Lotus was established in 1952 by engineer Colin Chapman, in Hornsey, North London. Resulting from its Formula 1 racing pedigree, Lotus made street vehicles that placed function over form. Lotus vehicles commonly have spartan interiors, fiberglass or carbon fiber body panels and implement lots of other weight-saving measures. Many models, for example the prevailing Elise and Exige peruse from other automaker’s parts bins to create a fast, light and trusty auto. Mixing a 218hp supercharged 1.8L VVTL-I four cylinder obtained from Toyota and a 2,000lb curb weight, the Elise SC is actually capable of a burning 4.3 2nd 0-60 and a top speed near 150mph. The “less is more” attitude of Lotus had been eschewed by automakers previously, preferring to add more h.p to nullify added weight. But with the current economy, more and more corporations are duplicating Lotus, trimming the fat off their cars and opting for smaller, forced induction engines that offer better fuel usage. With the present release of the Exige, Lotus seems to be going in the right direction and remaining true to their past.
With racing heritage ingrained deep in the soul of the company, the engine is the primary part of any Lotus. Born and bred on the tracks, Lotus automobiles have always favored losing needless equipment in favor of weight reduction and in turn, more speed. The current Lotus Elise, whose production run has essentially just finished, gets power from a Toyota-sourced 1.8L 4 cylinder engine, which is turbocharged in the higher model levels. While the h.p number of 218 is modest, the car weighs in right around 1 ton, which interprets to a superb power to weight ratio. With a 0-60 of 4.9 seconds and a max speed of 150 mph, the Elise is able to stay abreast of supercars that have 3 times the horse-power! Many automakers today are just now coming around to the method that Lotus has changed since its establishment in 1952 “less weight = more power.
Some Lotus owners might be able to skip this section altogether! Many Lotus models before recent times did not even offer air-con as a choice, seeing it as, what else, a waste of valuable pounds that might affect the general performance of their autos. In order to satisfy the present market and appeal to a wider base of shoppers , however , Lotus began offering air conditioning as a choice on the Elise and the Espirit in the early 1990s. These air con systems were tiny and just sufficient to cool down the cabin enough so the occupants could remain somewhat cosy. Today, with the imminent release of the Evora, Lotus continues to reluctantly offer air con as an option, so the general purchaser can ride in comfort. They reserve a tiny batch for the true enthusiasts who put performance over their own comfort, and need the lightest, most tossable car for their dollar. And to this day, no other automaker can make that quite like Lotus.
Lotus is all about driving purity, and this translates very well into their transmissions. Up until fairly recently, the sole way you might have your Lotus delivered was with the “proper” transmission “a standard transmission. Beginning with a 5-speed manual and developing into an all-aluminum short gated 6-speed manual, the Elise was able to grab the subsequent gear quickly so the driver could get back on the throttle. Today, the Evora will be coming with an automatic transmission option; one which we can only assume will be in the vast minority of the Evora cars to roll off the production line. With increased weigh and reduced performance, the automatic transmission goes against everything Lotus ever stood for, but they're held by consumer’s desires, and the general word was that an automatic transmission option was wanted. It is awfully clear that the easiest way to experience driving a Lotus is with a correct manual transmission. It is to be completely sure that Lotus may continue to offer their stellar manual transmission option on all their impending models in the future.
While Lotus might be perfectly fine with sacrificing creature comforts that bloat both the final analysis and the number at the scales, they are uncompromising in including everything critical to make a great, track-ready vehicle. With antilock brakes and 13 in. cross-drilled rotors on some models the Elise can produce stopping distances below 100 feet in some examples, thoroughly beating the best from. Italy, Germany, Japan and the United States. Yet one more reason which explains why one can't put enough of a premium on weight-saving techniques for a vehicle’s performance. The new Lotus Evora, slated for release this year promises to carry on the result of the Elise, matching (if not surpassing) the Elise’s performance in just about every way. We're looking forward to good things from Lotus in the future as it remains one of the few vehicle manufacturers who actually seem to just “get it”.
Just like any other part on a Lotus, the cooling system was hand-built with weight in mind. Using light-weight aluminum and plastic parts whenever it's possible the engineers at Lotus managed to construct automobiles that could struggle with others with 2 to 3 times the hp and weight. With the implementation of lightweight aluminum block engines, the necessity for cooling power is also not as great as in bigger cars with high displacement engines. Lotus was in a position to use smaller radiators and cooling lines than other automakers to achieve similar results. The smaller engines can rev more freely to produce power, and do not generate nearly as much heat, which also brings the price down on parts used, making Lotus cars more cost-effective than their larger counterparts. With technology derived straight from time at the track, there is not any doubt that Lotus may continue to advance their engine cooling systems in both manners of performance and reduced weight.
British engineering and electronics are two classes that have not meshed well together for some time. Nevertheless that is fast becoming an old stereotype that should be left behind as British automakers are continuing to produce stellar cars with electronic parts that are just as trusty as any other brand’s. Lotus isn't an exception. Offering just about enough electronic kit to get the task finished, Lotus vehicles are reasonably easy in comparison to other cars. Usually lacking navigation, a radio, Bluetooth connectivity or other niceties, Lotus owners make a knowing sacrifice in the name of performance. With each automobile that Is developed and released, Lotus moves further and further away from the tired old stereotype of UK electronics, replacing it with machines the world continues to lust over year by year.
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