Things started to go awry following the death of founder Colin Chapman in 1982 and the company’s reputation for high performance innovation inspired by motorsport participation gently evaporated.

However, the company is now going back to its roots under the direction of its new CEO, the former Ferrari man Dany Bahar. This has seen them return to high level motorsport (Formula One, Indycar and Le Mans) and bring high performance motorsport technology to road users like never before with the new T125.

Get closer to F1 than ever before

Named in order to align it to Lotus’s first ever championship winning F1 chassis (Lotus 25), the Lotus T125 is as close to the company’s current F1 racer as usability and finances allow. Powered by a 3.5 litre 640 BHP Cosworth V8 despite only weighing 650kg and with F1 inspired aerodynamics, the T125 is perhaps the highest performance track day car the average petrol head will ever get their hands on.

Only 25 T125’s are to be made, with each buyer getting a complimentary day of individual training with Formula 1 race winner Jean Alesi, who is going to be contesting the Indy 500 race for Lotus next year. Additionally, each T125 owner will be able to pick their own colour scheme or livery for the car, with historic Lotus JPS, Camel and British racing green liveries all being available to customers.

However, all of this performance and exclusivity does not come cheap; with the T125 costing close to $1 million. On top of this, anyone who is thinking of driving the vehicle will have to pass stringent health and fitness tests in order to prove that they are capable of handling the remarkable forces which the car places on the occupants body, with 5g (five times the force of gravity) being generated by the vehicles advanced aerodynamics in certain corners.

One slight deviation from F1 machinery is that it does come with its own starter motor, ensuring that you will not have to have your own pit crew to get you started every time you take to the track. Lotus’s marketing and PR executive Kevin Smith commented: “This is as close as you can get to the F1 experience.”

The future is just beginning

The T125 is just the start of Lotus’s future according to Bahar, who has steered the company back down the motorsport route. Bahar believes that the association with Motorsport is what made Lotus so successful during it prime, and is hoping that it is not too late to recapture past glories.

Its focus on developing technologies for motorsport projects are expected to have a knock on effect on the company’s road legal vehicle fleet, with a new Lotus Esprit, Elan and Elise all set to hit the market within the next five years.

Perhaps the one major flaw of the T125 is that $1 million would likely be enough to buy you a seat in a major motorsport category like F3 for a single season, or perhaps even a winter testing day for perennial F1 back-markers HRT.

It should also not be forgotten that $1 million is only the initial buying costs, and does not include fuel or insurance prices; not to mention the cost of replacement tyres with F1 tyres regularly burning out after about 20 laps of some circuits. It is also unlikely that conventional breakdown cover companies would be interested in offering you comprehensive packages, with the cost of replacement parts likely to be astronomical.

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The new Lotus Evora supercar has been designed with basic components that help to make it a very powerful vehicle using a mid engine layout and bonded aluminum. The racing version of it was made using the Toyota V6 that is able to push out more then 400 horsepower and has a new paddle shift sequential six-speed gearbox.

Because it is supposed to be race ready it is designed with a full roll cage and a fire extinguisher system. Yet, despite all of these features Lotus managed to drop some weight. They accomplished this by using the lightweight composite as well as carbon panels in place of the standard bodywork.

It is also designed with a rear wing that is able to push the suspension system to allow the car to run on a wider 18” Pirelli tires. The braking will be the Bosch ABS system that is specifically used for competitions along with a six piston AP Racing calipers. They will be supporting a factory team for 2010 and 2011.

©2012 Cool Supercars. All Rights Reserved.

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It was during that part of the movie that he picked up Robert’s character. That is where he let her drive and gave her (us) an insight as to how the car drives and handles. Now anyone (with the right amount of money) can get their hands on this classic supercar.

This very same car is listed for sale on Hemmings for $54,998. For years it has been at the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois. It is a 1990 Lotus Esprit SE though how it was given the title year of ‘89 we have no idea.

It is equipped with a turbo four cylinder engine that gives it the ability to rev from – to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and has a top speed of 165 mph. It is only one of the 324 Loti that were sold in the United States during 1990 and the only one that was ever used in a movie. It has 23k miles on it and comes with a genuine letter of authenticity.

©2012 Cool Supercars. All Rights Reserved.

