RE: EU Kills 1.8-litre Lotuses

[300bhp/ton]

kambites said:

Mr Will said:

Can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet, but how can you have an RGB special edition available in 4 different colours?

It's not. It's available in one colour and various shades of gray.

Red Green Blue.....

[kambites]

So the one colour it's available in isn't even the right colour.

[jackal]

a special edition .. now there's an idea !

[300bhp/ton]

Mr Will said:

Can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet, but how can you have an RGB special edition available in 4 different colours?

lol, should have called it the CMYK

[LukeBird]

EU.

Oh joy.

Good on Lotus for a decent runout and naming it after one of their chaps!

[Fartgalen]

Hey, wouldn't it be a great idea if someone converted an Exige a put in a stonking big V8 ?

[kambites]

Fartgalen said:

Hey, wouldn't it be a great idea if someone converted an Exige a put in a stonking big V8 ?

There are actually a few companies doing this. http://www.caral.co.uk/Lotus_111_Series.html will give you a supercharged Jaguar V8 in your Elise.

[otolith]

It seems inconcievable to me that the Elise can continue with only the entry level 1.6 car. That's fine for what it is and deserves a place in the range, but it just isn't quick enough to be the only Elise.

I fear that it is becoming very difficult to achieve EU emissions standards with very high specific output naturally aspirated engines, and that as a result the replacement for the 1.8 will be a smaller capacity forced induction unit - either the 1.6 with a turbo or engine driven supercharger or an off the shelf turbocharged unit. There are several - the Ford 1.6 Ecoboost, the Vauxhall 1.6 Ecotec, the VW TSi units, the PSA/BMW 1.6, the FIAT/Alfa 1.4 Multiair, etc. All of them seem to be praised by reviewers for their torque, economy and efficiency, but receive faint praise for character or excitement.

I don't actually like the 1.8 Toyota unit all that much, Honda do that kind of thing so much better, but in a sports car I would much rather that than something that's all low rev grunt and a gentle fade to the redline. Inline fours only really sound interesting to me when they're very high revving.

[Riggers]

varsas said:

Autocar 2nd June 2010, page 19 seems to suggest Lotus are going to fit the Exige with the Evora's V6 engine. I doubted it at the time but maybe it is all part of this? I wonder what a supercharged V6 would be like? Would it have to lose some of it's fancy variable timing equipment?

I saw that story - we didn't run it on PH as we didn't have access to the spy photos (and we don't tend to run spy shots anyway). A V6 Exige does sound interesting, especially one with a supercharger...

On a similar note, PH received the following official, if somewhat cryptic, e-mail late this morning:

Lotus PR said:

So you think you’ve seen all there is to see?
Think again.

As peace-loving druids gather to witness the magic of the annual Summer Solstice at one of the UK’s most symbolic landmarks, prepare yourself to witness the dawning of a new era for Lotus.

Your journey begins here and now on the longest day of the year and exactly 100 days before the 2010 Paris Motor Show where Lotus is set to unveil the future evolution of an iconic British brand.

They say a picture tells a thousand stories, we’re only really interested in one. Buckle up and join us for the ride. Expect the unexpected.

Hall 5.1 16.45 CET 30th September 2010

I think that means a new Exige and/or Elise will be unveiled at the Paris show, although Lotus is keeping shtum about any more details than that... we'll keep you posted if we can wring anything out of Lotus...

[rypt]

RobM77 said:

How can emissions regulations kill off an Elise or Exige? Surely even in supercharged spec they use far less fuel than almost all other performance cars, luxury cars and off roaders? I don't understand.

I would assume it's the NOx and NMHC emissions that have done it in

[varsas]

Riggers said:

varsas said:

Autocar 2nd June 2010, page 19 seems to suggest Lotus are going to fit the Exige with the Evora's V6 engine. I doubted it at the time but maybe it is all part of this? I wonder what a supercharged V6 would be like? Would it have to lose some of it's fancy variable timing equipment?

I saw that story - we didn't run it on PH as we didn't have access to the spy photos (and we don't tend to run spy shots anyway). A V6 Exige does sound interesting, especially one with a supercharger...

