NHTSA Investigates Lotus Elise

The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is investigating oil-cooler leaks on 4,400 Lotus Elise sports cars from the 2005-2006 model years. The safety agency instigated the search after 33 owners complained that their cars� oil-cooler ruptured, spraying oil on the wheels and /or the engine bay.
According to the document filed on the agency�s web site, one owner allegedly lost control of his car when oil spilled on his front right tire made him spin and veer off the road. Several others reported that they suddenly saw the oil warning light come on and stopped to check the oil level only to find that the sump was empty.
However, the most serious claim is by an owner who says his Elise caught fire because of the oil spilling into the engine bay.
The NHTSA said it is looking into the issue.

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Red Bull Takes the Front Row in Qualifying with Webber in Pole Position

The unpredictable weather conditions made the qualifying of the British Grand Prix something of a gamble, and the teams weather forecasts were expecting rain during the final session. So everyone made sure that they got out quickly in order to set a fast time before it started to rain again.

Once again Sebastian Vettel was the man to beat, setting a provisional pole. But this was not to last as his team mate, Mark Webber, recorded a fastest lap just seconds later beating Vettel by just 0.032 seconds.

Behind the Red Bull-occupied front row were the two Ferraris. Third place went to Fernando Alonso, who was just 0.1 seconds slower than Vettel and fourth to Felipe Massa, with the Scuderia obviously very happy with the progress they have made.

Jenson Button�s McLaren was fifth, but his team mate Lewis Hamilton couldn�t manage anything better than 10th place in his home Grand Prix. The surprise of the day was the performance of Paul di Resta, who in his rookie period brought his Force India to the sixth place of the grid.

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Massa Shines in the Rain

Ferrari�s Felipe Massa set the quickest time in Friday�s afternoon practice session of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend at Silverstone. Just minutes before the beginning of the session, heavy rain started to fall, with all cars staying in the pits for half an hour because of the condition of the track.

However, in the last 20 minutes conditions improved slightly and the teams decided to send their cars out of the pit lane. At first Michael Schumacher, on wet tires, set the fastest time until one minute before the end of the session.

But with the track drying up the rest were able to use intermediate tires and Massa, with 1:49.967, 0.777 seconds ahead of Nico Rosberg�s Mercedes and Kamui Kobayashi�s Sauber.

2011 champion and current points leader Sebastian Vettel was 18th, one spot behind the second Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

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Lotus Replace Evora with Elan in 2017

Lotus� most recent new sports car, the Evora, will stay into production until at least 2017, when it will be replaced with the new Elan according to the company�s boss Danny Bahar. This changes the initial plan that called for the Evora to be replaced as early as 2012.

Bahar also told UK magazine Autocar that Lotus is building its own V8 instead of using Toyota�s unit from the Lexus IS-F, as research from the Paris Motor Show floor concerning the new Esprit revealed that customers were unwilling to pay the price for a $100,000+ supercar powered by a Toyota engine.

The new Esprit will be launched, if everything goes according to plan, in 2013. The new engine, according to Wolf Zimmerman who heads the engineering department, is 40% smaller than the Toyota�s, solving packaging problems. Zimmerman also added that it could form the basis for a new four-cylinder unit, being effectively one bank of the V8, to power smaller models in the range such as the new Elise and Exige.

Bahar also confirmed that the Ethos city car will indeed enter production, selling as a Lotus small-volume luxury small car, probably as a pure EV or a hybrid, in Europe and as a more affordable Proton with conventional internal combustion engines in Asia.

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Lotus Exige to Spawn Rally Car?

Here�s something we weren�t expecting; according to a report from CAR Magazine, Lotus will launch a new rally car at the Frankfurt motor show in September. The rally car -not the one pictured here- will be based on the Exige, which is renowned for its road and track capabilities, but we�ve never imagined it near a rally stage.
At least in factory form, since privateers have raced the Elise and Exige in asphalt rallies in the past.
According to Lotus director of motorsport, Claudio Berro, Lotus may indeed build more than the 300 cars that are necessary by FIA rules for the car�s homologation. It will be rear-wheel drive, of course, although it isn�t still clear whether it will race in the WRC or IRC championships.
But the Hethel-based company�s involvement in motorsports doesn�t end here. It already participates with Renault in the Formula 1 championship, and finished 7th in the GT class in this year�s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Also it has already stated that it will compete in 2012 or 2013 in the LMP2 class, probably with a car that will use its own-built V8 that is destined for the new Esprit and will be up and running by August.

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Lotus CEO Talks About: Ferrari 458 & McLaren MP4-12C

A few days ag?, we received w?rd that Lotus was ditching the Toyota-s?urced V8 and dropping its ?wn engine int? the new Esprit.

N?w we get a few pointed remarks fr?m the automaker, intent ?n clarifying its future positi?n in the supercar segment, and a bit more insight int? the p?werplant. Lotus CEO Dany Bahar t?ld a recent press conference audience that its upc?ming flagship will offer a m?re authentic driving experience than the targeted Ferrari 458 Italia als? McLaren MP4-12C.

Th?se are fighting words, directed at very l?fty rivals.

Furtherm?re, according t? Bahar, any injection ?f KERS-style (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) techn?l?gy in the new Esprit will be t? add to the driving experience, n?t detract from it. In ?ther engine-related news, the in-house V8 is rum?red t? be both lighter and smaller than the reportedly dr?pped Toyota 5.0-liter.

The new eight sh?uld debut with a power rating ?f about 570 h?rsepower. That's p?tent, and it's necessary t? be a genuine contender in this segment. As a reminder, when the last Esprit ended pr?duction in early 2004 its twin-turb? 3.5-liter V8 was rated at "?nly" 350 horsepower.

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Lotus Upmarket With New V8 For Esprit

When L?tus unveiled its slew ?f new concepts at the Paris M?tor Show, it included a rather enticing new take ?n the Esprit. The sh?w car packed the 5.0-liter V8 fr?m the Lexus IS-F, but the latest reports suggest that the British aut?maker is planning ?n developing its own eight-pot engine f?r the supercar.

Alth?ugh the original mid-engined ex?tic used four- and eight-cylinder engines devel?ped and built in-house, the newer generation ?f Lotus sp?rtscars have used engines borrowed fr?m Toyota.

H?wever, rumors have been circulating that the partnership with the Japanese aut? giant could be coming t? a cl?se as Lotus weighs returning t? building its own engines.

And little w?nder, as the Esprit will reportedly be p?sitioned significantly higher than any ?f the current models. While the current range-t?pping Evora S sells f?r around $76,000, rep?rts indicate that the Esprit will m?re than d?uble that in the $170-200K range.

That w?uld make it more expensive than the Porsche 911 Turb? ($137K) ?r even the Turbo S ($160K), but undercut the top-?f-the-line GT2 RS ($245K), not t? mention the likes ?f the Ferrari 458 Italia, McLaren MP4-12C and Lamb?rghini Gallardo (all ?f which start ab?ve $220K) by a significant margin � and crucially pack their ?wn lunches.

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