We are delighted to announce that the tickets for LitP are now on sale in the MLOC store 

You can click on the LitP poster on the MLOC home page, or the LitP tab on the drop down store menu, or just click the link below!

https://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/litpbooking/

You will first be taken to an information page that should explain everything that you need to know and from there you link through to the store.

There are all-new runs of course and a couple of changes to the run starts but the big news is the addition of a fantastic barbeque and meeting for Friday evening at the Charles Cotton in Hartington - even more reason to make a full weekend of it 

See you there everyone 

Lotus sales soar for first quarter FY2014/15

Today, Group Lotus plc is pleased to announce a 31% rise in global sports car sales for the first financial quarter of 2014.

For the period 1^st April-30^thJune the company increased its overall sales volume by 31% to 505 units compared to 386 units for the same term last year. The results which deliver the best first financial quarter for 3 years, also show best June results in 4 years with sales of 192 units.

Key global territories that showed the highest increase in sales were France, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. The improved performance is attributed to increased demand for all three vehicles in the Lotus range being the Lotus Evora, Lotus Exige and Lotus Elise, with industry-leading residual values ensuring that a Lotus purchase is an easy decision.

Lotus’ quarter one figures are reflective of the company’s plans to further expand and strengthen its global dealer network with new Lotus dealerships expected in the coming months.

Lotus’ Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Marc Gales commented “This is excellent news for Group Lotus plc and our parent companies PROTON Holdings Berhad and DRB-HICOM Berhad. This latest performance is indicative of Lotus’ commitment to ensuring more drivers have the opportunity to own one of the best sports cars in the world.”

Sitting alongside the Exige S, Exige Cup and Exige Cup R, the Exige S Roadster completes the Exige line-up and enhances the track focussed collection by providing a new facet to the range. Powered by the same 3.5L V6 as the coupé variants and weighing in at 10kg less than the Exige S at 1,166kg, none of the exhilarating performance of the phenomenal Exige range is compromised, yet the driver is only ‘two clicks and a roll’ away from cruising in open-top style thanks to the lightweight, factory-fitted soft top.

Achieving 0-100 km/h from standing in 3.9 seconds, delivering 345 hp at 7000 rpm (350 PS) and 295 lb ft of torque at 4500 rpm, the Roadster matches the coupé’s mechanical performance, but style takes an understated approach having shed its rear wing and front splitter to maximise airflow over its sleek silhouette.

According to En Aslam, the introduction of the new Exige to the Lotus product range has provided a new opportunity for LOTUS to expand and strengthen its production resource, generating new jobs and opportunities for skilled individuals who want to be part of the Lotus story.

"Since the takeover in 2012, Lotus has made great strides to reclaim its spot among the very best of the motoring world. The year 2013 marked a real turning point for the company with a 31% production increase. Additionally, LOTUS Engineering is working with more major OEMs than it did last year and now has 120 engineering projects in its books," he added.

As capable as its coupé counterpart, the Exige S Roadster retains all the intent of a race-bred sports car but also possesses the poise of a sleek convertible.

During the ceremony, Tun Dr Mahathir also presented a mock key to the first Exige S Roadster customer in Malaysia, Mr Simon Flint. The Chief Executive Officer of Fitness First Asia, Mr. Flint was naturally delighted with his new ride, which he ordered in Storm Titanium colour. "I have always been a huge fan of Lotus – since my cousin acquired an Esprit many years ago. The first Lotus I owned was a Europa SE and after experiencing that, I'm an absolute advocate for the brand. Now taking delivery of a new Exige S Roadster is a dream come true.

"The introduction of this latest model to the Malaysian market is important as the company looks to remain relevant and competitive. As it is a very competitive market, it is pertinent for us to introduce more and more exciting products to our customers in the future with an improvement on the overall product quality. These products must be complemented with the best of quality, cost and delivery which is now a standard operating procedure at Lotus and Proton," said En Aslam.

