For the magazine’s 600th issue the team decamped to Chateauroux Air Base in the central region of France, with a dozen of the fastest production cars on the planet. Plus of course one F1 car and a Le Mans prototype.

The driver of the LRGP R30 was Nicolas Prost, son of two-time F1 world champion Alain Prost and it wasn’t just a Veyron and F1 Car that the magazine brought along for the test, the 0 – 300 km/h time trial included a Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Pescarolo LMP1 driven by Christophe Tinseau, Audi R8 V10, Cadillac CTS-V, BMW X6 M, Nissan GT-R, Mercedes SLS AMG and a Suzuki Hayabusa ridden by Baptiste Guittet..

Driving the production cars was none other than ex-F1 driver and 4-time Le Mans winner, Yannick Dalmas.

The film features exhilarating footage of the best road cars in the world trying to attain a speed of 300km/h before the R30, driven by Nicolas Prost.

To save you pausing the video, the times recorded were as follows:

Some context..

We’ve extracted a few times from a previous Sport Auto Germany test to provide context to the above and if you’d like to delve deeper and take a look at highly modified tuner vehicles, then I suggest you visit the 0-300-0 section within the Sport Auto website.

If you’d like to read the full story (and can parles français), the feature will be published in late December together with the final video. Keep an eye on the sportauto.fr website or follow them at @SportAutoMag.

As an additional bonus, sportauto.fr have published a 16-minute arty teaser of their own. It’s a little odd (i.e. much of the video is silent and in slow motion), but the sound is turned up for the in-car shots, so it’s worth staying with it.

The terms of the settlement are confidential but the deal sees the “LOTUS” brand reunited under the sole ownership of Group Lotus. This includes the rights to the “LOTUS” and “TEAM LOTUS” names in Formula 1 motor racing.

1MRT will race in the 2012 Formula 1 season under the name “CATERHAM F1 TEAM” and will use a “CATERHAM” chassis.

The deal also sees a working relationship established between the parties and they will work together on future projects in the automotive field.

Group Lotus Chief Executive Officer Dany Bahar: “On behalf of Group Lotus and Proton I would like to express how pleased we are that this matter is finally closed and we can now focus on looking forward to the future.

“We understand that this has been a very difficult and confusing time for the fans of the sport and the Lotus brand so we are glad to have reached a clear resolution on this important matter – I would like to take this opportunity to thank our fans for their continued support, it means everything to us.”

Riad Asmat, Group CEO: “We are proud of what we have achieved by bringing the Team Lotus name back to Formula One when many tried and although we are sad to say goodbye to Team Lotus we are excited about owning our own future and being in control of our own destiny. Now we have no one to be compared to. We make our own history and we will remain green and yellow.

“Now we look forward to an exciting future racing under our new team name of Caterham F1 Team. Please continue to support our very special spirit of never say die and support us on the track as we move up the field and demonstrate that the good do win.”

Ginetta, unlike rivals such as Lotus, Ariel or Caterham, have not produced a road car since the 1990′s, hence the importance of two new road based offerings, spurred on by current owner Laurence Tomlinson of LNT Automotive . Indeed, the success of the little G40 R, and its sibling, the G60 911-rival, could make-or-break the West-Yorkshire based sports car manufacturer.

Should it fail, Ginetta may end up next to TVR in the automotive cemetery with ‘Gone but not Forgotten’ written across its headstone. But for now, there’s everything to play for.

Certainly, with Laurence Tomlinson at the helm, they have an asset highly regarded in the industry, and a man who strikes me as a modern day Colin Chapman. With years of racing experience, Le Mans wins and a keen understanding of both business and engineering, Tomlinson and Ginetta have every chance of making it work, even in such a competitive market.

At Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire we drove the ‘baby’ G40 R, which features lightweight engineering, a Mazda sourced engine and gearbox, a front engine rear-wheel drive layout and very little in terms of driver aids. A pretty car, low slung and dainty in its proportions, whilst still looking muscular, this car looks every inch the race car turned road car that it is.

The 2.0-litre Ginetta G40 R at Silverstone circuit.

