Auto blog

Lotus recalling certain 2011 Evora S models for possible oil leak, fire

Last year about 80 examples of the 2011 Lotus Evora S were recalled over an issue with the oil feed pipe. The same number of 2011 Evora S', but with different manufacture dates, are back in the recall box again for a very similar issue; this time it's the engine oil cooler hose that could rupture and spray oil either onto the rear wheels or a hot engine part. Neither of those cases is good, and the latter could potentially lead to a fire.
Lotus is working on a solution, so a recall date hasn't been announced. The bulletin below from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more information.

Lotus offers Exige S Roadster for sale, but not in North America

The first thing you need to know is that this is the Lotus Exige S Roadster, unchanged from the Exige S even in price and officially the fastest convertible Lotus has ever made. The second thing you need to know is that if you live in the US, you won't be getting this car.
Now that that's out of the way, the lack of a roof, rear wing and front splitter help make it 22 pounds lighter than the coupe, coming in a 2,565 pounds, and the supercharged 3.5-liter V6 in this topless blossom discharges 345 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. For historical comparison with a non-convertible, those numbers nearly match the 2004 Lotus Esprit V8 Final Run edition - which had twin Garrett turbochargers. Yet the Exige S gets from a stoplight to 60 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds, nearly a full second quicker than that Esprit. Fair play, though, the Esprit did weigh 3,040 pounds.
It will be fitted with a six-speed manual only, and cost 52,900 pounds ($79,667 US), 55,378 euros ($71,404 US) or 8,500,000 yen ($82,078 US), depending on where you live. Here in the US we'll be sticking with the track-only Exige V6 Cup and Cup R models. The press release below offers more on the fine points.

Lotus bankruptcy case dismissed in UK

Times have not been easy for Lotus lately, so when its name came up on a list of companies scheduled for a liquidation court, it seemed like the end could be near for the fabled British builder of lightweight sports cars. As it turns out, Lotus was on the Companies Court Winding Up list in the UK due to a contractual dispute with a supplier, and the High Court has since dismissed the case.
According to Autocar, Lotus and the supplier actually resolved their issue earlier in the year, but the process couldn't be stopped until seen by a judge. The report says that the case was initiated when Group Lotus failed to pay some of its debts, which is probably a fair indication that Lotus is far from out of the weeds in regards to its financial difficulties.