The Exige S Roadster is the perfect car for a ‘joy’ ride, and is the latest edition to the current line-up of Lotus models available in Malaysia. The other models are the Exige S, the Elise S, Elise MT, the Exige MT, the Lotus Evora MT and the Lotus Evora AT and IPS.

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Romain Grosjean secured a best-ever front row starting spot with the second fastest time in qualifying for tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix, whilst Kimi Räikkönen will start from fifth position after a searing hot session at the Hungaroring.

Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05. Q : P5, 1:21.730. FP3 : P6, 1:21.953

“Not a bad qualifying performance for sure, but it’s a bit disappointing I didn’t go faster when it mattered. The car feels good, but I didn’t get the crucial lap together at the right time. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Romain Grosjean, E20-04. Q : P2, 1.21.366 FP3 : P7 1:22.110

“Qualifying was very tight and it was difficult to see where we would end up so on the front row is fantastic. We came here after a difficult weekend at Hockenheim and to be honest I didn’t get off to the best start yesterday. We worked hard to improve things overnight and the car felt much better in practice this morning. I’m very happy and just a little bit surprised to be P2 on the grid. Today’s job is done, let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director :

“It’s great to be on the front row.”

How do you assess today’s qualifying performance ?

“It’s been a good day. It’s great to be on the front row with Romain. We’d like to have seen Kimi a little further up the order – especially as his Q2 time was better than he achieved in Q3 – but overall it’s been an excellent weekend so far ; let’s hope that continues tomorrow. Our target has been to improve our qualifying performance ; we’ve clearly demonstrated that today.”

What can be achieved in the race ?

“We’re starting from the front row so there is good potential. It’s a difficult circuit to overtake – one of the hardest next to Monaco and Singapore. A good start will clearly be very important. After the start, even with the DRS, the straight is not long enough to mount an overtaking bid unless a car ahead is suffering from tyre degradation or something else to slow them down.”

How do both tyre compounds perform here ?

“Both the medium and soft compounds have exhibited pretty low degradation so we have no worries or concerns about durability, even with high temperatures.”

Does the weather forecast throw any curve balls ?

“Conditions similar to those we’ve seen over the last couple of days have been forecast. There is potential for some rain, but it’s so hot here there could be thunder showers like we saw on Friday. We’re ready for whatever the weather throws at us.”

Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean took to the track for the first practice sessions on the streets of Monaco in mixed conditions today. A dry and warm morning session was followed by a mixed dry and wet afternoon session. Both drivers used new helmet designs today – images can be downloaded below.

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director - Technical programme notes

• In FP1 we conducted evaluations of our Monaco setup and gained initial data of Pirelli’s soft compound.
  
• Kimi completed just his initial installation lap in FP1 as he found the Monaco steering setup not to be to his liking.
  
• FP2 saw lower fuel running than usual, focusing on qualifying specification performance of the soft and super soft compound tyres when the track was sufficiently dry. We also ran with the intermediate tyres on both cars.
  

What we learned today:

• Our Monaco specification setup works well in both dry and damp conditions.
  
• The changed steering setup for Kimi was more to his liking for FP2.
  

Kimi Räikkönen, E20-03

Free practice 1: No time set, installation lap completed

Free practice 2: P19, 1:19.267, 25 laps

Kimi: “It’s good to be back in Monaco even if we missed some running today. The steering wasn’t to my liking so the team changed it for me. It’s something you change for Monaco and there’s no way of knowing what it will be like beforehand. The car felt good in the second session, though it was obviously pretty slippery when the track was wet. I would have liked to have had more time in the car, but Monaco’s a track I know pretty well and it hasn’t changed much over the years. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Romain Grosjean, E20-04

Free practice 1: P2, 1:16.630, 22 laps

Free practice 2: P2, 1:16.138, 19 laps

Romain: “I think the car is suiting the track pretty well and I love Monaco, it’s good to be here and it’s nice to see so many fans. The car was looking good this morning and this afternoon – we are working in a good direction. Unfortunately it was a bit wet this afternoon and we couldn’t do all the programme we wanted to achieve but as we have a good baseline it shouldn’t be such a big deal. Let’s see what the weather will be like tomorrow and what we can achieve. I think that we are looking good in both conditions.”

