Lotus Stock Images – Sportscars and Convertibles
When the world was introduced to Lotus vehicles in the 50s, it turned out to be one of those gems from a small town that nobody ever expected to see. Fast forward to today, and Lotus continues to surprise everybody with their Spartan vehicles that can out-handle almost every other car on the planet, even though they are far from being the fastest cars on sale. The company has always been known for their steadfast following of the motto of “simplify, then add lightness” laid down by their founder, the legendary Colin Chapman.
View more Lotus Vehicle Images at www.izmostock.com
Lotus had its genesis in a small eastern British town called Hethel, in Norfolk. It was formed in 1952 by Colin Chapman, who was famous for his philosophy of making his cars as light as possible. To support one of his ideals where he said, “adding power makes you faster in the straights, but subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere”, Lotus cars shunned beefing up their engine power outputs and instead focussed on building their vehicles using techniques used in the aeronautical industry to cut down on weight.
The results were cars that could fly through corners at high speeds with almost no trace of understeer or oversteer. This enabled Lotus products to outstrip more powerful cars since they lost significantly less speed while negotiating the turns and bends of a racetrack.
Lotus Vehicle Line-up
Lotus Sportscars
Lotus Sportscars
One of the newest products that has joined the Lotus range of sportscars is the Lotus Evora. This vehicle is on sale in three trim levels, starting from the Evora 400 that is priced at a point hovering around the $91,000 mark. The 400 in its badge denotes the car’s power output of 400 hp.
Lotus also created a limited run version of the Evora called the 410. This version has a slightly more powerful engine, a 3.5 liter V6 sourced from Toyota which has a supercharger bolted onto it to boost the power output to 410 hp. Although the power increase seems insignificant, Lotus claims to have shaved off 154 lbs. from the base Evora 400 to create the Evora 410, which will translate into a much more noticeable change in performance. Only 150 units of the Evora 410 were manufactured by the company.
Additionally, Lotus had created yet another limited edition version of the Evora, badged the GT430. This car, of which only 60 units rolled off the production line, was the most powerful road car to come out of the stables of Lotus. Situated just behind the driver is the same engine that powers the Evora 410, but tuned to deliver 430 hp in this car. In their continual endeavour to lighten their cars, Lotus used carbon fiber extensively while making the Evora GT430, thereby knocking off another 81 lbs. from the already featherlight Evora 410.
Lotus Convertible Sportscars
All other sportscars of Lotus have a detachable roof. However, these are not the complicated, electrically retracting roofs that stow away neatly into the boot like most modern convertibles. Such mechanisms involve a lot of components and, in turn, are heavier. This would be blasphemous to the philosophy of Lotus, so they’ve kept it simple with roofs that attach using simple clamps.
Starting off this segment of cars from the company is the Lotus Exige. The Exige family of sportscars is powered by a 3.5 liter V6 that is tuned to churn out between 345 hp and 375 hp. In addition to the car being mid-engined, it also has a lot of aero kits slapped onto it so that it grips the tarmac really well. The car is available in the Sport 350, Sport 380, Cup 380 and Race 380 trim levels.
Next up is probably the most famous name to bear the Lotus badge, the Lotus Elise. The Elise was one of those cars that Lotus owes its present fame to. The base variant, the Elise Sport, is powered by a 1.6 liter, 134 hp motor. However, it can zip around like a fly thanks to its super low weight of just 1,755 lbs. The range-topping Lotus Elise is driven by 243 bhp from its 1.8 liter engine, and it tops out at 154 mph. The company also produces a more brutal vehicle called the 3-Eleven, which is powered by a version of the 3.5 liter V6 that belts out 460 hp.
Lotus Special Offers
The company has APR financing plans to suit each vehicle, and financial incentives where an interested buyer pays half the cost of the car upfront and the balance over a period of two years. Prospective clients can also avail of leasing options for certain Lotus models.
For more images of Lotus vehicles and to view the image gallery of the full Lotus model range, Click Here