Interestingly, this is what sets it apart from its rivals, in that the G40 is a race car adapted for the road by putting in a proper manual gearbox (the race car itself uses a sequential ‘box), road biased seats and seat belts, some headlights and a number plate. If you are looking for a racing experience on the road, it’s difficult to think of anything else that blurs the lines more strongly than the G40.

With a 175 bhp 2.0-litre MZR engine propelling a kerb weight of just 795 kg, the performance of the G40 sits somewhere between a Lotus Elise and an Exige, with the 0-60 sprint taking 6 seconds and with a top speed approaching 140 mph. If you are bridging the gap between the Elise and Exige, the numbers make sense and it feels suitably quicker than an Elise S in a straight line.

On the track

Out on track, the car feels lively, and will make you work to get the best out of it. Its unassisted, slightly un-communicative steering at low speeds comes alive and offers useful feedback as you begin to make more flowing progress. Without brake servos, the rock solid brake pedal takes some getting used to, and it can be very easy to lock the rear wheels and end up provoking ‘polite pirouetting’ if you are not used to this kind of race-derived braking. Properly managed however, the brakes offer excellent retardation and resist fade out on the circuit.

The G40 R’s handling balance is good, but the chassis is less forgiving than a Caterham Seven or Lotus Elise in terms of gradual breakaway of grip. Turn-in oversteer can be difficult to correct if you are not quick enough or in tune enough with the G40’s un-assisted steering, however once your brain catches up, you realise truly rapid progress can be made on track, using the excellent grip and precision provided by the combination of its soft-compound road tires and a well balanced chassis.

Should you consider buying one?

With the ex-Farbio based G60 sports car was being rolled away (with a minor electrical malfunction that prevented us from getting behind the wheel), responsibility fell on the G40 R to impress and prove that Ginetta has what it takes to produce as good a road car as it already does with racing cars.

Ginetta G60, the £68,000 911-rival based on the Farbio GTS. Ginetta acquired Farbio in March 2010 with its founder, Chris Marsh, continuing the sportscar’s development under the Ginetta name.

Whilst we feel that improvements could be made to the interior trim quality and some of the exterior paneling, the car we drove was a pre-production model and we’ve been promised these will be sorted before customer deliveries commence.

If that’s the case, then Ginetta have produced a balanced, race-honed road and track car that, although only produced in small numbers, we expect to give established cars from Lotus and Caterham a run for their money. In fact, we’d go so far in saying if you’re looking for a fixed roof sportscar ably suited to the inclement weather here in the UK, then the G40 R has few rivals.

Certainly, the driver appeal is there, and if Ginetta continue to dial in their race derived understanding of dynamics into all future road cars, we expect Ginetta to become a serious contender as a producer of lightweight track cars for the road.

The G40 R will cost just £29,950 when deliveries commence in 2012, which makes it something of a bargain compared to the £68,000 G60 sportscar. The company has set itself the modest target of 100 cars, all of which will be supplied to UK customers.

Firstly we need to start with a rudimentary definition of what it means to be a ‘cool brand’, since, as I will explain, ‘cool’ doesn’t necessarily mean successful.

Stephen Cheliotis, chairman of the CoolBrands Expert Council, says “Cool is subjective and personal. But being identified as a Cool Brand by the British public and a panel of influential opinion formers implies it is a brand that most Brits wish to own.”

A brand is essentially an identity which reflects the qualities and values of its owner, one that used to be defined by the brand itself, but in this era of digital and social media is largely a product of public perception. If a brand really is cool, then the evidence should be visible for all of us to see.

So, a working definition of ‘cool’ will most likely include;

• a brand which people aspire to own,
• which people then feel proud to openly display within their peer groups,
• are happy to associate themselves with the other brand owners,
• and which conveys upon them the same distinctive qualities that they associate with the brand they like.

Or to put it another way, a cool brand must inspire admiration, aspiration, a willingness to associate and a mutual sense of identity.

American clothing brand, Abercrombie & Fitch, used to be cool; many of us admired the quality and style of their items, felt comfortable being identified as an A & F customer but then once everybody was wearing them, we felt less happy being associated with the brand.

I was reading an article this morning by Colin Morrison about ‘Five reasons why Facebook may be doomed’, and one of the reasons he cited is that Facebook is losing its cool because it’s simply too popular – too common.

