sunday 25 July 2010, sees the paint manufacturer provide full technical support to Lotus Racing. Read more here.

27 July 2010

Lotus Racing Hungarian Grand Prix preview
Back to back races push the teams hard, but with Hungary coming hot on the heels of the German Grand Prix, Lotus Racing will be looking to put in a strong performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The tight, twisty and bumpy track will suit the characteristics of the Lotus Racing T127. Read more here.

26 July 2010

German Grand Prix 2010
It was a disappointing Sunday for the team after both Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen recorded DNFs. Jarno Trulli had a strong start and was running 15th, but retired on lap four after a gearbox problem brought his race to an end. Heikki Kovalainen was running well in the race but was forced to retire on lap 60 after a coming together with de la Rosa’s Sauber.  Read more.

All the German GP results are here and the latest standings can be found here.

24 July 2010

New on the links page: Anyat diecast restorations
A modelcar specialist who gives older miniature models a second chance by restoring them and (this is unique) fitting lifelike drivers in them. More here.

www.anyat-restorations.com

The first practice results for the German Grand Prix 2010 are now available here.

German Grand Prix Qualifying
Qualifying at the German Grand Prix saw Lotus Racing confirm the progress the Anglo / Malaysian team has been making all season, Jarno Trulli finishing 18th, less than a second behind Buemi’s Toro Rosso and closer to the established teams than in any race in the 2010 World Championship. Read more.

German GP Friday practice
Hockenheim’s Friday practice sessions saw Lotus Racing’s reliability return as the Anglo / Malaysian squad ran a total of 115 laps with no major problems in the changeable German conditions. The team completed all their planned programmes for Jarno Trulli (car 18), Heikki Kovalainen (car 19) and Fairuz Fauzy, deputising for Heikki in FP1. Read more.

21 July 2010

See what Jarno Trulli has to say about the comming German Grand Prix in this new videoclip, look here.

20 July 2010

Over 120,000 fans are expected on race day at Hockenheim, and, for many of them, seeing the green and yellow Lotus Racing livery back on track will be an emotional moment. read the Lotus Racing German Grand Prix Preview, click here.

New on the videoclip page:

• Sportsvibe TV had a chat with Jarno Trulli about the history of Lotus, his passion for wine-making and who he is named after.
• Sportsvibe TV talked to Mike Gascoyne about the rebuilding of the famous brand, the plans for next year's car and his hopes that one day they can win a world championship.

73 Days to go. 35 Years after the introduction of the Lotus Esprit, something breathtaking will happen once again. Once more in Paris. Once more at the Motor Show. Perhaps a new Esprit? Perhaps not. Or perhaps even more? Read more here, or go the the startpage of the press releases section here.

Lotus Racing confirmed that Fairuz Fauzy will be driving during free pratice 1 at Hockenheim. Read more here. If you like to see more Lotus Racing press releases, please look here.

The commemorative Special Edition RGB (Roger Becker) Elise SC and Exige S are now available in England.

19 July 2010

Images have been added in the modelcar section, for the 1/24 Elite slotcar body by Lancer and for the Type 29 1/25 kit by Frog

15 July 2010

Lotus Racing Prints

Maybe you have already noticed it, Lotus Racing has recently started an extra website where the fans can obtain prints from the races and also signed merchandise like caps and shirts. If you like to know more, look here.

14 July 2010

Team Lotus name back in Formula One?

In 1994 Team Lotus was bought by former F3000 driver David Hunt. He did never really do something with it, except for a short period in 1995 when the name was allied to Pacific GP. Hunt and two partners have the name Team Lotus ever since.

Tony Fernandes has recently had contact about acquitring the rights for the Team Lotus name, so if it comes to a deal we will probably see a name change for the 2011 season! The Lotus Racing name will be history after one season and we will see the Team Lotus name return.

New on the videoclip page:

Heikki Kovalainen talks about the Silverstone track ahead of the British Grand Prix 2010. Insight into a track guide and his thoughts on the race ahead.
 

