Search Results for “Lotus” – Cars One Love

Lotus Esprit

John — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 15:18:48 +0000

Anythingthat’s good enough to serve as transport for James Bond has to be pretty desirable; in the 1977 blockbuster The Spy Who Loved Me, Roger Moore got to drive the freshly-minted Lotus underwater, thanks to some distinctly non-standard features. Early production cars weren’t quite so capable though, as they had a tendency to conk out with monotonous regularity. Development made the Esprit much more reliable, and far faster too with the advent of the Turbo in 1980, which played a starring role in the 1980 Bond film For Your Eyes Only.

At first there was Lotus’s own twin-cam four-cylinder engine, in 2-litre form; this was expanded to 2.2 litres in 1980 – the same year that the iconic Esprit Turbo hit the streets.

The massively wedgey Esprit was originally styled by Giugiaro. but the car was updated in 1987. with softer edges, thanks to styling maestro Peter Stevens.

The post Lotus Esprit appeared first on Cars One Love.

TOYOTA 2000GT

John — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 15:00:33 +0000

While Europe was busy churning out one brilliant car after another, the Japanese were just finding their feet. In time the Japanese would call the shots, but when the 2000GT was unveiled in 1965, nobody took it seriously. What a shame they didn’t, as this was the first serious driver’s car to come from the Orient, thanks to the use of a backbone chassis, built to the same principles as Lotus’s Elan – the contemporary benchmark for dynamic ability.

With disc brakes and unequai-length wishbones all round, the chassis allowed the car to excel.

The 2000GT was another car that appeared in a James Bond film-this time in You only live twice. It appeared as a convertible; something that Toyota never offered.

Yamaha developed the2000GT and originally offered it to Datsun, which built the 240Z instead. In the end, just 351 2000GTS were made.

The post TOYOTA 2000GT appeared first on Cars One Love.

Lotus Europa 1967

John — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 15:41:32 +0000

Intended to be a car for Europe (hence the name), the Europa was radical for Lotus with its mid-engined layout; until now all of the marque’s cars had featured an engine in the nose. But while Lotus had put aerodynamics and dynamics ahead of aesthetics, it was justifiably criticised for the Europa’s cramped cabin, poor rear visibility and fixed side windows. The latter were dispensed with in a 1968 facelift, but most of the rest of the flaws remained – but the Europa was still a fabulous car to drive.

At first the Europa was fitted with a 1,5-litre Renault 16 engine, but in time the legendary Lotus twin-cam unit would be fitted-transforming the available performance.

The post Lotus Europa 1967 appeared first on Cars One Love.

Lotus Elan

John — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 14:52:24 +0000

In the world of seminal cars, few left a bigger mark than the original Elan, which ever since its arrival in 1962 has been synonymous with delicious dynamics. Its light weight, sublime steering and delicate lines conspired to make the lovely Lotus fast, efficient and so good to drive that it should be available on prescription. With its plastic bodywork and raspy rev-happy engines, the Elan set a template that would be followed for decades after – but we’ll never see its like again because of safety regulations and consumers’ demands for ever more equipment and comfort. Shame.

The original Elan was rear-wheel drive, but Lotus introduced a Iront-wheel drive edition in 1989-and proved that power to the Irontcan still provide huge fun.

Although most Elans were supplied as two-seater roadsters, some were made in соирё form, while laterthere would also be a 2+2. offered in hard-top form only.

The post Lotus Elan appeared first on Cars One Love.

Lotus 7

John — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 19:36:48 +0000

When it came to minimalsim. it was hard to beat the Seven, which was supposedly sketched out by Colin Chapman on the back of a napkin. Despite its utter lack of creature comforts the car has always been hugely popular thanks to a raft of copycat designs, plus the official continuation model courtesy of Caterham. The key to the Seven’s success is its light weight; the result of a car that offers electrifying performance without the need for a huge, thirsty engine. Who needs more?

Any Seven sold with assembly instructions was subject to purchase tax. So cars came with details of how to dismantle a Seven – which could be read in reverse…

The first Sevens had Ford side-valve engines, but Coventry Climax and Lotus twin-cam units came later, before the project was sold to Caterham in 1973.

The post Lotus 7 appeared first on Cars One Love.