Daily Archives: May 11, 2012

Lotus crises Continues


Like an Elise with a blown head-gasket, Lotus stumbles on while the smoke around the company continues to swirl. In what could be a glimmer of light, the latest report in Autocar says that the new owner “is not thinking about a sale”, but rumours of a possible move into administration refuse to go away.
Lotus was owned by Proton, but Proton has been sold to a Malaysian conglomerate, DRB-HICOM, and it is not clear if the new owners are really committed to the Norfolk sports car manufacturer. Lotus is losing money and DRB-HICOM could conclude that there is no strategic fit between a company that makes economy cars in Asia and a glamorous, if troubled, sports car business in Britain.

Uninsured £150K Ferrari seized – plus £31 million of other cars


Figures from HPI, the car data organisation, show that 61,000 uninsured cars were seized by the police last year. Within this number were five Ferraris (the most valuable being a new 458 Italia valued at £151,475), three Lamborghini Gallardos, an Audi R8 and a Bentley Continental.  Whether they were being driven by people with such bad records that they could not get insurance, or so arrogant they thought they needn’t bother, is unclear.
Among mainstream cars the type of recovered vehicles tends to reflect the overall market. The most commonly seized car was the Astra (373) examples, followed by the Focus, the Corsa and the Fiesta. Quite why Vauxhall drivers seem to be a bit more likely to be uninsured than equivalent Ford drivers (the Vectra was also seized more often than the Mondeo), is another open question.

Historic Schumacher Ferrari F1 car for sale


A Ferrari F1 car driven by Michael Schumacher during the 2000 Austrian Grand Prix is up for sale at a Monaco auction, and expected to make around £700,000. It’s yet another stunning lot up for sale in the forthcoming RM Auctions Monaco sale, set to be a veritable feast of automotive exotica; we’ve already reported on a prototype Ferrari F40 due for sale at the auction.

One of only eight built, the 808bhp V10 racer is in immaculate condition, having been restored by the Ferrari factory in Maranello in 2008.

Aston Martin reveals DBS Ultimate Edition


The ultimate version, literally, of the Aston Martin DBS has been unveiled by the company. Highly unusually, the company hasn’t put a press release out nor noffink, but has instead slapped an image of the car on its website. Surprise!Its starting price will nudge £187,000 before options, and we know that production at Gaydon will begin in June.