Tag: hotness

Lotus Elise Club Racer is stripped-out, Geneva-bound hotness

Filed under: Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Lotus

Lotus Elise Club Racer

Lotus Elise Club Racer – Click above for high-res image gallery

Lotus, the automaker that defines what it means to “add lightness,” has created an even more stripped-out version of its already flyweight Elise. Called the Club Racer, this lighter two-seater will make its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show next month.

The Elise Club Racer is a full 52 pounds lighter than the standard car, and Lotus achieved this by removing the noise insulation and using a motorsport-derived lightweight battery. This might not seem like an enormous weight savings, but when you consider that the base Elise already weighs in under the 2,000-pound mark, even a small weight reduction is noticeable.

To make the Club Racer even more special, Lotus has fitted a sport setting for the car’s Dymanic Performance Management (DPM) system. This advanced driving aid allows less-experienced drivers to feel at the top of their game, and can be completely shut off for the more experienced enthusiasts.

Look for the Elise Club Racer to go on sale in the near future, priced from £27,500 ($44,590 based on current exchange rates). Currently, it’s unclear whether or not the Club Racer will be available in the United States, but we should have more details after the car’s official debut in Geneva in just a few weeks. For now, follow the jump to read the official press release.

Gallery: Lotus Elise Club Racer

Lotus Elise Club RacerLotus Elise Club Racer

[Source: Lotus]

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Lotus Elise Club Racer is stripped-out, Geneva-bound hotness originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Detroit 2011: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell is the color of electric hotness

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Mercedes-Benz, Electric, Luxury

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell – Click above for high-res image gallery

Mercedes-Benz brought along a fleet of green-leaning vehicles to this year’s Detroit Auto Show. While the German automaker displayed its hydrogen B-Class F-Cell alongside a flotilla of BlueTec diesels, the SLS AMG E-Cell stole the stage. Aside from wearing the world’s most eye-searing matte-yellow paint, the electrified supercar boasts 525 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque thanks to four synchronous electric motors. The SLS AMG E-Cell wears its motors close to each wheel, skipping the unsprung mass problem of hub-mount configurations to help protect the car’s handling prowess.

Word has it that the SLS AMG E-Cell can do the 0-60 mph dance in a scant 3.7 seconds. Lithium-ion batteries handle energy storage, and regenerative braking helps keep the cells topped off between charges. Speaking of the batteries, the electric Silver Arrow wears a temperature management system just for the battery array to make sure that charging and discharging occurs in the best environment possible. Mercedes-Benz isn’t saying exactly what kind of range drivers could expect if the SLS AMG E-Cell were in production, nor do we know exactly how long it would take to charge the electric supercar. Hit the jump for the press release and get ready to order your own sometime next year.

Gallery: 2011 Detroit: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell

Photos Copyright (C)2011 Zach Bowman / AOL

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Continue reading Detroit 2011: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell is the color of electric hotness

Detroit 2011: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell is the color of electric hotness originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Over 11 minutes of BMW 1 Series M Coupe and E30 M3 hotness

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, BMW

BMW 1 Series M Coupe and E30 M3 – Click to watch the video after the jump

The beauty of the BMW 1 Series M Coupe isn’t that the bean-counters let their best performance engineers have at the smallest car in the range. The real beauty is that the car goes back to the very roots of the M division, before the M3 went all V8 on us and took a hefty weight penalty in the process.

To illustrate the point, BMW took the new coupe out to the track, and brought along its spiritual predecessor, the original E30 M3. Fortunately for us, they filmed the encounter – all 11 and a half minutes of it. And while half of it is stock promotional footage, there’s a good few minutes of on-track action spliced in for good measure. Check it out in the video after the jump.

Gallery: 2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe

2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe

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Video: Over 11 minutes of BMW 1 Series M Coupe and E30 M3 hotness originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Find of the Day: 1979 Lotus Esprit Turbo w/Buick Regal GNX power is inky hotness

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Buick, Lotus, Luxury

1979 Lotus Esprit with Buick GNX turbo V6 – Click above for high-res image gallery

What happens when you’re head over heels for the lethal wedge styling and superb handling of the 1979 Lotus Esprit, but find yourself smitten with the all-out grunt of the turbo 3.8-liter V6 in the Buick GNX? If you’re the intrepid creator of the particular car you see above, you mate the two, forging your very own take on the Esprit Turbo. On paper, the mashup seems like a match made in the lofty spires of the Lotus engineering department. Whereas General Motors’ conservatively rated 276-horsepower six pot tended to suffer by being bolted into the heavy GNX platform, the lithe Esprit could have always used a bump in power over its smaller four-cylinder. At least one creative soul has opted for a sexier looking Yamaha SHO swap to solve the Esprit’s power woes, but we’re big fans of this particular recipe.

If your mouth is already watering at the thought of a mid-engine turbo V6 terror, we’re about to sweeten the deal. The car is currently for sale, and looks about as mint as mint can be. The engine bay is clean, the paint spotless and the attention to detail unmatched for a Frankenstein creation of this caliber. Perfection? Thy name just might be GNEsprit. The running bid is a shave over $16,000 at the time of writing with the reserve not met, so get to bidding. You just might take this sucker home. Thanks for the tip, Al!

Gallery: 1979 Lotus Esprit with Buick GNX turbo V6

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: 1979 Lotus Esprit Turbo w/Buick Regal GNX power is inky hotness originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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