What began as a community of students sharing their pictures and news, has now become an essential tool for parents keeping track of their kids. What may have been cool (in a geeky sort of way) has now become a metaphor for weirdness. Would you want to be like Facebook? Probably not.

Just as it would be hard to deny how successful Facebook has become (it’s on target for more than $1bn profit in 2011), the same cannot be said for phone maker RIM (producer of Blackberry devices), whose shares have plummeted 50 per cent in the past few months with calls for its joint-CEOs to step down. Despite the financial turmoil and loss of demand for its smartphone and tablet devices, the CoolBrands survey found that while 47% of women voted Apple their favourite tech brand, some 44% voted for Blackberry.

This news is unlikely to appease RIM’s current shareholder revolt, but shows that being cool (or not) doesn’t necessarily translate into the bottom line.

So how did Aston Martin become a cool brand?

Cheliotis commented; “Smooth, sexy and sophisticated; British built, high quality and hand finished, let’s be honest, young or old, male or female, opinion former or British public, who wouldn’t aspire to own what is truly the coolest car on the road. Number one in five of the last six years, this British icon is truly the coolest of the cool.”

From Aston’s continued association with the 007 Bond films, their passion and success in motorsport and the bold innovativeness of the One-77 supercar, Aston Martin as a brand, represents the kind of person we’d all like to be – confident, successful, well-liked and courageous, yet subtle and classy.

The brand as a tool for self-identity is strong in this most British of car makers – Aston Martin is like the guy at school which all the girls want to be with, whilst all the other guys just want to copy.

So how have the other brands being doing?

How other brands can get in on the action?

The one question we haven’t answered so far is, “what difference does it make if a brand is perceived to be cool?” As an accolade, this latest award bestowed on Aston Martin is generating thousands of news articles and millions of views – it’s called ‘earned media’ and you just can’t buy this kind of positive messaging for your brand.

People who read about a ‘cool brand’ will reflect on what it could mean for their own image and perception by in their peer group, so whilst being perceived as cool won’t automatically translate into a bottom-line revenue improvement, it’s certainly a very valuable asset – one that saves a huge amount of marketing spend and which should lead to increased profitability, providing, as was unfortunately lacking with RIM, that you continue to provide products which people want to buy.

So the takeaway message from Aston Martin’s success is two-fold; build a brand identity and personality that customers would like to adopt as their own, but make sure you then build the products that such an affiliation would normally lead them to buy. A cool brand without neat products is something of a hollow achievement.

But Aston Martin is not the only cool brand, and whilst this latest CoolBrands survey is notable for the iconic brands surveyed, it’s not entirely comprehensive or indeed conclusive. Nor is coolness the preserve of luxury brands.

Lexus is the top-selling hybrid car maker in 2011 and for many buyers the epitome of cool, when choosing to express their environmentally conscious values. MINI continues to be a cool brand for many, despite their ubiquity, whilst Citroen has made great progress in rebuilding ‘affordable chic’ back into its brand with cars such as the DS3 and now DS4.

Even Volvo shows signs of venturing cool-wards with its latest S60/V60 and XC60 models. The one thing they all have in common is a distinctive personality and attributes which make them stand out on our crowded roads.

Of the Top 20 CoolBrands, only Ferrari (8th) and Maserati (20th) were in the fight with Aston. Morgan were also in the Top 66 brands in the survey. The remaining automotive brands on the list were unclassified and included – Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Porsche, Range Rover and Rolls-Royce.

So Aston Martin is yet again the coolest of the cool, but rather than dismiss it as a meaningless trinklet, it might be worth taking a closer look at how Aston have achieved this position.

Alex Vaidya, Head of Digital at Porsche Cars GB tweeted this morning, “Being voted the coolest instantly makes you uncool!” – well in that case I’m sure Dr Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin’s CEO, must be cursing the brand’s latest trophy and wishing he’d kept a lower profile.

Perhaps not.

The programme will be owned by a new standalone engineering business, Caterham Technology and Innovation Limited (CTI), which will be responsible for the development of a completely new line of accessible and affordable sportscars. Inspired by the lightweight, minimalist philosophy of the Seven and drawing on the advanced technologies and materials from the Group’s Team Lotus Formula One and Caterham Team AirAsia GP2 motorsport operations, CTI will also undertake advanced projects for external companies operating within the automotive and aerospace sectors.