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The 2009 Exige 260 is powered by a Toyota sourced 1.8 liter engine that can push out 257 horsepower and allow it to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less then 4 seconds. In order to keep the car from leaving the planet Lotus has installed variable traction control, launch control, and 40 kilograms of downforce at 100 mph.

Those who actually want to take this bad boy on the road will only be able to if they are in the European Union where it is street legal. You can purchase one in the UK for £45,995.

Specifications

Carbon fibre (resulting in a weight saving of 12kg)

Roof Panel
FIA and HANS compliant Driver and Passenger Seats
One piece Carbon Fibre Dash Top Panel
Rear Tailgate
Front Access Panels
Front Splitter
Side air intake ducts
Rear Spoiler
Lightweight components (resulting in a further weight saving of 22kg):

Lightweight ‘Motorsport’ Battery
Ultra-light 12 Spoke Forged Alloy Wheels
Revised Rear Engine Subframe with lightweight Coating
Lightweight Fly Wheel
Lightweight composite bulkhead panel replaces rear window
Alloy Supercharger U bend pipes
Footwell Pads
Removing some other non essential components and equipment such as the interior and boot carpets, front mudflaps, battery cover, interior mirror, sunvisors, rear tailgate gas strut, results in a further weight saving of 4kg.

©2012 Cool Supercars. All Rights Reserved.

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The third-generation Elise will be revealed in 2010 with a longer and wider brand new aluminum architecture then the current model. The Abarth version will be made with different composite body panels and will use a direct-inject 4-cylinder turbocharged engine that can push out 240 horsepower.

The Abarth roadster will debut in Europe a year after the Elise, and if Fiat’s plans of coming to the U.S. are realized, we might even get our own version in the States.

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Sources stated that the Esprit will be built with the chassis that is based off of the Evora except that it will be stretched and widened to fit the engine that will be mounted beneath the hood. Lotus boss Mike Kimberley says that he wants to offer “guilt-free, high performance motoring” and this means that to reach that goal, the new Esprit could be fitted with a hybrid drivetrain based on a mix of Lotus and Toyota technology.

Lotus has more projects that are on the way which include six new versions of the Evora that will range from convertibles to an automatic variant. They will also be producing S3 versions of the Exige and Elise. Let’s just hope Lotus can bring us the 2011 Esprit supercar that we’re epxecting, and expectations are high.

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It has been equipped with a V6 3.5 liter engine from Toyota – but of course Lotus has tweaked it to its specifications. The car itself weighs 2,976 pounds – which is below the average weight of many cars.

The interior makes you want to live in the car and make it your new home. It has leather all around and a navigation system that is imperative to those of us who are directionally challenged.

The Evora will be built England at the rate of 2,000 annually, but has been designed to meet safety and emissions requirements around the world. That many cars for so many markets means the Evora will be exclusive, although we don’t expect Lotus to leave money on the table if there’s big demand for its new, softer, more accessible sports car.

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We know that the Espirit has been taken and will be used for the new range-topper that they have designed – which leaves several names open and ready to be taken. We did hear that Lotus registered the name Ethos in the United States and Eagle was the name that was given to the test mule.

We won’t know officially what it will be called until Lotus debuts the car at the British International Motor Show.

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The new Eco Elise uses large amounts of engineers incorporated hemp, recyclable materials, wool, and sisal. The interior of the car uses mainly woven hemp for the trim of the center console, dashboard, and the seats.

But more interesting is the fact that they use recyclable materials on the exterior of the car. Several of the body panels on the car are made from hemp based composite – which is very durable and strong.

The Eco Elise sports other trick features, including water-based paint and roof-mounted solar panels tied to the car’s charging system. All while doing this Lotus has worked hard to shed much of the weight off. The custom lightweight wheels and the composite body panels take 70 lbs from the 1895-lb curb weight of an Elise S.

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The Clark Type 25 F1 car was designed in a British Racing Green and a combination of yellow. It was designed after the F1 racing car that he used to win the 1963 World Championship.

Aside from the standard hardtop, black and silver Lotus racing wheels, black leather seats, red trim and wooden shift knob, this is the same Elise SC available abroad. No mechanical changes have been made, so it’s still putting out 218 hp and 156 lb.-ft. of torque from its supercharged 1.8-liter mounted amidships. In tribute to Clark’s racing number, Lotus is limiting production of the special edition Elise SC to 25 units and will only make the £35,995 coupe available in the UK and Ireland.

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