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Gerard Lopez’s Genii Capital to buy into Group Lotus?

October 10, 2011 at 4:51 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Local News, Lotus, Proton

The latest rumours surrounding Group Lotus, which is a fully owned subsidiary of Proton, is that Genii Capital will be buying into the sportscar maker. Headed by Gerard Lopez, Genii Capital is the owner of the Renault F1 Team (Lotus Renault GP), which of course has Group Lotus as title sponsor.

Autosport reports that its high level sources have revealed that Lopez/Genii Capital has held advanced talks with Proton about taking a management and financial interest in Group Lotus, which could even go as far as Genii taking a majority stake!

It’s not common knowledge, but Genii and Proton have always been talking. “We have an agreement with Proton and are working a number of things with them, including opening certain geographies in terms of platform, like Russia for instance,” Gerard Lopez told this website in an interview early this year (read the interview in full here).

In that same interview, Lopez did not rule out getting involved in GL, even back then. “I think they have a good shareholder with Proton. For sure, that is something also that we will be looking at, but it’s not anything that is urgent. No, I wouldn’t rule it out. I never rule anything out,” he said.

When asked about the latest rumours by Autocar UK, Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar did not deny it outright. “I can only say this: When we made the announcement about our involvement in Lotus Renault GP we made it clear that this was the start of a close relationship and this journey continues.”

As a recap, Group Lotus became title sponsor of the Genii owned Renault F1 Team late last year, leading to the F1 outfit racing in black/gold livery that recalls the Team Lotus of old. They signed a seven-year sponsorship deal, with Lotus having the option to take over 50% at some point in time.

Behind the F1 scenes, LRGP is now working on renaming the team to be just called ‘Lotus’, with Tony Fernandes’ Team Lotus changing names to Caterham, which is of course owned by the AirAsia boss.

Motorsports has always been one of Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar’s main strategies to elevate the brand to fight the likes of Ferrari and Porsche, and it was never in doubt that they wanted to be more than just a name on the wing.

“Our way of doing things means that at the end of the project we would like to control it ourselves. It’s the same route – it starts somewhere and then you slowly take control. We would not be in for the long-term just to be a sponsor on the team,” Bahar said then.

So, if all these comes true, we could be seeing a marriage between Genii and Lotus – GL takes a stake in the team, and Genii buys into the carmaker. It remains to be seen if they live happily ever after, though.

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Jean Alesi to take on Indy 500 in 2012 in a Lotus

September 26, 2011 at 11:52 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lotus

Age is just a number. Forty-seven-year old former F1 driver Jean Alesi, who is Group Lotus brand ambassador, is set to make his return to competitive racing with Lotus in next year’s Indy 500.

Despite his wealth of experience, it’ll be Alesi’s first outing in tackling competitive oval racing. His most recent competitive race appearance was last year, in the Le Mans Series. Alesi joined Group Lotus as a brand ambassador in January this year and was the development consultant on the F1 customer race car, the T125.

His development role with Group Lotus will see him preparing for next May’s race, in which he will be competing in a Lotus powered by the new Lotus IndyCar engine. Development of the 2.2l twin turbo V6 is going to schedule, with the first engine fire up set for mid-October and track testing planned for December.

“I’m thrilled that Lotus has given me the opportunity to compete in such a world famous race. It’s going to be a very special experience for me, but I also know that I have a lot of hard work ahead. I’m very focused on the task I’m facing – I’m taking my training very seriously, I have some amazing support on this front from a ‘comeback’ expert and of course I will be testing extensively. I’m really excited about the race,” Alesi said.

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Proton, Lotus supporting Lotus-Renault GP in Singapore

September 24, 2011 at 6:28 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports, Proton

We’re here in the Lion City to catch Formula 1′s only night race this weekend, and we’re seeing some familiar sights at Singapore’s Clarke Quay. Proton and its subsidiary Group Lotus, which is of course the title sponsor of Lotus-Renault GP, is making its presence felt in Singapore with a showcase amidst the trendy bars and restaurants of the riverside area.

The showcase features the main star – a Lotus-Renault GP F1 car – flanked by a white Lotus Evora and the sportiest production Proton, the R3 Satria Neo. Besides the machines, there’s a stall selling official LRGP merchandise as well as a Batak Machine.

