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.
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.
