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Not to be outdone by the Exige 240 now being mass produced, Lotus Sport upped the ante with the Sport Cup 260. The car features 257hp, a new aerodynamic kit, AP Racing brakes, adjustable dampers, etc etc etc…everything you’d expect a track car to have (including such optional extras as a straight cut dog gearbox!). Read more at Pistonheads.

As reported by Randy Chase at EliseTalk:

New SC Elise. 220 crank hp. Uses the new smaller blower mated to an integral intake manifold. Very light, only adds a bit over 8 kilos.

Exige will change over to this same blower, and drop the intercooler. Except the 240hp version.

Lotus will release a supercharger upgrade kit at some point.

2008 federal cars have tire pressure sensors. You can see a larger valve stem.

Eagle is one the way. Parts are now in production and things are going very well. Expect a product rollout towards the end of 2008 in certain countries and then release to the US market in late spring of 2009.

Esprit is following on the heals, perhaps 2 years later. It will use the same platform as the Eagle, but it may be slightly wider.

Eagle uses a new platform and forged aluminum suspension bits. The Eagle will be a 2+2 and then a 2+0 sedan. There will variants and upgrades released each year over a 6 year period at which time, there will be a new model to replace it. It will use a V6 from a well known manufacturer.

The pictures of the Eagle being shown around the internet are not accurate. Same with the Esprit mostly.

The 2-Eleven will not be coming over as a street legal version though Lotus wanted to. They just can’t based on federal regulations.

The pretty much confirms what was already suspected based on the Elise SC announcement a few weeks ago (which made no mention of US availability).

Don’t believe what you’re reading in those ‘new car issues’ from major car magazines…the 2008 Elise and Exige are NOT carryovers from the ‘07 models. To start with, there’s a new version of the Elise, the Elise SC. The SC stands for - you guessed it - supercharged! It puts out about 220hp, a gain of 30hp over the regular Elise. Not to be outdone, the Exige gets a power bump up to 240hp. All Lotus now come with airbags, and there’s a new instrument pack with ‘new graphic design’ (an LCD display to send annoying messages to the driver like ’service due’) and a new alarm/immobiliser plus single integrated function key. The Elise SC also gets a new wheel design (still using the Yokohama AD07 tires on the base model suspension). The Exige has a new optional ‘performance pack’, with larger brakes, bigger roof scoop (to feed the intercooler), better clutch, variable slip traction control, and launch control. Read the rest of this post for the whole press release.

(via EliseTalk)

Press Release in PDF format
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Lotus is selling a limited edition (25 cars) Exige S called the Club Racer, featuring sky blue paint with black stripes, and plenty of track goodies - sports pack, sports exhaust, touring pack, and super touring pack (which, oddly, includes a cupholder, not something I’d expect to see on a track-oriented car). Read more at Pistonheads.

Someone on EliseTalk is selling some Lotus-themed onesies for $25, available in blue, yellow, or pink. This is a one-time deal, so order now if you’re interested. Check out this thread for more info.

Winding Road magazine, a free online-only periodical, reviews the Lotus 2-Eleven in their September issue. You can view it here. Unfortunately, they appear to have abandoned their PDF format for a funky browser-based one, though at least they still allow downloading for offline viewing (and they support the Mac platform, too!).

For a while now I’ve been selling an aluminum mounting bracket designed to fit the Elise/Exige perfectly, without any permanent alterations (no holes or adhesives needed). I was out of stock for a while, but just got some more in. The price has been lowered, too, to $65 including shipping. You can see more pictures, and get more details, at the product page here.

An unfortunate Elise owner in Ireland has decided to take matters into his own hands. After his car suffered numerous minor attacks by other cars (and one cyclist), he and his brother are going to fix it up themselves. Seems like a smart plan, as they stand to save a lot of money in the process…and, given his luck to date, this will be a good skill to learn to deal with future incidents! Let’s hope this sad story has a happy ending and the car gets back on the road quickly! You can read all about it over at beautifulaccident.com.

Motor Trend has a nice review of the new Lotus track toy, the 2-Eleven. Those lucky Brits are actually able to make their 2-Eleven street-legal, by adding some headlights (no such luck for US buyers though). The car’s based on the Elise, though ads a supercharger to boost engine output to a nice 252hp - and a curb weight of only 1477lbs! Read more here.
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Just a reminder, this weekend is the CLAM ‘07 (California Lotus Autocross and Meet) in San Diego, California. Cost varies based on which activities you’d like to partake in. You can read more about this event over at EliseTalk.
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