James Allison, Technical Director:

“We’re happy with today’s performance as we came here with a certain amount of trepidation about whether our cars would be competitive. It was a disappointment to have missed the first session whilst we changed the steering setup on Kimi’s car, but he’s an old enough trooper to get himself up to speed on Saturday. The pace shown by Romain in both sessions was certainly encouraging. All the Monaco upgrades seem to be working well and the E20 is pretty happy around what is a very unique track.”

What better way to demonstrate Lotus' superior ride and handling than by re-entering the adrenaline filled Rally Championships? Showcasing the new Exige S' phenomenal performance, the Exige R-GT will participate in the newly formed FIA GT category of the FIA Rally Championship on asphalt in Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse and San Remo.

For Group Lotus' Director of Motorsport Claudio Berro the return to rally has an extra special meaning; "My motorsport career started in rally, in fact, I even took part in the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus' Italian Rally championship winning a race in San Marino back in 1981 so this is a very nostalgic moment for me. As we unveiled the car in Frankfurt, alongside the original championship winning car, I had the chance to get back inside and the smell was exactly the same – it brought back many happy memories for me.

"With the new R-GT rules in rally, it's a very interesting time for us to return to the sport. Naturally our approach this time around will be different to when we won the championship with Talbot three decades ago but I think our philosophy is definitely the same, we want to compete and ultimately we want to win. Our new rally car, the Exige R-GT is a dream come true for those who are passionate about GT racing – this will be their car."

The beauty of the Exige R-GT is that although it's a professionally set up race car, you don't need to be a pro to drive it – the race car has been developed alongside the road car allowing the technical team to create the perfect race machine, high performance but without losing the sense of fun to drive and ease of use. Developing the race version of the Exige in parallel with the road car has allowed the Lotus technicians to make rapid advances in terms of safety and reliability.

Claudio Berro commented: "We have learnt a great deal from working with the Evora and creating various race derivatives over the past 18 months particularly how best to adapt a road car for the track and competitive racing. We were able to put this learning to good use with the Exige project. In my mind rally is probably the ultimate motorsport, it combines the excitement of track racing with the specialist skills needed for road racing – we really believe it's one of the best and most straight forward ways to demonstrate the capabilities of our products."

Powered by the same V6 3.5 litre engine as the new road Exige, significant changes have been made to the gearbox and the restrictors on the engine in order to control the power. Lotus will initially partner with several customer teams following the tried and tested method in which Lotus entered IndyCar and returned to Le Mans.

Technical specification:

Chassis

Steel rollcage specifically designed and ASN and FIA homologated, bolted and bonded on the original aluminum chassis

Weight: 1200 kg as by FIA R-GT technical regulation

Front and rear specific underbody protections

WRC style crew side protections and lexan side windows

Roof cockpit air scoop

Suspension

Front and rear double A-arms

3 ways adjustable front and rear specific dampers

Engine

V6 supercharged 3.5l

Power 302 bhp

34 mm air restrictors as required by FIA tech rules for R-GT

Transmission

6 ratio sequential gearbox, two homologated final drives

LSD differential

Specific halfshafts

Brake

Specific front and rear disc and bells

Upgraded front and rear calipers

Hydraulic "fly-off" handbrake

Improved air cooling

Wheels and tyres

7'' x 17'' front rims 8''x18'' alternative front rims

205-62/17 front tyre

8'' x 18'' rear rims

225-65/18 rear tyre

It was a more productive day at the track as Vitaly drove the R31 this morning, before Nick took over driving duties in the afternoon.

