Those naughty folks at a Lotus are giving us the old "San Antonio Strip Tease" by releasing photos of the Lotus Eagle one piece at a time. While this doesn't give any hints to how the new 2+2 sports car is actually going to look, it does give some idea to as to the suspension setup. Using the new Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA), Lotus will be able to build a variety of cars using one platform, which is economical for a small manufacturer. The VVA setup includes three pieces: center occupant area, front module and rear subframe for the engine. This is a photo of the front module which is light (just 55 pounds) and functional thanks to the use of parts forged from aluminum. The setup will include aluminum control arms with Bilstein dampers and Eichbach springs. Bringing things to a stop will be the job of 13.8-inch vented rotors with Lotus AP Racing four-pots. The Eagle will also feature hydraulic assist for the steering rack, separating it from its Elise brethren. Press release below the jump.  read more »

In our discussion of the all-time greatest liveries there were a lot of mentions of famous Lotus paint schemes (BRG & Yellow, Team Essex Blue & Red, JPS Black & Gold), but the Elan Sprint of the early 1970s didn't get a mention. This was an oversight on our part, because this limited run Elan was sprinting to 60 mph in just 5.9 seconds in 1971 (approximately the same as a new WRX). Lotus is paying homage to the Elan with 40 RHD Lotus Exige Sprints done up in the Solar Yellow (or Persian blue) and Alpine White paint scheme.  read more »

Europeans, rejoice! With the Tesla Roadster finally rolling off an assembly line in Britain and the dollar tanking against the Euro, you'll soon have a chance to buy a gorgeous all-electric sports car all your own. With the dollar steadily...


Chuck Squatriglia

Sometimes you need to ask yourself: How bad do I need a Ferrari? Actually, in Project Car Hell, the question goes: How bad can a Ferrari project be? Either way, the problem with Ferraris is that most of them are so expensive that you're spared the torment of actually owning one... that is, until now. We've managed to round up a couple of Ferrari deals that cost less than most Fiero-based Ferrari-influenced kit cars, and one of them even comes with a bonus Lotus Esprit!  read more »

(from Lotus Press Release) Choosing your track day performance car has just become a lot more exciting with the introduction of the entry level 2-Eleven and extensive range of Lotus Sport performance options. Choosing your track day performance car has just become a lot more exciting with the introduction of the entry level 2-Eleven and extensive range of Lotus Sport performance options.  read more »

Chrysler is just full of surprises. Earlier this week, the company told its nervous dealers that the company isnt being sold off. It will be around for years to come and that it has some hot products coming. Among them will be an electric car that is slated to go on sale in late 2010. That was the most shocking news of all. First, Chrysler has made almost no noise about work on electric cars. And in Detroit, the Big Three rarely hesitate to crow about green tech developments, not with Washington trying to strong arm them into higher fuel economy performance. Second, this is the company thats still burning cash and losing money. Coming up with R&D dough for an electric car isnt cheap. Rubbish all of that. Chrysler says the company has been secretly working on electric drive systems since 2007. Chairman Robert Nardelli, formerly of Home Depot and General Electric, says one is on the way. A source close to the company says Chrysler has even cut a deal with GE to get electric motors. The company has also been working with suppliers to develop the needed technology. Chrysler has worked with English carmaker Lotus to develop a two-seat electric car based on the companys Europa sports car for Dodge. Even though Lotus helped Silicon Valley startup Tesla Motors develop its electric roadster, Chrysler says it wont be getting batteries from Tesla. The other two concepts Chrysler showed the dealers were the four-door Jeep Wrangler and Chryslers Town & Country minivan. Those two concept cars would run like the Chevy Volt, going 40 miles on electric drive before a gasoline engine starts up to recharge the battery. A Chrysler spokesman says that, even though Chrysler uses a GM hybrid system in the Dodge Durango suv, the company will not use the Volt system. Nissan is a possible partner. The two already have several deals to work together and Nissan is developing its own electric car for the end of the decade. If Chrysler can pull this off, it will be a bolt from the blue. It would be surprising given the cutbacks and cash constraints. Not to mention the incredible amount of development work needed to mate one company's engine with batteries, an electric motor and power controls of its suppliers. Don't forget crash testing on these babies, either. The optimist in me says that Chrysler has always been innovative. It has come up with some of the best designs and breakthrough products over the past 20 years. Maybe the smallest of the shrinking three can do it. The pessimist says Chrysler has never been a green leader and its resources are too thin to get it done. This isn't just a matter of coming up with a 7-speed transmission. At the least, Chrysler will now have access to some of the $25 billion in loans that the federal government just made available to carmakers. There's the cash. Now we'll see if they have the expertise to build the car.  read more »

Perhaps now you understand the troubles we go through to select the lineup of the first 50 cars to fill the stalls of the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage. We presented to you theCaparo T1, warts and all, for consideration of the garage without the benefit of flowery prose or over the top hyperbole — the car itself is hyperbole enough. We wanted to see how a game-changing supercar would stand up to the harsh scrutiny of an unsoftened voting block because frankly, we're tired of everything getting in so easily. This is about whittling things down to a sharpened point, debating the merits and pitfalls of some of the greatest mechanical symphonies ever built, this should be a knock down drag out fight to get into the garage — that is unless we're talking about the Morgan Aero 8.  read more »

While the 8-door '57 Chrysler limo almost beat out the stretched Ferrari 400i limo in our last Choose Your Eternity poll (and what an upset of reigning PCH Superpower, Italy, that would have been!), V12 power and Italian build quality seem to have triumphed over fins and rust. Today we need to see how Italy fares against its fellow PCH Superpower, Great Britain (with the winner moving on to take on France, of course). And, just to make things more fun, we're going with some serious Malaise machinery today, because Euro-Malaise is inherently cool-yet-hellish.  read more »