The latter is a fun activity that tests and trains reflexes and is used as an F1 training simulator as well. Basically, the lights pop up and you hit the button – who hits more in one minute wins. The Batak duel was a big crowd puller among the Clake Quay crowd – I gave it a try as well and realised that my reflexes needed a lot of training!

We missed her, but Miss Universe Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs, Proton’s brand ambassador Down Under, made an appearance as well.

If you’re wondering why Proton is at an F1 race, it’s to support Group Lotus and to benefit from the association with the sports car brand. “It’s not Proton in F1, it’s Lotus. Proton has no business being in F1,” said Proton MD Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin.

Both him and Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar revealed that the gold “Lotus” name is in among the top 10 most visible brands in Formula 1 (among the many names and sponsors) as tracked by two UK based agencies used by the sport.

They said that brand awareness is what Group Lotus is chasing after, and this brand awareness is crucial to support Lotus’ upcoming new gen of cars, starting with the Esprit in 2013. According to the plan, “when the Esprit comes out, it will come out in a very good environment, says Syed Zainal. “We want to bring the (brand) awareness back to the level seen 25 years ago,” added Bahar, who sounds consistent with his Paris 2010 speech.

As for LRGP, they’re not expecting too much from this weekend, as the R31 is not suited to Singapore’s layout. Team boss Eric Boullier also revealed that they’ve abandoned the updates brought in for this race, namely tighter bodywork and sidepods. It wasn’t a problem with the new stuff, but a problem with water flow for the radiators. Better not to risk it, so it was back to default. The updates will debut in Japan.

Will Sebastian Vettel be crowned world champion for the second time tomorrow? No one dares to bet against that happening, but Alonso and the McLaren boys will be all out to spoil the party, that’s for sure. Enjoy the race!

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Frankfurt: Lotus unveils the 2012 Exige S and Exige R-GT

September 15, 2011 at 1:10 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, International News, Lotus

Lotus has unveiled two refreshed Exige models at the Frankfurt Motor Show. First up is the Exige S which is given a reworked exterior and a new interior. Exterior updates include a new front splitter and a rear spoiler. Also available are two new interior packages including Premium and Premium Sport. The former offers a comfortable feel while the latter focuses on creating an internal space optimised for ultimate driver involvement.

Other features include Lotus Dynamic Performance Management (DPM) which enables the driver to to switch between three driving modes including Touring, Sport or DPM off. An option called Race Pack will give you a fourth mode called Race. This mode gives the maximum possible traction out of corners and it comes with Launch Control and an optimised suspension configuration. Power to the rear wheels come from a 3.5 litre supercharged V6 which cranks out 345 hp. This along with a 1080 kg weight figure, offers the driver a super healthy power-to-weight ratio.

Next up is the Exige R-GT which will take part in the FIA GT category of the FIA Rally Championship on asphalt in Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse and San Remo. It uses the same 3.5 litre unit used the road Exige but changes were made to the gearbox and the restrictors on the engine in order to control the power. Lotus confirmed that it will partner with several customer teams, like its venture into IndyCar.

Lotus also mentioned that you don’t need to a professional race car driver to get behind the wheel of the Exige R-GT. The company said the R-GT was developed alongside the road car and it still has a sense of fun driving and ease of use despite the performance.

At the moment we only have a single image of the R-GT but you can continue reading to view more photos of the Exige S.
[Read more...]

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Lotus six-pack set for Frankfurt, with three new models, two new options and a special limited edition on list

September 1, 2011 at 2:19 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lotus


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Plenty of action from Group Lotus at Frankfurt later this month, with no less than six items on the agenda, of which the Evora GTE limited special edition seen above is one.

Touted by the company as the most powerful Lotus road car ever built, the GTE turns out 444 PS from its race-developed engine. It’s also 105 kg lighter than the base Evora, the weight reduction accomplished with liberal use of carbon fibre, with all the bodywork modifications including the front and rear bumpers, the rear wing and the doors utilising the stuff.

The car was originally designed as a special limited edition for the Asian market, but the company says that Evora GTE production will be expanded to meet demand and reach further markets. As Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar puts it, “The response to this model in China has been so incredible, within days we had sold out with 114 orders. In response we decided that the only logical step from a business perspective was to increase production and widen our reach.”