13 July 2010

New on the videoclip page:

Lotus Racing Grand Prix view - Silverstone 2010. Fairuz Fauzy talks about the circuit so close to his UK home and what it means to be driving in Friday's Practice.

Lotus Racing Grand Prix view - Valencia 2010 (500 and racing...). Jarno Trulli tells us about the European Grand Prix Circuit, ahead of the Valencia Grand Prix weekend, the challenges of the track and what it means to be a part of this historic landmark for the Lotus name.

12 july 2010

The July newsletter was distributed free to all subscribers.

New in the F1 Press Releases section:

The British Grand Prix 2010, Lotus Racing were happy after a double finish, read about it here.

An update on the results of the British Grand Prix and on the  Formula One standings, please click here

11 July 2010

Lotus Racing was again the best of the new teams during the British Grand Prix qualifying. Read more.

New in the F1 Press Releases section: AirAsia X & Lotus Racing partnership takes of. AirAsia X officially announced a partnership with Lotus Racing, during the British Grand Prix held at Silverstone. Read more.

10 July 2010

In the F1 Press Releases section you can see the first practice results from the British Grand Prix 2010 (Silverstone)

Lotus Racing’s Silverstone Friday Practice debut was a day of mixed fortunes, with Heikki Kovalainen completing 41 laps and finishing under a second behind Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso, but Fairuz Fauzy and Jarno Trulli both suffering technical issues that curtailed their running. Read more.

Dell joins Lotus Racing as an official technical supplier. Dell’s technology solutions have already been integrated across the company to form a robust infrastructure to support the business. Read more.

LG helping Lotus Racing push forward. LG, the Korean electronics giant which is now in its second year as an active supporter of F1™, is now very visible both on and off track with Lotus Racing. Read more.

Group Lotus today confirmed the forthcoming departure of Chief Operating Officer Frank Tuch. Read more.

9 July 2010

Modelcar news: the earlier announced Type 47 "Snorkel" by Spark (1/43) will be produced now, here is a first image. Can't wait to see the real thing, as the green stripes almost look like black to me on this image.
  The Spark model (left) and the real car

7 July 2010

Lotus Racing Silverstone preview

5 July 2010

Lotus Racing has today confirmed that Fairuz Fauzy will be driving in Friday Practice for the team at four more races in 2010, adding to the mileage he already has under his belt from the pre-season tests at Jerez and Barcelona. Read more in the press releases section.

4 July 2010

I recently found some pullback cars made by the Japanese company Kirin Wonda, here are for your information the 98T and the 99T. The models are made from plastic and about 5 cms long. Made in 2009.

4 July 2010

Suspension specialists GAZ have just introduced a new coilover kit for the Lotus Elise.

This suspension is part of the latest GAZ ‘Gold Professional’ range and represents an improvement on the GAZ Gold range. GAZ Gold Professional coilovers feature a HE15 aircraft-quality high tensile, aluminium body which is plated and fitted with anodised adjusters for long life. All units are individually tested before leaving the factory and covered by a 2 year warranty.

3 July 2010

News about model cars; the Ebbro Lotus 47 models that have been announced earlier this year, are now available in the specialist shops.

1 July 2010

Lotus Racing has today announced that it is throwing open the doors of its factory in Hingham, UK, for fans to take an exclusive look behind the scenes of the inner workings of the fastest new team in the Formula One™ World Championship. See the full story in the press releases section of the website.

1 July 2010

Minichamps has announced a 1/43 replica of the Lotus 79 that Jean-Pierre Jarier drove in the 1978 Canadian GP. This was Jarnier's second race for Lotus that year, after he was drafted in to fill the seat that Ronnie Peterson left following his fatal accident. Minichamps has also announced a 1/43 replica of the Lotus 79 that Nigel Mansell used in his first Formula 1 Test Drive at Paul Ricard in 1979