“The new shareholders are committed to investing in an exciting range of global products over the next 10 years,” says Mark Edwards, CTI’s Chief Executive. “Tony Fernandes has been very clear from the start that Caterham needed a sustainable research and development business model in order to meet the plans the management have for the road car business.

“By establishing unique operating principles for CTI, we have managed to attract a world-class team of niche vehicle engineers eager to build on the ethos of Caterham and the DNA of the Seven.”

Among the first in a series of respected industry figures to join the new operation will be Tony Shute. Joining as Head of Road Cars for the new business and, as an avid motorsport competitor in his own right, Shute is credited with bringing the ground-breaking Series 1 Lotus Elise to market.

“When the opportunity to be involved with creating the next iconic Caterham arose, I couldn’t turn it down,” says Shute. “The core principles and ambitions of CTI have enabled us to attract some of the brightest and most respected talents in their fields.”

Further announcements will be made in due course.

The new business will focus on unique vehicle architectures, high performance engines, advanced materials and manufacturing technologies in association with the Formula One and GP2 race teams.

He adds: “I feel very confident that our customers will be very pleased with the products I have challenged CTI to deliver, in addition to supporting the Seven and I look forward to revealing our plans in more detail soon.”

Caterham has announced that its new CTI operation will be based in Norfolk near the Group’s motorsport operations, and within spitting distance of Lotus Car’s headquarters in Hethel.

Following a 12 year stint in F1 from 1989 to 2001, Alesi moved onto DTM racing and then last year made his most recent competitive race appearance in the Le Mans Series. In January 2011 he joined Group Lotus as a brand ambassador and development consultant on the F1 customer race car, the T125. Although never straying far from the race track, the Indy 500 and oval racing represent completely new challenges for Jean.

Commenting on the announcement Jean Alesi said: “I’m thrilled that Lotus has given me the opportunity to compete in such a world famous race. It’s going to be a very special experience for me but I also know that I have a lot of hard work ahead. I’m very focused on the task I’m facing – I’m taking my training very seriously, I have some amazing support on this front from a ‘comeback’ expert and of course I will be testing extensively. I’m really excited about the race.”

Jean’s development role with Group Lotus will stand him in good stead as he prepares for his new challenge as he will be competing in a Lotus powered by the new Lotus IndyCar engine. Development of the 2.2-litre twin turbocharged V6 is going to schedule with the first engine fire-up set for mid October and track testing planned to commence in December.

Group Lotus Director of Corporate Operations Gino Rosato said: “IndyCar racing represents a really important element of our overall motorsport program. The Indy 500 is the highlight of the race calendar, the atmosphere is always incredible and having Jean racing for us there will make it extra special.”

Rallying has had a long and close association with road cars, perhaps more so than any other form of motorsport, but the approachability of today’s WRC owes much to the sport’s blackest day 25 years ago.

Group B

In 1986 the great Finnish rally driver Henry Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto were leading in the World Rally Championship when their Lancia Delta S4 Group B car left the road and plunged down a hillside. The petrol tanks ruptured and it’s assumed that the combination of fuel and a red-hot turbocharger ignited the car and set fire to the surrounding undergrowth.

By the time rescue workers made it to the remote spot (some 30 minutes later) all that remained of the car was a blackened body shell with the remains of Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto still inside.

This tragedy, and the deaths of other drivers in these powerful ‘supercars’ signalled the end of the short but turbulent Group B era.

Group B was established in 1982 to provide manufacturers with the opportunity to chase rally victories and thus promote their brand by building cars for the purpose instead of adapting ‘compromised’ mass production cars. It gave birth to legendary cars such as the Lancia Delta S4, Audi Quattro S1, Peugeot 205 T16, Ford RS200 and the MG Metro 6R4; cars unobtainable to most spectators and probably just as well.

With little in the way of homologation rules, these monsters often produced over 600 bhp and could accelerate from rest to 100 mph in just a few seconds. It was an insanely dangerous time.