On a similar note, PH received the following official, if somewhat cryptic, e-mail late this morning:

Lotus PR said:

So you think you’ve seen all there is to see?
Think again.

As peace-loving druids gather to witness the magic of the annual Summer Solstice at one of the UK’s most symbolic landmarks, prepare yourself to witness the dawning of a new era for Lotus.

Your journey begins here and now on the longest day of the year and exactly 100 days before the 2010 Paris Motor Show where Lotus is set to unveil the future evolution of an iconic British brand.

They say a picture tells a thousand stories, we’re only really interested in one. Buckle up and join us for the ride. Expect the unexpected.

Hall 5.1 16.45 CET 30th September 2010

I think that means a new Exige and/or Elise will be unveiled at the Paris show, although Lotus is keeping shtum about any more details than that... we'll keep you posted if we can wring anything out of Lotus...

You don't think it's to do with the new Esprit? Although I guess that mule could have been the test for a whole new elise/exige as you suggest (and not just a test bed for a new engine)...or maybe just a new Exige which will be repositioned further from the Elise? Maybe they are announcing a few different cars...

[Oddball RS]

Theres a new 'special edition' hot on the heals of this one too, its zero emissions so it should keep the greenies happy.....






It comes without an engine, and still costs between £38-£42k

[Riggers]

varsas said:

Riggers said:

varsas said:

Autocar 2nd June 2010, page 19 seems to suggest Lotus are going to fit the Exige with the Evora's V6 engine. I doubted it at the time but maybe it is all part of this? I wonder what a supercharged V6 would be like? Would it have to lose some of it's fancy variable timing equipment?

I saw that story - we didn't run it on PH as we didn't have access to the spy photos (and we don't tend to run spy shots anyway). A V6 Exige does sound interesting, especially one with a supercharger...

On a similar note, PH received the following official, if somewhat cryptic, e-mail late this morning:

Lotus PR said:

So you think you’ve seen all there is to see?
Think again.

As peace-loving druids gather to witness the magic of the annual Summer Solstice at one of the UK’s most symbolic landmarks, prepare yourself to witness the dawning of a new era for Lotus.

Your journey begins here and now on the longest day of the year and exactly 100 days before the 2010 Paris Motor Show where Lotus is set to unveil the future evolution of an iconic British brand.

They say a picture tells a thousand stories, we’re only really interested in one. Buckle up and join us for the ride. Expect the unexpected.

Hall 5.1 16.45 CET 30th September 2010

I think that means a new Exige and/or Elise will be unveiled at the Paris show, although Lotus is keeping shtum about any more details than that... we'll keep you posted if we can wring anything out of Lotus...

You don't think it's to do with the new Esprit? Although I guess that mule could have been the test for a whole new elise/exige as you suggest (and not just a test bed for a new engine)...or maybe just a new Exige which will be repositioned further from the Elise? Maybe they are announcing a few different cars...

Hmmmm...good point. Okay, wish list for Lotus's Paris show stand:

New V6 Exige
New Esprit
New fast Elises
Supercharged/ track-day Evora??

[otolith]

I do not understand this - we are told that both the 1.8 Elises and the Mazda RX-8 are being killed off by by Euro 6.

As far as I can tell, the Euro 6 limits are:

CO: 1000 mg/km
HC: 100 mg/km
NOx: 60 mg/km

The figures for the current Elise R are:

CO: 460 mg/km
HC: 76 mg/km
NOx: 16 mg/km

The figures for the current RX-8 are:

CO: 220 mg/km
HC: 34 mg/km
NOx: 29mg/km

They're both a long way inside what's required - what's the issue?

[Mr Gear]

otolith said:

I do not understand this - we are told that both the 1.8 Elises and the Mazda RX-8 are being killed off by by Euro 6.

As far as I can tell, the Euro 6 limits are:

CO: 1000 mg/km
HC: 100 mg/km
NOx: 60 mg/km

The figures for the current Elise R are:

CO: 460 mg/km
HC: 76 mg/km
NOx: 16 mg/km

The figures for the current RX-8 are:

CO: 220 mg/km
HC: 34 mg/km
NOx: 29mg/km

They're both a long way inside what's required - what's the issue?

