Lotus is a car company that was owned by GM for a while and sold, but was originally founded in the UK. Over their long history they have made well over 100 different models of vehicles and have been building racing cars and performance cars since its foundation. Having been founded in 1952 by local legend and engineer Colin Chapman its reputation grew quickly and it was seen as one of the better performance brands early on, however Chapman had a heart attack in 82 and unfortunately passed away, being only 54 years old.

Chapman had seen before his death, the company rise, and build nearly a hundred thousand vehicles that went on and competed in many different races and events. Four years after his unexpected death the Lotus Company and brand, along with patents and models, was bought by GM, and then, just a few years later in 1993 they sold Lotus to a company called ACBM for a reported thirty million dollars. This company was owned by Romano Artioli, who was also the owner of Bugatti.

The current company is not limited to just cars, as they also have their hands in engineering development and consulting along with suspension development and research. In addition to that they provide these services to other car builders and manufacturers; their power train department that has been the source of innovation for years has also been the main party responsible for the development and design of the 4 cyl motor found in most of GM’s Vauxhall, Saab, and Opel vehicles, and sometimes every now and again a Saturn. Although somewhat rare – as Saturn usually relies on other sources for its engines.

Currently Lotus has several models on the market, with the Lotus Elise being the premier of them, as it has many innovations and marvels for a car – and has spawned a few racing vehicles of its own. Other models include the Lotus Exige, which is an Elise with a redesigned design that adds more downward push at higher speeds for greater stability, the Lotuse Exige S which is basically an Exige with a bigger engine, the Lotus Europa S, a new design with two seats and much more luxury based. Also to be released is a Lotus Espirit replacement that has not been named.

The Tech Specs of the Lotus Exige

It first should be noted that there are three trim levels of the Lotus Exige, they include:  the S, the 240 and the S Club Racer.  All of these trims offer plenty of performance and a peppy engine to give you lots of thrills as you find the open road and eat the many curves that come up against you.  There are two different engines that offer pretty similar power.  The first is the 1.8 liter I-4 220 horsepower engine and the second is the 1.8 liter I-4 240 horsepower engine

What gives the Exige fine performance and handling is the bonded extruded aluminum chassis.  In addition, this vehicle comes with a four wheel independent suspension that is finished up with Eibach coil springs and Bilstein gas shock absorbers.

The exterior is beautiful and offers a look similar to the Tesla roadster.  The interior offers a touring package that comes with wonderful leather upholstery, full carpet and a wide variety of features that make your daily commute extremely comfortable.  New for the 2008 year is high definition instrument display, a new ignition key design and new trim levels- the S 240 and S club racer.  The Lotus is nicely priced at about $65K USD.

The Lotus Exige is an awesome exotic car running on a 1.8 Liter Inline-4 engine, capable of 146lb-ft@5000rpm / 192bhp@7800rpm.

The Lotus Exige is able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in only 4.6 s and reaches a top speed of 136 mph.

This beautiful exotic car uses a 5-Speed Manual transmission and weights 1720 lbs.

Are you sure you want one of these? Well, you just need to put your hands on $76,500 and the Lotus Exige is all yours… Drive carefully!

The Lotus Excel is an awesome exotic car running on a 2.2 Liter 4 cylinder engine, capable of 165lb-ft@5000rpm / 160bhp@6500rpm.

The Lotus Excel is able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in only 7.1 s and reaches a top speed of 130 mph.

This beautiful exotic car uses a 5 speed synchromesh Toyota manual transmission and weights 2,503 lbs.

Are you sure you want one of these? Well, you just need to put your hands on $0 and the Lotus Excel is all yours… Drive carefully!

The New Lotus 2-Eleven GT4 sports car comes equipped with plenty of power and some pretty impressive numbers.  While the engine offers a total of 270 horsepower and 181 lb ft of torque, the power this engine generates is put directly to the road using a new 6 speed sequential gearbox that offers a fore aft shift lever.  This means that if you are driving this baby, you can upshift without ever lifting your foot.  In addition, downshifting is simple as the engine automatically throttles down for downshifts.

Besides an impressive engine and transmission, the 2- Eleven also comes with some fine features including a new double wish boned suspension which offers a nice rigid and tighter racing suspension, semi slick AO48 Yokohama tires, carbon fiber race seats, a removable steering wheel and a Schroth 6 point race harness.  Also included is a 70 liter FIA approved bag tank to help put out fires.

While initial the production run for the Lotus 2-Eleven GT4 Sport Racer will be low, only 10 will be in production beginning in early March of 2009 with a cost of about $125,000.  Expect big things from Lotus.  Unlike other motor companies around the world, the new Lotus is doing quite well financially and is sure to weather the storm.  For those that are looking for a great track car for the weekends, Lotus definitely delivers.

The Lotus Esprit S1 is able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in only 8.1 s and reaches a top speed of 124 mph.
This beautiful exotic car uses a 5-Speed Manual transmission and weights 2101 lbs.
Are you sure you want one of these? Well, you just need to put your hands on $90,825 (rather cheap) and the Lotus Esprit S1 is all yours… Remember! Always drive very carefully!

The Lotus Esprit is able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in only 4.5 s and reaches a top speed of 175+ mph.
This beautiful exotic car uses a 5-speed Manual transmission and weights 3043 lbs.
Are you sure you want one of these? Well, you just need to put your hands on $91,545 and the Lotus Esprit is all yours… Drive carefully!

The Lotus Elan is an awesome exotic car running on a 1.6 Liter Inline-4 engine, capable of 108lb-ft@4000rpm / 105bhp@5500rpm.

The Lotus Elan is able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in only 8.7 s and reaches a top speed of 100 mph.

This beautiful exotic car uses a 4 Speed Manual transmission and weights 1290 lbs.

Are you sure you want one of these? Well, you just need to put your hands on $3,750 and the Lotus Elan is all yours… Drive very carefully!

The Lotus Elise is an awesome exotic car running on a 1.8 Liter straight-4 engine, capable of 122lb-ft@3000rpm / 120bhp@5500rpm.

The Lotus Elise is able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in only 6.0 s and reaches a top speed of 126 mph.

This beautiful exotic car uses a 5-Speed Manual transmission and weights 1488 lbs.

Are you sure you want one of these? Well, you just need to put your hands on $33,000 and the Lotus Elise is all yours… Drive slowly!