The problem for the spectators, and the sport in general, was that rally cars were pretty much unrecognisable from those that ordinary fans could buy. Group A cars which had previously dominated the series, were modified versions of the cars the punters bought, whereas manufacturers were only obliged to build 200 cars to enter Group B and in many cases didn’t even achieve that.

Back in the mid-80s you could pay upwards of £50,000 for a road-going version of these Group B supercars, which to put in perspective compares with the £37,000 Ferrari asked for its V8-engined Mondial 3.2 QV at the time.

Production car rallying

Following the madness that was Group B, the sport settled down until 1997 saw the introduction of the definitive World Rally Car (WRC) that we know today. These vehicles had to be derived from a production car with a minimum production run of 2500 units.

Obviously, some modifications were allowed notably upgrades to the transmission, suspension and engine but the rules were tightly controlled and we were watching cars which ultimately we could buy in the showroom – albeit with considerably more creature comforts.

It was during this period when the rally icons – Subaru’s Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer EVO – were born. We celebrated the performances of Colin McRae, Richard Burns, Tommi Mäkinen and Carlos Sainz.

However as costs escalated and Super 2000 rules were introduced, both Mitsubishi and Subaru became less competitive and eventually dropped out of the world stage. As the road cars appeared less on our TV screens, so their appeal waned with buyers, sales then dropped and now they’re future looks very much in doubt.

Mitsubishi initially stated that the Evo series would be discontinued, due to it being out of step with the company’s new environmental focus and Subaru remain quiet about future hot Impreza models, especially if their old sparring partner is no longer up for the fight.

But perhaps all is not lost. The face of rallying is different these days, with Ford, Citroen, Skoda and now MINI grabbing our attention. They remain just as closely linked with road cars as ever and the new S2000 rules should see more manufacturers entering the scene.

VW group now run a very successful works team of Skoda Fabia’s in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and in the next couple of years they’ll be fielding another works team, this time in the WRC, using a version of the ever popular Polo. These cars aren’t so far away from the mainstream Fabia vRS and Polo GTI that we can buy ourselves.

Which brings us back to Lotus and its Exige R-GT.

GT Category

In Lotus’ announcement at the Frankfurt motor show last week they stated that the R-GT will participate in the newly formed FIA GT category of the FIA Rally Championship, on the asphalt events in Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse and San Remo.

Apparently FIA President, Jean Todt, asked Lotus Director of Motorsport, Claudio Berro to work with his counterparts at Aston Martin and Porsche to devise a set of global rules for a GT category of rallying. GT Rallying is already popular in France, Belgium, Germany and Italy, but each championship runs under different rules. Todt would like to unite these into a world championship event and bring some glamour back into the sport.

This all brings back memories of when the Porsche 911, Renault Alpine, Lancia Stratos and Lancia 037 were all competing in international rallies and Todt can envisage cars such as the Alfa Romeo 4C, the rumoured Renault Alpine and even Nissan’s GT-R becoming a common sight on both tarmac and gravel events in the World Rally Championship.

Presently Berro believes the Exige R-GT would be about “..1.5 secs slower per kilometre than a Super2000 car but on some stages, like asphalt, we could, for sure, be quicker.” Lotus are pricing the R-GT at around £100,000 plus local taxes – considerably less than the £500,000 necessary for a top-line WRC contender – so the GT category could become a more accessible route into WRC for privateer teams.

The future

Motor racing is an important avenue of research for manufacturers. Formula 1 might be a fantastic spectator sport but the cars are designed with one purpose in mind – to win – and bear litte similarity to road cars beyond the 4 round black things which make contact with the road.

But more than any other form of motorsport, the link between competition and mainstream road cars is clearest in rallying.

For 2011/2 rally rules have changed yet again, partly to reduce costs and will return to using mechanical sequential gearshifts and mechanical diffs, whilst engines will drop in size to use 1.6-litre turbocharged units.

Just as paddle shift controls and electronic differentials have filtering down into our road cars, so will developments such as hybrid powerplants and energy recuperation (KERS) be accelerated by their use in rally cars.

So let’s welcome Lotus and look forward to seeing Alfa Romeo, Nissan and even Porsche join the World Rally scene – rallying leads to better road cars, it’s in their genes.

