Categories: Exotics

The tide of change continues to rise over in Hethel. Lotus revealed late last year that it planned to make a decision on whether to build its own engines for its upcoming sports car expansion. The automaker was supposed to come to the decision in the winter, but apparently it took a little longer to green-light an internal engine production program. What it took was the freeing up of some funds in order to allocate monies toward engine development.

Lotus found the funding it needed from the delay of the Elan 2 + 2, a decision that it announced recently. The automaker decided that the car was just a little too close to the Esprit and delayed its development for a few years.

At the Geneva Motor Show this past March, Rolls Royce made a rather strong impression with the 102EX, an electric ultra-premium. The move made some wonder whether Rolls may just cut its otherwise atrocious fuel economy numbers with a fully electric production version. At the time, Rolls would commit only to the fact that it would test the waters for an EV's potential. Apparently, those waters turned up pretty chilly, because Rolls has moved an EV off the table for the time being.

According to anAuto Evolution report based on a conversation with CEO Torsten Mueller-Otvos, Rolls has officially sidelined the EV because it doesn't believe that it makes sense at the moment. It's not so much that customers aren't interested in a premium EV, or that there was a tepid reaction to the 102EX, it's that Rolls doesn't think an EV fits its customer base very well.

Sometimes when car companies decide to resurrect a car or a nameplate, it doesn't quite work out. It seems as if someone somewhere in marketing (who obviously is not a gearhead) just got the job, thanks to Monster.com, comes up with the idea to bring back a name in the history books with no real idea of what the original bearer of that name stood for.  

But for every modern Malibu SS, GTO, or Thunderbird, once in a while we get a car brought back that is arguably even better than the original. In 2010 we saw the most recent rendition of retro in the form of the undeniably elegant, yet extremely powerful Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Harking back to the 1950's 300SL, the modern form of the gullwing was every bit as breathtaking as the first specimen. Now, only a little more than a year later Mercedes will bring back yet another model for us to enjoy, in the form of the SLS AMG Roadster. This droptop beauty will mirror the late 50s version of that same venerable 300SL Roadster. 

Rotary engines; not many cars sport them nowadays. And even fewer supercars have them. But a new teaser gives us a look at an upcoming German supercar powered by a four-rotor engine. It's called the Predator GT and it comes from the suitably named Rotary Super Cars.

Rotary already teased the Predator last year. But that car looked entirely different. Apparently, the company took some heavy flak for making a highly derivative car that looked like a Ferrari 599 GTB with a couple of extra vents and body mods. So, they went back to the drawing board and designed a completely new car. My man Viknesh, over at Motor Authority, likens it to a Lamborghini, which I can see from the rear cabin back, but the front still looks pretty Ferrari to me. But even a Ferrari-Lambo hybrid is more original than a straight 599 rip-off—especially when you throw in those weird, lightning bolt-esque lines (no, those aren't the result of a fuzzy picture).

Much like watching two heavyweight icons like Ali and Frasier gruel it out for supremacy, there's something magical about watching two ultra-powerful, iconicly awesome supercars go head to head. Even when the match-up is odd and skewed.

The latest piece of supercar throw-down to bubble to the surface of the Interwebs is a Drag Times piece with a supercharged Corvette Z06 and a Koenigsegg CCXR.

There's a new top convertible in Ingolstadt. Audi unveiled the R8 GT Spyder last week, a car that pairs the performance and technology of last year's R8 GT coupe with a fabric soft top. The high-performance Spyder is a limited edition model, with less than 350 units planned.

The R8 GT Spyder begins with underpinnings of the former top R8 convertible—the R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro. But it cuts about 187 lbs. of fat by using materials like an ultra-light, magnesium engine frame and carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer front spoiler, rear bumper, and rear side panels. Final curb weight comes in around 3,615.5 lbs. Inside components like the glass fiber-reinforced polymer-chassis bucket seats also help weight savings.

In a recent test of the 2011 Mosler Photon (a car that it seems duly impressed with) Automobile magazine got a few juicy teaser bits about the upcoming 2012 Mosler Raptor. The car will play in the same sandbox as elites like the Pagani Huayra and Koenigsegg Agera. At what could be about half the price, it will deliver similar performance and a sexy exterior inspired by an exotic woman.

After a number of on again/off again rumors, the Audi R4 is on again. And it looks like this time it's for good. Autocar reports this week that Audi has given the official go-ahead to the mid-engined, two-seat roadster, which will be a smaller, more affordable complement to the R8 supercar.

While its big brother shares underpinnings with the Lamborghini Gallardo, the R4 will look to VW's other performance brand in borrowing front-end elements from the 911-derived Porsche Boxster. While its front will be shared, its rear will be "radically different."

Mercedes CL, Porsche Panamera, and BMW 6 Series, watch out, there's a new Audi in town. Or at least there will be in a couple of years. An Audi A9 has been rumored for a while now, and Britain's Car magazine has some new details on the top dog. While the final form(s) (four-door coupe, 2 + 2) that the A9 will take is still undecided, it looks to be all but a sure thing.

The Porsche 911 (one of the greatest icons of the automotive world) is set for a redesign. The 2012 911 will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year, and rumors, spy shots, and speculation have been flying around willy nilly (yeah, I said willy nilly) as the new sports car draws nearer.

Now, if there's one thing we know about the Porsche 911, it's not going to look any different—the thing's looked pretty much the same for the past four-and-a-half decades, albeit with a very slow, steady stream of modernizations. So there's really no sense in speculating on what the 2012 911 is going to look like, just take a good look at the 2011 911.

So, maybe you’re a sports car purist. You want things simple, but deadly efficient on the road and track. You know that a low curb weight is just as important as the amount of power you are putting to the ground, so that means no turbo, no hefty all-wheel drive setup, and no silly self-shifting techno-crazed semi-automated, triple-clutch, paddle-shifted nonsense. Your dream car should have a clutch, and a shifter, and should be powered by a naturally-aspirated, high revving hero under the hood bred from pure racing DNA, and that's about it.