In addition to the Evora GTE, Frankfurt will also see the debut of three new models, with one of these being the Elise S, which replaces the Elise SC. The car features a new 1.8l supercharged engine offering 220 PS and improved throttle response, among other things.

No details about the other two cars, with only hints to suggest – one is said to be one of the quickest road cars Lotus has ever built and the other marks the return of Lotus to another adrenalin-filled motorsport discipline.

Elsewhere, the last two items on the list are new options – the 1.6l Elise gets a SPS (Serial Precision Shift) gearbox option, which utilises new lightweight robotised automated manual transmission technology to allow the driver to switch between manual and automatic driving modes via paddles fixed to the steering column.

The second new option is IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift), which will be found on the supercharged Evora S, offering the versatility of an automatic gearbox. The optional paddle shift mode allows the driver the full and uncompromised Evora S experience with the added bonus of switching to automatic mode. The S IPS will feature in the Evora model year 2012 line-up, which the company says features significant quality improvements following extensive development work and feedback.

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Gordon Murray to advise Group Lotus management

August 30, 2011 at 5:21 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lotus

Gordon MurrayThe latest auto industry executive to join the Lotus Advisory Council is Gordon Murray, who will work together with other council members like Bob Lutz, Tom Purves, Prof. Dr. Burkhard Göschel and Frank Tuch.

The Lotus Advisory Council is supposed to advise Group Lotus on current and future development as well as strategic issues such as product strategy, technology, quality, brand, marketing and distribution for Group Lotus.

Gordon Murray is no stranger in the auto industry, credited with the design of F1 race cars and the McLaren F1 road car. Funny thing is, Murray moved to England in 1969 with the aim of hopefully getting a job at Lotus cars. He was eventually offered a job with Brabham.

“For years I’ve been a huge admirer of Lotus, I have great respect for the legacy that Colin Chapman created and I think what Dany and the team are doing is a really good thing for the brand. He’s taking the strength from Chapman’s principals and taking the business to the next level whilst still keeping the general ethos – not an easy task! I’m really looking forward to contributing to Group Lotus during this exciting time,” said Murray.

To be honest, while all of this is cool, I’m beginning to wish Group Lotus had something else product-related to announce other than all the various HR and sponsorship announcements that they’ve been putting out recently. They’re a car company after all.

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Reports: Lotus CityCar confirmed, to be called ‘Ethos’

August 1, 2011 at 3:00 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Lotus

The Lotus CityCar Concept, essentially a three-door version of the Proton EMAS concept with Lotus’ new face, is confirmed for production, according to reports. Shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show alongside Lotus’ five concepts, the CityCar will not be alone in the premium mini car market, it will be accompanied by the Aston Martin Cygnet, which is a rebadged Toyota iQ with luxury trim.

“The city car concept is now confirmed for production. That’s called the Lotus Ethos, and it’s due about 2013,” said Lotus spokesman Alastair Florance, who added that the “Ethos” will be built by parent company Proton. “It’s being worked on right now – people out in Malaysia are working on that.”

So it’s a rebadged Proton then? “We’ll work extensively on the engineering – the Lotus version will be very much a Lotus,” Florance was quoted as saying. “But I believe there will be a Proton version.” That’s the EMAS folks.

It will be bigger than the Cygnet/iQ, and the Lotus city car is planned as a hybrid-only model. The concept is powered by a plug-in series hybrid drivetrain with the ability to run solely on electric power, but a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine is there as a range extender, eliminating range woes.

Click here to view our live gallery of the Lotus CityCar from Paris 2010.

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Lotus Evora S picked by Carabinieri as rapid response cars – two units to see service in Rome and Milan

July 25, 2011 at 11:57 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lotus


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The Italian military police have selected the Lotus Evora S as rapid response vehicles – two units of the car will see service in Rome and Milan in a two-year long stint. The Arma dei Carabinieri, as it is known, is a division of the Italian army and plays a similar role in Italy to Scotland Yard in the UK, working with the civilian police.


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In preparation for the job with the Carabinieri, both Evoras have been equipped with some of the very latest voice recognition technology, including the EVA (Enhanced Vehicle Automation) system. A special portable refrigeration compartment has been fitted behind the front seats, which will allow for the rapid transport of vital organs and blood required during medical emergencies.