The ‘Lotus Licence’ is a tiered staircase programme that delivers a full programme of driver training and qualification leading up to a drive in the Evora GT4 at race standard. Level 1 covers heritage and an introduction to the Lotus brand, an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the production facilities and general vehicle handling training.

Subject to successfully passing Level 1, drivers will advance to Level 2 and eventually to Level 3 where they hone their skills learning everything from the theory of vehicle dynamics and tyre grip to trail breaking and powersliding.

The secret of becoming a great driver lies in plenty of track time and expert training, and after completing Level 3 drivers are awarded their ‘Lotus Licence’ and judged to be capable of handling the race-ready Evora GT4.

This is where the curriculum gets serious – all aspects of the circuit for racing are encompassed with special attention to race lines, analyses and a full debrief, after the serious bit it’s on to the fun stuff – extracting more performance from the Evora GT4 race car.

The Evora GT4 is a transverse mid-engined, rear wheel drive, sequential 6-speed transmission with paddle shift and twin plate sintered clutch. Shod in slick tyres, it delivers 349 bhp at 6500rpm and 328 lb/ft (400nm) at 5500rpm of torque – sounds good? The LDA allows you to find out what it’s like to drive on track and really unleash your talent.

What’s unique about the LDA is that drivers receive dedicated 1:1 tuition for the entire programme. Selected by Martin Donnelly, instructors are not only of the highest calibre, but they are completely focussed on their pupils so drivers can advance at the quickest possible rate and receive a truly bespoke experience. Current LDA instructors include:

Chief Instructor Martin Donnelly comments: “Lotus cars are real drivers’ cars. The Lotus Driving Academy is the perfect way to experience the special relationship between a car and the track and it’s a great opportunity for customers or aspiring customers to push themselves to the limit and experience everything Lotus has to offer. The syllabus we have put together is very technical so the training is comprehensive and challenging. There really is no better driver training out there!”

Managing Director Robert Lechner talks passionately about his plans for expansion: “We are really confident with the Lotus Driving Academy model, we have seen drivers progress and achieve their potential quickly so they keep coming back! Our success is down to creating the perfect learning experience with expert instructors in a world-class environment.

We are very happy to run our programmes at the re-launched Lotus track and are planning to open Lotus Driving Academies internationally, our first centre outside of the UK is at the Hungaroring in Budapest and we are looking at new locations at some of the greatest circuits around the world.“

The Circuits – Hethel

Situated beside Lotus headquarters in Hethel, Norfolk UK, the official Lotus test track is where the Lotus Driving Academy is located alongside Lotus Motorsport. With a length of 3.6 kilometres and width of 12 metres, it can be used additionally for GT racing and Formula 1 testing.

As a purpose-built test circuit, it combines a variety of technical aspects with a series of bends, hairpin, corners, straights and a turning circle designed to put Lotus’ high performance cars through their paces, and to train and develop driving skills.

The Circuits – Hungaroring

The LFA Budapest is based at the Hungarian Formula 1 track in a natural valley, surrounded by 50 hectares of rolling hillside. With this natural advantage, almost 80 percent of the racetrack is visible from any point. The smallest radius of a curve is 20 metres, while the largest is 400 metres.

The full length of the start-finish line is 788 metres and the track is at its widest point 15 metres, elsewhere the width varies between 10 and 11 metres – relative to the possible highest speed.

Knowing how sensitive the information could be, the first thing I did was speak to Caterham’s CEO, Ansar Ali to understand the impact of the changes and to ensure that whatever we published would not undermine the swift conclusion of any negotiations.

You see in the game of chess that’s been playing between Fernandes and Group Lotus, the winning move was always perceived to be control of the Lotus brand, of which Team Lotus is just a part (implicitly if not legally). Good chess strategy suggests that your King’s safety is crucial, so Group Lotus focused on protecting their good name and keeping it out of Fernandes’ hands.

Despite Fernandes’ audacious moves with Team Lotus, Dany Bahar – Group Lotus CEO – knew he could play the long-game and win the battle as long as he reinforced his strongholds and raised the profile of his brand (hence the high-profile PR announcements we’ve been seeing). So, as of January 2011 the game was approaching stalemate (if not checkmate) and the acrimony between each side was settling in for the long-run.

