Lotus is a British manufacturer
of sports and racing cars. Lotus produced
exceptional car engines, below are just a few of what they used. All of which
can be found at enginesandgearboxes.co.uk reconditioned,
used or secondhand.
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Lotus Engines
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Lotus Gearboxes
The Lotus 907 engine,
the first production version, was 2.0 L (1973 cc) and was used in the Jensen-Healey
and later Lotus Esprit, Lotus Elite and Lotus Eclat. Bore was 3.75 in (95.28 mm)
and stroke was 2.725 in (69.24 mm), and a DOHC 4-valve head was fitted, one of the
first in modern times. Breathing through dual carburettors, the engine produced
160 hp (118 kW) at 6500 rpm with 140 ft·lbf of torque. The design became the basis
for the Lotus 2.0 and 2.2 engines used in a wide variety of sports cars, but while
the basic block was copied almost unchanged, it was cast in aluminium alloy instead
of iron, which made it considerably lighter. The Lotus engine also used a different
cylinder head of light alloy, featuring double overhead camshafts and four valves
per cylinder. Vauxhall also developed a 16-valve head for the engine in the late
1970s, which was used on the Chevette HS, but this design suffered a number of problems
in use, and the Lotus head was much better - so much so that for the rally cars,
Vauxhall substituted the Lotus head.
The 910 turbocharged engines
were introduced in 1980 were known as the type 910, which in high compression configuration
produced 215 hp and an astounding 220 ft·lbf of torque. The engine was again upgraded
in 1990 to the type 910s for use in the Esprit SE where it produced 280 horsepower
through the addition of Delco GMP4 EFI and a water to air intercooler known as the
Chargecooler. In its ultimate incarnation as used in the Sport 300, X180R and S4s
the engine was capable of 300 horsepower, propelling these cars to 0-60 times in
the low 4 seconds.
The Slant Four is a type of
car engine manufactured by Vauxhall Motors and in modified form by Lotus
Cars. Unveiled in 1967, it was one of the first production overhead camshaft designs
to use a rubber toothed belt to drive the camshaft from the crankshaft. The engine
features four inline cylinders inclined at an angle of approximately 45 degrees
(hence the name), and this is because Vauxhall developed the engine from a General
Motors V8 design from the US, dropping one entire bank of cylinders. There is a
single overhead camshaft operating two valves per cylinder. An ingenious valve train
design incorporating an inclined socket head cap screw, allowed valve clearances
to be adjusted with a feeler gauge and an Allen key. The block and crossflow head
are both of cast iron. The layout makes good use of the cylinder inclination to
lower the overall height of the engine, which allowed for more aerodynamic designs
of cars to be achieved by lowering the bonnet line. It also means most of the engine
is very easy to access for maintenance, with the exception of the exhaust manifold,
which is "underneath" the slanted cylinders.
Having originally been designed as
the basis of a future V8, the block is immensely strong and can
handle huge increases in power without modification. The larger capacities are renowned
for their immense torque (having such large pistons), but a downside of this is
that they are not very smooth running or high-revving. The engine was widely used
in many models of car, and was also developed into a marine engine for boats and
was popular with amateurs due to its great strength, tunability and simplicity.
Lotus Racing Cars are:
Lotus Mk1 - 1948-1948 Austin 7 based trials car
Lotus Mk2 - 1949-1950 Ford powered trials car
Lotus Mk3 - 1951-1951 750 cc formula car
Lotus Mk4 - 1952-1952 Trials car
Lotus Mk5 - 1952-1952 750 cc formula car - never built
Lotus 6 right through to 120, 1957 - 1998
Lotus Carlton - 1990-1992
Historic Road Cars are:
Lotus Excel - 1985-1992
Lotus Eclat - (1975-1982)
Lotus Elite - Describes two cars, one an ultra-light two-seater coupé produced from
1957 to 1962, one an angular 3 door hatch with a back bone chassis produced from
1974 to 1982.
Lotus Elan - This car was the design inspiration for the 1990
Lotus Elan M100 - The second car that used the Elan name, released in 1989
Lotus Europa - 1966-1975 mid-engine sports car, the first affordable mid-engined
road car ever produced.
Lotus Esprit - A mid-engined sports car, launched in the early 1970s.
Concept Lotus models are:
APX | M90 | 340R
Performance Lotus Models are:
Carlton | Cortina | Zytek Elise
Current Lotus Models are:
Europa S | Elise | Exige
Other Lotus Motors are
the Lotus-Ford Twin Cam | Lotus 900 series | Lotus 907 | Lotus 910 | Lotus 911 |
Lotus 912 | Lotus 918 V8.