Proton which owns the Lotus brand announced a revitalized business plan for its future. At the moment, Lotus produces three models, with the Exige and the Elise considered as hardcore track cars. The Evora without a doubt is a luxury sports ride but is not yet at par with the likes of Ferrari.

The new branding as the sports car of the future is a side step from the idea Lotus have been known for: lightness as the number one factor. Lotus promises to come up with competitive sports car for the luxury segment by 2015 with sticker prices expected to start at $123,000 and going as high as $159,000. Lotus is also making progress on giving the Evora an automatic transmission, a similar moves being done by other sports car manufacturers too.

The upcoming lineup of Lotus will highlight advanced automotive technology like the dual clutch transmission with seven speeds. Another crucial feature will be their active aerodynamics. These two advancements are similar to the technologies being used by the 458 Italia by Ferrari. Lotus will also inject some variable dampers to give the cars a more luxurious feel.

The British carmaker is also planning to introduce green technologies for hybrids and EVs. Right now, the focus of Lotus is move up the ladder and compete with Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, and Ferrari. The brand will still keep their hardcore models like the Exige and the Elise while executing their new business plan.

The Evora 414E hybrid will rely on the power of lithium polymer battery packs powering the electric motors linked to each rear wheel. Each of the electric motor has an output of 207 horsepower so multiply the figure by two and you will see that the name of the hybrid vehicle is derived from that.

The batteries of the hybrid Lotus can last for about 35 miles before the 1.2L gasoline engine will be activated to recharge the batteries. The total range of the car is about 300 miles.

Each motor provides the car with a torque of 295 feet pounds and that explains how the Evora 414E hybrid can blast from 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds. Each electric motor utilizes a reduction transmission with single speed but the vehicle assures maximum traction with a torque vectoring system. The car also has a sports mode which simulates paddle shifting to give that car a real good fast ride.

The Evora Hybrid will also showcase the HALOsonic Sound Synthesis which warns pedestrians that the car is approaching. This basically gives the car a sound of a V6, V12 or a rather futuristic propulsion sound depending on the preference of the driver.

The Evora concept seems to have the looks and the technology to make it a hit.

The paper documents the planned specifics of the sales pitch to other carmakers. The Evora platform being licensed for other manufacturers is a long shot though and may be a hurdle high enough to block the flood of affordable Evora-based vehicles.

The 2010 Evora of Lotus is actually depending on a V6 from the Toyota line of DNA that can squeeze out some 276 horsepower. The main lines of the vehicle are designed to cater for both style and performance unlike the more aggressive Exige and Elise models.

The architecture of the Evora follows the Versatile Vehicle principle of Lotus. This entails a modular design which can easily be manipulated to conform to certain purposes. The architecture also favors cheaper manufacturing compared to the riveted and bonded aluminum parts being used by the Elise cars. Replicating the Evora platform is also very easy and cheap.

We are pretty sure that there will be announcements soon if the platform of the Evora will really be licensed for consumption of other carmakers. It is a wait and see game.

The Club Racer grabs the best colors of the past like the Elite Yellow, Old English White, Sky Blue, and Carbon gray. It still has its great combination of looks and function inside and out.

The standard seats for the Elise get a microfiber treatment that installs comfort pads without making them heavier. The handbrake and the gear knob also get a racing touch with anthracite anodized materials used.

CR or Club Racer is featured on the headrest through an embroidery work while the flooring also gets the CR mark. The steering wheel was also designed with a small diameter and leather treatment for good grip and better control.

The lightweight alloy wheels which also makes use o f anthracite anodized material translates the intentions of the driver on the road.

The exterior color provides a smooth transition to whatever theme the buyer chooses. Lines of black and silver highlights the transmission tunnel and divides the cockpit on the middle.

The Club Racer derives its engine DNA from the Elise S and also outputs 134 horsepower. You might say that is just not enough, but considering the weight of the car it may just be right. The Club Racer can blaze from 0 to 60 in just 5.7 seconds.

The Club Racer will be unveiled during the Frankfurt Motor Show and will also go on sale the minute the spotlight hits its panels.

The Lotus marketing move is coined the Purist Edition. The company is making use of the Purist Edition Elise with all the hyped features of the Touring variant, just minus the leather trims for the transmission tunnel, iPod interface, and leather inserts for the doors.

The sticker price for the Purist Edition Elise is marked at $44920 inclusive of delivery charges. This is about $3000 cheaper than the base model which has an original tag of $48175.

The Elise will be available in three colors—Ardent Red, Saffron Yellow, and Monaco White. The interior is with elegant leather seats combined with Momo steering wheel wrapped in leather, CD player, aircon, and a start button. The looks are classy with the 17 inch alloy rim paired with performance tires from Yokohama.

The engine is a decent 1.8L that can output 189 horsepower. The car can still sprint from 0 to 60 in just 4.9 seconds. Push a bit more and it will be at 100 in 12.9 seconds. Top speed hits 150 mph or 241 km/hr.

The fuel mileage for the Purist Elise is at 21mpg in city driving and at 27 mpg cruising on a highway, which doesn’t really qualify it as an environmentally-friendly car, but most sports car are way, way worse when it comes to fuel economy. Go Lotus!

