Wow. Lotus is 60 years old. It seems just like yesterday when they were just a young tiny upstart. Now they're an old tiny upstart. My how time flies...

To celebrate this historic event, of the business which was started by Colin Chapman in 1948, Lotus will introduce their long-rumored Eagle 2+2 GT at the London Motor Show this June.

"Eagle 2+2 GT?" What an American-like name coming from a car company that's sooooo British...  Even more strange, in some markets it may be called the 'Ethos.' Regardless of how it's labeled, it will be powered by a mid-mounted Toyota V6.

Full story here.

The Lotus 2-Eleven, a car so hard-core it doesn't have a top or a full windshield. A car you need a helmet to drive. A car that makes you think about only one thing: driving.

Or are we wrong?

Whatever the case, the 2-Eleven at Geneva's Palexpo showed up with friends. -- Erin Riches, Senior Editor

Here’s what we know about this interesting looking prototype caught recently in the Arctic Circle. It’s a Lotus, it’s code named “Eagle” and it wasn’t supposed to happen. Lotus was planning on building its replacement for the Esprit next, but during one of its recent management shuffles, it was determined that the plans for the Esprit weren’t realistic. With that in mind, this 2+2 was commissioned to get something in the works while the plans for the Esprit were completely reworked. It’s essentially a 2+2 version of the Elise and power is rumored to come from a Toyota-sourced V6. An official unveil is scheduled for the London auto show this summer. 

A supercharged Lotus Elise that can produce 217 horsepower and reach 100 mph in just 10.7 seconds? Yeah, OK, I'll take one of those.

Read the Supercharged Elise First Drive on Inside Line.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

 

It's street-legal and it's coming to the U.S. The Lotus 2-Eleven streaks from zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. No roof, no doors, no windows, but you know, who needs them?

Read the Lotus 2-Eleven First Drive on Inside Line.



More photos after the jump...

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Unlike most car companies that guard their future product plans like they have national security implications, Lotus recently sent out a press release outlining the future of the brand. We already knew the flagship Esprit would return, but now Lotus is planning on two additional models. Details were slim, with Lotus only revealing that one would be, "a new mid-range Lotus set for launch in December 2008" while the other would be a Lotus/Proton high-performance model due in May 2008. Although we expected the new Esprit to arrive within the next couple of years, the release also noted that Lotus wanted to "incorporate more Lotus 'DNA' and other enhancements to meet the changing needs of the global marketplace," so its debut has been pushed to December of 2009.

If there's one thing the Brits do well, it's the specialty, cottage industry-built small sports car. Their history is filled with these types of companies ranging from Lotus, to Morgan, to Caterham, and so on and so forth...

Javan is the latest to set up shop, and their R1 roadster is their first entry. This vehicle is powered by a 2.0L high-revving, mid-mounted Honda engine (is there any other type of Honda engine?), and claims a 0 – 62 mph in 3.6 seconds. The engine develops 220 bhp, revs to 8,600 rpm, and use a 6-speed transmission.

Snippet: As with the Yamaha motorbike with which the Javan shares its name, the R1 offers stunning performance. Weighing only 670kg, the two-door has a power to weight ratio of 328bhp per tonne, and can sprint from 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds. The quarter-mile dash is claimed to take only 12.2 seconds

Lotus has just moved the bar a bit higher for soapbox racer builders out there with the Lotus Type 119c soapbox. This racer is the reigning champion and record holder at the Brooklands Soapbox Derby which is an event that is part of the Goodwood Festival of Speed held in England.

Somehow I don't think too many 8–17-year old kids will be up to the task of matching this...

Snippet: The closed-cockpit Lotus Type 119c “streamliner” features an aerodynamically-efficient ultralight carbon-fibre monocoque, remaining true to the “performance through light weight” philosophy of Lotus founder Colin Chapman. It will be lining up on the grid once again against familiar automotive constructors such as Lola, Vauxhall and Ford as well as entries from schools, colleges and privateers.

For more information on the All-American Soap Box Derby (not the Brooklands über-tech version) click here.

Although Lotus is still cranking out new versions of the Elise, work is also under way on a replacement for the Esprit. It will hit the streets around 2008 and is expected to use a BMW V8 for power while sticking with the Lotus mantra of minimal weight. Although this test mule was spotted on the Nurburgring wearing an older Esprit shell, the odd proportions suggest this is most likely a test mule for the chassis of the new supercar. 

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Lotus Sport is to Lotus what AMG is to Mercedes, STI is to Subaru, or what M-cars are to BMW. They're a bunch of hardcore Lotus guys devoted to making virtually track-ready cars for the track-oriented Lotus customer.

With that in mind, they have just introduced a couple of very limited-edition models for the US market:



Sport Elise
Production run: 50
MSRP: $54,995.00

Inside Line Elise video




Sport Exige
Supercharged engine putting out 243 horsepower
Production run: 15
MSRP: $78,990.00

Inside Line Exige video