Hertz so Good: Rental Lotus Elise SC Available in Italy

Fancy taking a Lotus Elise SC for a spin? Well, if you're either a permanent resident or planning to visit Italy as a tourist, you'll be happy to know that Lotus has announced a new agreement with the car hire company Hertz Italiana to supply a bunch of yellow Elise SC for its rental business in Italy. The two-seater roadsters will be available to hire from central Hertz centers throughout the country beginning from the middle of July.

"For many, to drive a Lotus is to fulfill a lifelong dream and now, thanks to Lotus and Hertz Italiana S.p.A. this dream can be realised for a longer period than just a quick test drive at a Lotus dealer," said Andrea Manni, director of the official Lotus dealer, 'Lotus Rome'

"We expect some drivers who hire an Elise or Exige from Hertz Italiana S.p.A to visit a Lotus dealership afterwards, as once you have experienced the exciting and adrenaline fueled capabilities of a Lotus, there is no turning back," Manni added.

Lotus Elise and Exige Recall Affects Most Tesla Roadster Models

As most of you may already know, the all-electric Tesla Roadster is based on the Lotus Elise with which its shares numerous parts including the rear hub flange bolts that have been deemed defective. According to the NHTSA, on some vehicles the bolts may be under-torqued and could become loose. The two companies issued separate notifications on the matter with Tesla saying that the recall affects 345 Roadster models manufactured between March 2008 and April 22, 2009 (out of a total of 400 cars sold until May 2009) while Lotus is recalling 27 Elise and Exige vehicles built from January 14 through May 5, 2009.

Both recalls are expected to begin in June. Tesla owners may contact the company at 1-877-888-3752 while Exige and Elise drivers can call Lotus at 1-800-245-6887.

2010 Lotus Elise and Exige: Cleaner and More Fuel Efficient

You'd think that, since the Elise and Exige models are pure-bred sportscars, Lotus wouldn't care much about improving their eco-credentials. Well, apparently that's not the case with Lotus as the British automaker has performed various tweaks on both cars' powertrains and aerodynamics helping the 2010MY Elise and Exige give up to a 9% reduction in CO2 emissions and similar increases in fuel economy.

According to Lotus' Spartan press release, on the combined cycle, the Elise S shows the greatest improvement in fuel efficiency offering an increase of 3.2mpg UK or 2.7mpg US (a decrease of 0.7 l/100km), from 34.0 mpg UK or 28.3 mpg US (8.3 l/100 km) to 37.mpg UK or 31mpg US (7.6 l/100km)

Mike Kimberley, CEO of Group Lotus plc, stated, "The Lotus philosophy of performance through light weight is even more relevant in today's emission focused ecological world. This design philosophy has enabled Lotus to offer fantastic levels of performance, with Lotus cars being some of the greenest performance cars on the market".

The new 2010 model year Elise and Exige are on sale now at Lotus dealers in the UK.

Elise S:179 g/km CO2

• 7.6 l/100 km (37.2 mpg UK) Combined Cycle
  
• 10.6 l/100 km (26.6 mpg UK) Urban Cycle
  
• 5.8 l/100 km (48.7 mpg UK) Extra Urban Cycle
  

Elise R: 196 g/km CO2

• 8.2 l/100 km (34.4 mpg UK) Combined Cycle
  
• 11.6 l/100 km (24.4 mpg UK) Urban Cycle
  
• 6.2 l/100 km (45.6 mpg UK) Extra Urban Cycle
  

Elise SC: 199 g/km CO2

• 8.5 l/100 km (33.2 mpg UK) Combined Cycle
  
• 11.8 l/100 km (23.9 mpg UK) Urban Cycle
  
• 6.4 l/100 km (44.1 mpg UK) Extra Urban Cycle
  

Exige S: 199 g/km CO2

• 8.5 l/100 km (33.2 mpg UK) Combined Cycle
  
• 11.9 l/100 km (23.7 mpg UK) Urban Cycle
  
• 6.5 litres/100 km (43.5 mpg UK) Extra Urban Cycle

Project Kahn Develops Special Edition Lotus Elise

Lotus has joined forces with tuning specialist Project Kahn to create a bespoke version of the Elise to celebrate the British automaker’s 60th Anniversary. Along with the release of a few teaser images, Project Kahn also revealed details on the limited production Elise that will be officially unveiled in September. The exterior of the Elise has been upgraded with an aerodynamic styling package, whilst the interior is given the full Kahn treatment with full leather seats and door trims. In terms of performance, the Elise’s air flow system is enhanced with the addition of the Kahn sports exhaust while the suspension is lowered with 28 stage dampeners for improved handling. -Continued


Via: Autoblog.it