Drivers: Vitaly / Nick

Chassis: R31-01

Fastest Laps: Vitaly: 1:26.884 / Nick 1:24.242

Position: P11 Vitaly & P5 Nick

Total laps: 61 for Vitaly & 41 for Nick

What we learned today:

- The R31 was fitted with some new parts to the water system, which successfully resolved the problems the team experienced in Jerez.

- The team logged some useful data from its suspension set-up programme in the afternoon, evaluating changes to the front and rear systems.

Vitaly: "After losing the track time yesterday, it was nice to be back in the car this morning and we completed quite a lot of laps. We found a lot of new things and worked on the general set-up, as well as understanding how the tyres are performing. It's quite cold here, especially compared to Jerez, so it was difficult to warm up the tyres to begin with, but we've learned quite a lot from the short runs we did."

Nick: "The balance of the car was not as good as it was in Jerez, but we did improve things by the end of the day. We lost a bit of time at the start of the afternoon, but when I did get out we did some useful work including new tyre runs, data collection and some work on the car's systems. But we still need lots more mileage because there are a lot of things on our job list to try, especially for the set-up of the car."

Alan Permane's technical programme notes

- The main task of the day was to put some miles on the car to make up for the track time we lost yesterday.

- We focussed on medium-length runs of eight to ten laps, and worked on the set-up and understanding the tyres on this track. We ran on three out of the four dry tyre compounds, evaluating both new and scrubbed sets.

Did You Know?

Around 250,000 man hours have already gone into the design of the R31.

TEAM LOTUS T03 BARCELONA REVIEW - 20 / 02 / 11

Driver: Jarno Trulli / Chassis: T128-01

Total laps: 48

Fastest lap: 1.25.454 (lap 45)

Runplan

0900 - 0901: Run 1, Installation, 2 laps

0901 - 0913: System checks / FW adjustment / F & R brake blanking change

0913 - 0932: Run 2, 10 laps - long run setup / full wets

0932 - 0938: Brake blanking adjustment

0938 - 0945: Run 3, 3 laps (red flag)

0945 - 0950: Red flag / switch to inters

0950 - 1009: Run 4, 8 laps

1009 - 1245: Water leak fixed / F & R brake blanking change

1245 - 1251: Run 5, 3 laps

1251 - 1400: Lunch / baseline setup change / dry tyres

1400 - 1408: Run 6, 5 laps

1408 - 1614: Water leak fixed

1614 - 1624: Run 7, 6 laps

1624 - 1633: Front wing flap increase / rear brake blanking change

1633 - 1638: Run 8, 5 laps

1638 - 1647: Rear setup adjustment

1647 - 1655: Run 9, 6 laps

1655 End of session

JARNO TRULLI: "Despite some mechanical gremlins which cut short my running time today we managed to collect some good data and overall I have a good feeling about the car. It's good to see that without doing many miles, and it being my first day in the car today on the new tyres in Barcelona, I managed to do some consistently good lap times throughout the end of the afternoon session. This morning we were running on wet and intermediate tyres and evaluating them, and

working on some setup changes. All in all it's been a very positive day and it's great to see we're getting closer to the top. It gives me a lot of confidence and gives the whole team encouragement to keep pushing forward. Tomorrow we want to carry out more setup evaluation as today I didn't run that much and didn't get the chance to explore the car as I would have liked. We had a number of small problems which eventually we solved but I want to get some more mileage done as there is definitely more potential to come from the car."

MIKE GASCOYNE, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER: "A slightly frustrating dayas our running was limited by a problem with a cracking water pipe this afternoon. We knew about the problem but did not have spare parts for it so we had to use parts repaired at the circuit. The team did a good job today to make sure Jarno could get more laps done in the dry conditions and he was fairly happy with the car by the end of the day. We also managed to do a reasonable amount of running in the wet so although it was one of those quite tough days we managed to make fairly decent progress and with new parts available tomorrow we will look to complete some more significant mileage."