So, I hear you asking – what’s changed?

Tony Shute joins Caterham

Tony Shute who until recently was Head of Product at Lotus Cars; responsible for engineering the Evora, Exige and Elise and a 20-year veteran of the company, resigned from Lotus and joined Caterham a few months ago. Shute has been joined at Caterham by several other Lotus employees and is now hard at work on Caterham’s next generation of road cars.

Ansar was keen to point out that Caterham did not poach Tony or any other personnel from Lotus, they made this choice themselves, but clearly Caterham will now benefit from the infusion of Tony’s knowledge and experience in developing a more mainstream road car.

Tony Shute, ex-Head of Product at Lotus Cars, who has now joined Caterham.

Proton sanctions the sale of the Elise and Exige platforms to Caterham?

We were originally led to believe that a deal had been done to sell the Exige and Elise platforms to Caterham, but I now understand this to be untrue – perhaps because Caterham have acquired a team with first-hand experience of developing these models. Proton still appear to be keen on selling the S1 Elise Platform, but interestingly, not the S2 (as demonstrated by the new Exige S and Exige R-GT launched in Frankfurt this week).

Nevertheless its quite telling, since the source of this information was a Kuala Lumpur based insider. Clearly Lotus’ Malaysian owners have become tired of the public spat with Fernandes and would like to see Lotus focus on achieving their 5-year plan – and help pay back the $270M syndicated loan borrowed in April to finance the development of Lotus’ new models and subsequent restructuring costs.

Proton have recently taken a beating on the Bursa Malaysia (previously known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange), plunging to a 2-year low after concerns over its latest earnings results. The national car maker posted a 94.6% year-on-year drop in net profit to RM4.55mil for its first quarter ended June 30, 2011, compared with a net profit of RM84.68mil a year earlier, which was attributed to higher expenses incurred by Lotus Group International Ltd.

In turn the Malaysian group has been criticised for its “costly foray into the sports car market”, with Analysts arguing that Proton should instead invest in improving its product offerings, in particular its core models, or focus its efforts in collaborating with a strategic partner.

It’s worth noting that in the 10 years under Proton ownership, Lotus has yet to become profitable and continues to require significant investment from Proton – this has become even less palatable during the global economic downturn, since Proton’s major shareholders comprise government-linked companies (Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund and Petroliam Nasional Bhd). Up to 50% of the total group capital expenditure (capex) for the next 12 months has been allocated to Lotus, with the remaining 50% going to Proton, so you can see why the market is taking news of Proton’s latest results so badly.

Team Lotus becomes Caterham Team Air Asia in F1

You will no doubt have already heard the rumour that Tony Fernandes is to relinquish the Team Lotus name and rebrand his team as Caterham Team Air Asia for the 2012 F1 season. Caterham will remain liveried in Green & Yellow whilst Lotus will be coloured in whatever design Swizz Beatz can dream-up, or perhaps just remain Black & Gold.

Caterham Team Air Asia will move to Northants (taking over the old Super Aguri factory), leaving Hingham available for Caterham Cars and some F1 fabrication, and of course, modestly close enough to Lotus HQ in Hethel.

This is the win-win Fernandes has long been talking about and has paved the way for a resolution with Group Lotus.

However, given the pressure upon Proton (and therefore Group Lotus) we understand Lotus’ investment plans are being trimmed back to the essentials, hence the Lotus Renault F1 team will now become a Renault sponsored by Lotus, rather than a Lotus powered by Renault – although of course the powerplant will remain Renault.

We also understand Lotus’ product development plans will be trimmed back, so that the Evora becomes the entry-level model (i.e. the Elise will not be replaced), with emphasis being placed on selling premium models with the highest net margins. Proton apparently don’t want cross-over product (and sparring) between Lotus and Caterham, as this (quite obviously) wastes money and opens them up to further criticism by the analysts.

So what does this mean for Caterham?

You’d have to admit that Caterham are sitting very pretty amidst all these moves. Ansar has long been trying to acquire blueprints for the Series 1 Elise from Lotus, but with Tony Shute on board he perhaps doesn’t need them any more (although they would certainly save a lot of money in homologating a future Caterham for the US markets).

