A More Modern Design Take on the Classic Lotus Seven Sportscar

The simple and lightweight Lotus Seven is one of the most famous models to ever come out of Great Britain having inspired countless copies over the years from all four corners of the world.

Today, it lives on in the form of the Caterham 7 (or Caterham Seven) after Caterham Cars bought the rights to the design back in 1973.

During the past four decades, the U.K.-based automaker has refined the chassis and updated the Seven's mechanical components, while at the same time, keeping true to its roots.

Read more »

Shaken, Not Stirred: Sky Movies Puts Together James Bond Driving Scenes

He has a license to kill, instantly charms all the pretty ladies and gets all the latest toys. And by “toys” we mean all kinds of vehicles, from trucks to Soviet battle tanks and of course, cars, lots of them.

The one he has been most associated with is the Aston Martin DB5, while his most recent drive was a DBS. In between, he has also sat behind the wheel of a Lotus Esprit that doubled as a submarine, a Jaguar XKR and some BMWs – the best of which, the Z8, was cut in half.

Read more »

Former Lotus CEO Dany Bahar Sues DRB Hicom for Wrongful Termination, Asks for Close to $11 Million

In June, new Lotus owner DRB Hicom fired the British sports car maker’s CEO, Dany Bahar, after placing him under a two-week suspension. The official reason cited for his termination was "the results of an investigation into a complaint made against him by the company’s penultimate holding company, DRB-HICOM Berhad".

Now Businessweek reports that 40-year old Bahar (pictured above with Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda) has filed a claim against both Lotus and its parent company, DRB-Hicom, for wrongful termination of his employment and asks for a US$10.6 million compensation.

Read more »

Lotus Rumored to Build New Renault Alpine and Infiniti Emerg-e Sports Cars

In the past few months, Lotus has been making the headlines, but not for the right reasons. After Proton sold the British sports car maker to DRB-Hicom, CEO Dany Bahar was ousted and its future was once again thrown into doubt.

However, the Renault-Nissan Alliance may be the knight in shining armor that will give the Hethel-based company a new lease on life.

Read more »

DRB-Hicom Declines Offer for Lotus, VW Reportedly Interested in Parent Company Proton

Last week, Reuters reported that the ever-expanding Volkswagen Group is considering to place a new bid for Proton, which owns the Lotus brand, some five years after the Germans failed to form a tie up with the Malaysian carmaker as it seeks to extend its reach in the southeast Asian markets.

Today, DRB-Hicom, which acquired a 42.7 percent stake in Proton earlier this year, said that it had received an offer from an unnamed foreign company to buy Lotus for £1 (US$1.6 / €1.3) and take over the British company's debts that amount to more than £200 million (US$311 million / €257 million).

Read more »