Brief History of Lotus

Lotus was originally formed by engineer Colin Chapman in 1952, as Lotus Engineering, Ltd. It’s first factory was in an old stable behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, England and in 1954 Team Lotus was split off from the original company to focus on Formula One racing, where it excelled from 1958 – 1994.

In 1959, Lotus Cars, Ltd. and Lotus Components, Ltd., which focused on road car and competition car production, respectively moved to a factory in Cheshunt. In 1966, the company moved into a more modern factory with a road test facility in Hethel, at the former RAF Hethel base, where it has remaind ever since.

In 1971, Lotus Components, Ltd. became Lotus Racing Limited, but it ceased operations the same year.

In 1986, Lotus Cars, Ltd. was purchased by General Motors which ran it until 1993, when it was sold for £30 million to A.C.B.N. Holdings S. A. of Luxembourg, a company controlled by the Italian businessman Romano Artioli, also the owner of Bugatti Automobili SpA. Three years later Lotus was sold again, this time to Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (aka Proton) a Malaysian car company operating on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

In addition to manufacturing Lotus cars, the company also acts as an engineering consultancy providing engineering development, especially suspension systems, for other carmakers. It also has a lesser-known powertrain department which is responsible for the design and development of the same 4-cylinder engine used by GM’s Vauxhall, Opel, Saab and likely some Saturn cars, though the current models of the Lotus Elise and Exige use the 1.8-Liter VVTL-I I4 previously used in the Toyota Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS.

Currently, the company is referred to as Group Lotus, and is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering, and though many rumors abound, there are no plans to re-enter Formula One racing with a company team.

Current Models

Current Lotus models include:

• Elise – This car incorporates several engineering innovations including an aluminum extrusion frame and a composite body shell, and has spawned many racing models, including the exotic limited-edition 340R. In the United States, the Elise is sold with a Toyota engine in order to pass stricter emissions laws and auto insurance standards, though it also has a Lotus ECU with its own fuel mapping.
• Eco Elise – A special Elise model that incorporates solar panels and a roof made from hemp.
• Exige and Exige-S – Elise models that have been redesigned to provide additional downforce and a hard top. The S-model is supercharged and has an engine that provides 220 hp, while the standard Exige tops out at 190 hp.
• Evora – Launched last July, and code-named Project Eagle while it was in development, this is a 2+2 sports car with a mid-mounted, transverse, 3.5-liter V6 engine. A new model is planned for 2010.

Lotus in America

While Lotus is not exactly a household name in the United States, it enjoys a small but fierce following. The largest North American owners club is Lotus, Ltd, which boasts more than 1500 members, hosts the annual Lotus Exige 260 Cup, and has member groups in sixteen states and Washington, DC. They also have an extensive website at www.lotuscarclub.org, and publish a regular newsletter called the Remarque.

Other Lotus clubs are smaller, and exist in twenty-one states and Washington, DC. Most are linked to the official American site for Lotus cars: www.lotuscars.com.

The engine from the renowned research division of Lotus is set to deliver the maximum work performance regardless of the kind of fuel. A lot of speculations and hypothesis are being raised because of the known variability of fuel characteristics.

Different fuels will have different octane ratings, burn rates, and combustion temperatures and these will make one wonder how an engine like Omnivore will remain efficient. The Omnivore concept engine is specifically engineered to optimally use different fuels and make use of the available electronic control technologies.

At its current stage, the engine is a single cylinder machine which allows Lotus experts to easily note effects and make revisions as needed. The concept machine also comes as a two stroke engine with direct fuel injection.

The engineering arm of Lotus foresees how Omnivore can influence the increase of efficiency and travel distance when green fuels are utilized.

The monoblock design eliminates the need for a cylinder head gasket by integrating the design of the cylinder head with the engine block. This feature adds to the durability of the design and decreases the total weight of the engine.

The Omnivore also permits asymmetric timing of the exhaust flow. A puck on top of the combustion chamber makes variable compression possible.

Omnivore, if successful, will paved the way for the development of multi fuel engines that can help in decreasing the dependency on fossil fuels.

The British car manufacturer Lotus assisted in the development of the electric cars of Chrysler and Tesla and there are now assumptions that Lotus aims for a chunk of the market by competing with these brands.

The Lotus electric sports car is yet to be named but company officials share that it will be similar to the Fisker Karma or the Chevrolet Volt. Its batteries will be recharged by an internal combustion engine when they start depleting. Such a design shows the DNA of the Lotus in other EV cars like the Dodge EV and the Tesla Roadster.

The designers also hint of a prototype of the Lotus electric sports car soon.

Upon production the Lotus EV speed monster is expected to be ahead of the pact or among green tech pillars Ruf, Fisker Automotive, and Tesla. Other manufacturers are also spending a lot of money and effort in coming up with good performing EVs like the Mitsubishi iMiEV and the Mini E but they are not primarily built for speed.

Lotus did not reveal details about the car or the engine but discloses that it will go for 300 to 400 miles and it will really live up to the expectations of being one of the best electric cars in the world.

A lot of people are wondering how the car will look like. Lotus is spending around $90 million in lower emission technology and has helped other car companies come up with their EVs. We are sure that Lotus can come up with something exciting— maybe they will just tweak a bit the DNA of the Evora.

The unique name makes no sense anymore, but the car is still one of the most amazing Elises ever built for the road  but I have a feeling soon these babies will be exported to the Gulf or the US…