Are you missing a decimal place? Euro6 on CO for example is not 1000 but 1.000 (according to wiki). Also, there is also "Non-methane hydrocarbons" and particulate matter in the Euro 6 tests. Does that mean anything?

[B10]

Mr Gear said:

MSTRBKR said:

B10 said:

MSTRBKR said:

Methane is 20x more harmful to the environment than CO2, that's a fact.

Kill all the cows I say. Milk is disgusting anyway and bacon is a better form of meat. Win win situation.

Go vegan.

Vegan is a mental disorder.

And so is thinking like you. Not only is methane emitted by cows comprised of carbon formally existing as atmospheric CO2, it is also unstable and breaks down very rapidly. Unlike CO2 which is stable for eternity.

Are you another person having a tantrum about CO2 in a thread that is about Euro emissions targets?

Edited by Mr Gear on Monday 21st June 13:28

Seriously if we want to reduce the energy consumption then to greatly reduce our meat consumption is probably one of the easiest to implement. One small problem....getting people to reduce their dependency upon a food that is made from subjecting sentient animals to cruelty, ie stop intensive farming. Cruelty is a mental disorder not kindness.

[otolith]

Mr Gear said:

Are you missing a decimal place? Euro6 on CO for example is not 1000 but 1.000 (according to wiki). Also, there is also "Non-methane hydrocarbons" and particulate matter in the Euro 6 tests. Does that mean anything?

Check your units - they've moved to quoting them in mg/km instead of g/km, wiki is probably still quoting g.

The particulates requirement only applies to diseasels and direct injection petrols.

ETA, the figures for the two cars are here:

http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/vehicleDet...

http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/vehicleDet...

Edited by otolith on Monday 21st June 15:49

[Mr Gear]

otolith said:

Mr Gear said:

Are you missing a decimal place? Euro6 on CO for example is not 1000 but 1.000 (according to wiki). Also, there is also "Non-methane hydrocarbons" and particulate matter in the Euro 6 tests. Does that mean anything?

Check your units - they've moved to quoting them in mg/km instead of g/km, wiki is probably still quoting g.

The particulates requirement only applies to diseasels and direct injection petrols.

Edited by otolith on Monday 21st June 15:46

Not clear on the wiki page to be honest, but I thought I'd throw it into the ring in case it lit a bulb for you.

[RobM77]

B10 said:

Mr Gear said:

MSTRBKR said:

B10 said:

MSTRBKR said:

Methane is 20x more harmful to the environment than CO2, that's a fact.

Kill all the cows I say. Milk is disgusting anyway and bacon is a better form of meat. Win win situation.

Go vegan.

Vegan is a mental disorder.

And so is thinking like you. Not only is methane emitted by cows comprised of carbon formally existing as atmospheric CO2, it is also unstable and breaks down very rapidly. Unlike CO2 which is stable for eternity.

Are you another person having a tantrum about CO2 in a thread that is about Euro emissions targets?

Edited by Mr Gear on Monday 21st June 13:28

Seriously if we want to reduce the energy consumption then to greatly reduce our meat consumption is probably one of the easiest to implement. One small problem....getting people to reduce their dependency upon a food that is made from
subjecting sentient animals to cruelty, ie stop intensive farming. Cruelty is a mental disorder not kindness.

What's cruel about keeping a load of cows or chickens in a field? I'm with you for battery hens etc, but most of the livestock around where I live just wander around in fields exactly as they would do in the wild. They are then killed in a far more humane way than other carnivores/omnivores would practise.

And how would reducing meat consumption reduce energy? Surely importing chillis and bananas across the Atlantic costs more than a few lorries delivering cows and ultimately British Beef up and down the M1 to my local butcher?

I'm not having a go, I just can't see the sense in your post.

[otolith]

Mr Gear said:

Not clear on the wiki page to be honest, but I thought I'd throw it into the ring in case it lit a bulb for you.

It's very strange, I'm wondering if it's some kind of durability requirement. Figures for the 1.6 are better for CO, a bit better for HC and worse for NOx.

CO: 273 mg/km
HC: 64 mg/km
NOx: 25 mg/km