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It’s a feather in the cap for the brand, Group Lotus’ CEO Dany Bahar said, considering the market where the cars will see service. “Everyone knows that Italy has more than it’s fair share of high profile sports car manufacturers, so it is a real honour for a relatively small British brand to be in this position,” he said at the cars’ handover ceremony.

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Datuk Seri Najib visits Group Lotus HQ in the UK

July 17, 2011 at 3:21 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lotus

If you’ve been paying attention to the national press, you would know that the Prime Minister was in the UK recently for official visits. He met the Queen, and he also paid a visit to Proton’s sports car maker subsidiary Group Lotus.

He took a tour of the design studio and the production line, and was given an experience around the refurbished Hethel test track in the new Lotus Evora IPS with automatic transmission.

“To be honest, when I first learnt of the future plans for Lotus, I felt a small degree of scepticism due to the level of investment required but now I’m going home as a strong supporter of the turnaround plan. I’d like to categorically say that Group Lotus has the endorsement of the Malaysian Government and Khazanah. With the current plan in place, I can see that the level of professionalism is high, enthusiasm and morale are high too and I have a sense that the business plan is more than achievable. It might be bold and ambitious or even audacious but there is nothing like the motivation that comes from setting such high targets, with this situation you can strive and go the extra mile and achieve what you may not otherwise be able to achieve. I wish Group Lotus all the best, good luck and this definitely won’t be the last time I visit,” said Datuk Seri Najib at the end of his visit.

The Group Lotus turnaround plan has been heavily criticized by many – most have the opinion that it is too big a task that costs too much money to do in too little time. According to Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, Group Lotus has completed year one of the five year plan and the Lotus Esprit project has made good progress. The plan seems to be evolving with time as well – for example, we recently heard that the Elan has been delayed and the Evora will continue in the line-up.

“Feedback regarding the Elan showed us that it was too close in style and positioning to the Esprit, and so as a consequence we have delayed the delivery of the Elan – delayed not cancelled. This allows us to focus more of our attention on the Evora which I believe has fantastic potential. Another major development that has come about as a consequence of the feedback we received is that we are now developing our own engine to use in our future cars, creating even more the pure Lotus experience,” said Dany Bahar.
[Read more...]

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Lotus unveils revised and restored Hethel test track

June 23, 2011 at 4:43 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lotus

Lotus’ revised and restored Hethel test track was unveiled earlier in the week, with 1992 F1 world champion Nigel Mansell having the honour of opening the circuit in a 1981 Essex-Lotus 81B in which he started his Formula One career more than three decades ago.

Mansell led a convoy of seven racing cars from the Lotus stable, including the innovative 1980 Type 88 twin-chassis car (which the rulemakers never allowed to race), the Lotus Type 125 Exos Experience car driven by fellow ex-F1 driver Jean Alesi as well a brace of Lotus Renault GP cars piloted by current F1 stars Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna.

It was the first time that modern-era F1 cars have gone around the historic Hethel tarmac since the early 1990s. The layout of the 3.54km circuit remains the same, though one extra corner has been added, but significant work has been done on providing the track with the means to handle modern racing car and performance car testing.

The surface has new asphalt, and the track now features larger run off areas. Its mixture of corners, straight and braking zones makes it ideal for testing and optimising every performance aspect of the new era of Lotus products as well as the evaluation of car control at the Lotus Driving Academy. There’s also a new workshop, and the track will soon get a new pit building and a hospitality suite.

Mansell was certainly chuffed. “What a joy it was to be reunited with my old 81B after 30 years. This is a very special place, Hethel, and it was wonderful to open the circuit today by driving alongside my sons Leo and Greg,” the Group Lotus ambassador said.

“It’s extremely fast. The first time I went out I was surprised about the length of the straights, but then of course it’s not only for motor sport but for testing road cars. The layout is perfect for that. It’s a proper test track,” fellow Group Lotus ambassador Alesi added.

“A year ago we set out our plans to introduce a new model line up, ambitious motorsport plans and a revitalisation of the iconic Lotus brand. A year in, we are meeting all the targets and milestones we set ourselves. One of the milestones was the opening of our test track. You might say this is just a refurbishment of a track and not a major achievement in itself, and I agree,” said Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar.

“However, mentally and psychologically, seeing this project accomplished demonstrates that step-by-step our vision is becoming a reality. It shows our entire workforce and our partners that we are delivering on our promises,” he added.

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