Ansar Ali, CEO of Caterham Cars.

Product wise, in addition to the Caterham 7 (which will live on) there is the SP/300.R, which seems to have experienced delays but should begin customer testing soon. The SP/300.R is due to participate on the F3/GT package but Caterham will need full grids – however Ansar sees it as providing a staircase for talent to migrate up from the numerous Caterham 7 series, both here in the UK and internationally.

So that leaves the way clear for Caterham to build a new range of affordable sports cars, filling the space left by the Elise and Exige, and designed from the outset to become a global product.

Ansar tells me that since news of Caterham’s acquisition he has been inundated with new opportunities, mostly it has to be said from overseas. That’s the other big change you’ll see from Caterham. Even before the sale to TLE, Caterham were selling more than half their cars outside the UK, and this will increase in future especially with access to Air Asia’s logistics and distribution network.

Fernandes has already said that he’d like to see Caterham cars being sold wherever his airlines fly to, which makes North America and APAC countries a no-brainer, and with a population of more than 4 billion people I could already sense that Ansar was wondering if he’d bitten off more than he could chew. But Fernandes is a pragmatic businessman and just as he’s done with his F1 racing team, he’ll be keen to see Caterham grow organically and sustainably.

There’s clearly much to do, Caterham are not yet geared up to operate as a global business, so Ansar will need to build new sales and distribution processes, new systems, establish a more outwardly-facing culture and learn how to scale Caterham’s DNA without diluting its very essence.

So the journey for Caterham has just begun, but there’s plenty for enthusiasts and British industry to feel optimistic about. Having long been a minnow of the car industry, the boys from Dartford just got teeth. I for one, can’t wait to see what happens next.

Lotus describe the new Exige S as the ultimate lightweight high performance sportscar and it’s not difficult to understand why. Fitted with the Evora’s supercharged V6 engine, the Exige S tips the scales at just 1080kg, although that’s still 191 kg heavier than the outgoing Exige S.

“A mind blowing driving experience” is a phrase used in the Lotus press release and by replacing the Toyota supercharged 1.8-litre engine used in the previous Exige S, power to weight ratio increases from 288bhp/tonne to 320 bhp/tonne. With the 0-100mph sprint likely in around 8 seconds and a price tag of between £50,000 and £60,000, the new Exige S is likely to sell just as quickly as it drives.

Alongside the headline-grabbing power to weight ratio, the Exige S has a new exterior and interior look and feel. The dramatic styling overhaul sees a completely new look for the Exige including a new front splitter and rear spoiler giving it a strong and aerodynamic profile.

There are two new interior package options available: Premium and Premium Sport. The Premium Pack provides added comfort and style where as the Premium Sport option focuses on creating an internal space optimised for ultimate driver involvement.

The Exige S features a high performance bespoke tyre package with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres as standard. A Lotus DPM (Dynamic Performance Management) switch allows the driver to switch between three driving modes: Touring, Sport and DPM off.

And if three dynamic settings are not enough, an additional Race Pack option is available which adds a fourth driving mode setting: Race. This setting provides the maximum possible traction out of corners, whilst putting more control in the driver’s hands. The Race Pack also features Launch Control and an optimised suspension setting for use on the track.

Commenting on the Exige S, Group Lotus Chief Executive Officer Dany Bahar said: “Anyone who has ever driven an Exige will tell you that it’s not for the faint-hearted. The new Exige S skips a few rungs on the ladder to give the driver the ultimate Lotus experience. Quite simply you can’t get more Lotus than the Exige S.”

Lotus will provide official fuel economy, CO2 and performance figures later this month, whilst first deliveries are expected by the end of the year. Pricing although unprecedented for an Exige, is bound to make the Exige S one of the performance bargains of the year.

And there’s an Exige R-GT too..

30 years after World Rally Championship victory in the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus it’s time to welcome Lotus back to rally with the brother of the newly launched Exige S – the Exige R-GT.

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 Exige R-GT runs the same supercharged V6 3.5 litre engine as the new road Exige S, however significant changes have been made to the gearbox and the restrictors on the engine in order to control the power and comply with the mandatory FIA regulations. Weight increases to 1200kg, whilst power drops to 298 bhp due to the 34mm restrictors.