Showing posts with label Lotus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lotus. Show all posts
Kimi to Miss the Last two Races of The Season

Photo credits: Lotus F1 Team

Kimi Räikkönen will not be able to take part in the last two races of the season (USA and Brasil) as he will be undergoing back surgery in Austria. The injury goes back to 2001 but it seems that Kimi has been suffering during the last two races in India and Abu Dhabi and he chose not to take part in the remaining two races in order to be ready in time for the next season where he will be switching to the Scuderia Ferrari.

Let's try to avoid the speculations and wish Kimi a speedy recovery. Besides, the fact that he recently expressed his enthusiasm for racing in the States again strengthens the idea that the Finn is doing this due to health concerns. But on the other hand, we also know that Kimi recently visited Maranello to meet his new boss and take the seating measures and that he still hasn't been paid by Lotus this season...

The replacement driver's name has not been determined yet but rumors started to emerge that last year's GP2 champion and Lotus current reserve driver Davide Valsecchi could be ready to take Kimi's seat this weekend.

Mathematically, the Lotus driver might drop from third to sixth in the championship if he misses the last two races. But we also know that third or sixth doesn't make a big difference for him. He just wants to be the champ!

[News source: F1Fanatic]
2:01 PM Read More +
2013 Lotus E21 Single Seater Revealed, Has a Steering Wheel Perfect for Kimster!


Lotus is the first Formula 1 team to unveil its 2013 car and we're a little bit surprised to see that the stepped nose is still visible. But it seems that we'll have to expect that from a few other teams.

As you can see, the Lotus E21's steering wheel has everything that the iceman needs: the mute button, the nap button, the "Button" button and of course the Banana button! But it seems that the E21 has some secret weapons that might or might not be in the scope of the regulations like the "Deploy Angry Bird" button and the "Jump" button.


This season Kimi won't have any issues returning to the race track thanks to the new "sat nav" button. We'll let you dig through all the other features..

As I'm writing this psot, you can still follow the official unveiling event on Live on Youtube. So hurry up while you still can! Next up will be McLaren who will be unveiling their 2013 car on January 31st, so stay tuned!




10:32 PM Read More +
Composite Worx Extrema Revealed


Composite Worx is an Italian car company specialized in composite materials and located in the beautiful city of Bergamo, Italy. The company recently revealed its Lotus Exige based Extrema project which relies on the simple concept of less weight, more power.

To keep the weight down, and when I say down, I mean 970 Kg (2138 pounds), the whole body is made of carbon fiber but that's not all. The original seats were replaced by the company's SP-1 twin skin full carbon seats. The story gets even more interesting when we tell you that the original engine was ditched in favor of the 649bhp LS9 V8 from the Corvette C6.

The result is a car that can complete the 0 to 100 Km/h (62 mph) sprint in 2.9 seconds with a top speed of 322 Km/h (200 mph). More pictures of the lightweight beast in the gallery below.




[Source: Composite Worx]
4:58 PM Read More +
Lotus F1 E20 Revealed!


It seems that McLaren is the only team who has resisted the stepped nose temptation so far... Now it's Lotus F1's turn to unveil its 2012 competitor. The former Renault F1 Team has succeeded to attract attention this year by hiring the returning world champion Kimi Raikkönen and let's not forget the historic Black and Gold livery which looks absolutely gorgeous. On paper, this team has everything it needs to be among the front runners this year. Let's hope it live up to the fans' expectations.. There's more to come this afternoon with Red Bull Racing revealing its RB8, so stay tuned!

11:54 AM Read More +
Saving the Best For The End: The 2010 Lotus Esprit Revival



This is it, the car that every body was waiting for from Lotus, the Lotus Esprit revival. Lotus is preparing its weapon to enter the Mid-engined V8 powered supercars field. This means that the Lotus Esprit will have tough competitors like the Ferrari 458 Italia and the McLaren MP4-12C to name a few.

The 2013 Esprit clearly has the looks to play with the big dogs. However, the more interesting part lies under the bonnet where there's a supercharged 5.0 L V8 coming from the Lexus IS-F that now produces 620 Hp. Better than that, Lotus is planning to offer a KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) used in Formula One i 2009) like system as an option. This means you will have 620 Hp under you right foot and a few more ponies at the press of a button.

Performance figures are remarkable as usual: 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) time will be at around 3.5 seconds and top speed is 329 Km/h (205 mph). Expect the new Lotus esprit to cost at around 175,000$


















update: Live pictures available.


Photo Credits: World Car Fans
3:15 PM Read More +
The Lotus Assault on Paris - Part Four: 2013 Lotus Elan Concept



Another name that goes right into the hearts of the brand's enthusiasts. The new Lotus Elan has definitetly grown up in every way. And yes, this is the fourth concept car unveiled by Lotus in this year's Paris Motor Show and there's still more to come..

Just like all the future Lotus lineup, the 2013 Elan borrows its power plant from Toyota. This time, under the bonnet lies a 4.0 L supercharged V6 good for 450 Hp. The extra engine weight along with the bigger body means the Elan is slightly heavier than the 4 cylinder powered Lotus Elise. The Elan weights 1292 Kg (2848 pounds) but that doesn't stop it from reaching 100 KM/h in 3.5 seconds and have a top speed of 310 km/H (193 mph). Ambitious numbers, but knowing Lotus, they shouldn't be too far from reality..










update: Live pictures available.


Photo Credits: Autoblog
7:04 PM Read More +
The Lotus Assault on Paris - Part Three: 2015 Lotus Elise Concept


After two heavy weight concept cars, this one shows that Lotus is still commited to its light weight philosophy with the Elise. Lotus couldn't do things half way when it comes to renewing their best seller and most popular sports car. So they offered the Elise a brand new face, a very pretty one.

From a technical side of view, the elise is still a light weight compact sports car with a small powerful engine. The turbocharged 2.0 L four cylinder engine coming from Toyota pumps out 320 hp and helps the slightly heavier Elise (1092 KG, 2408 pounds) to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds. But let's forget those extra kilograms since this Elise is truly a nice thing to look at.










update: Live pictures available.


Photo Credits: Motor Authority
11:22 PM Read More +
The Lotus Assault on Paris - Part Two: The Front Mid-Engined 2+2 Lotus Elite



The second revelation from Lotus in the 2010 Paris Motor Show is a 612 Scaglietti Competitor. It's a front mid-engined V8 powered 2+2 gorgeous grand tourer. This concept car comes as confirmation that Lotus now wants to play in the Ferrari field. Apart from the very smooth and nicely sculpted body, Lotus is preparing a very reliable weapon to afec the Modena giant: the 5.0 L V8 from the Lexus IS-F, tuned to produce more than 611 Hp!

The Elite however, is considerably heavy compared to the light weight vehicules that Lotus used to make. In fact it weights around 1632 Kg (3600 pounds) but that doesn't stop it from reachng 100 Km/H in 3.6 seconds and have a top speed that exceeds 313 Km/H (195 mph). The Elite is estimated at 180,000$ and is planned for 2014.

There's still more to come from Lotus, Stay tuned!











update: Live pictures available.


Photo Credits: World Car Fans
10:11 PM Read More +
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)