Monday, June 21, 2010
Lotus is launching two special-edition cars in honor of vehicle engineering director Roger Becker, who retired from Lotus in January. Becker joined Lotus in 1966 and helped develop every new Lotus since, including the Esprit, Elan, and Evora.
The Elise SC RGB (for Roger G. Becker) features ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels, sport and touring packages, air conditioning, monochrome Lotus badges, an individually numbered plaque, and Roger Becker's signature on B-pillar. It is powered by a 217 hp (220 PS / 162 kW) supercharged 1.8-liter engine, which allows the car to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds).
The Elise SC RGB Special Edition is powered by a supercharged 1.8 liter engine that develops a total of 217 hp and rockets the car from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. The Lotus Exige S RGB Special Edition gets a supercharged and intercooled 1.8 liter engine with 257 HP and a sprint time of 4 seconds.
Body colours available for the Lotus Elise SC RGB and the Lotus Exige S RGB are Aspen White, Starlight Black, Solar Yellow and Carbon Grey and each exemplar will also feature a numbered plaque with Roger Becker's signature.
The cars will go on sale in September, the Elise SC RGB will be priced from £38,550 (€43,655) while the Exige S RGB starts at £41,950 (€50,042).
Press Release
Roger Becker, former Director of Vehicle Engineering for Lotus is celebrated with a series of special edition versions of the final run of European specification 1.8 litre Elise and Exige sportscars.
In celebration of his now legendary input over the years, Roger Becker (RGB) who retired in January following 44 years of service, will have a series of Lotus Elise and Lotus Exige sports cars in bespoke RGB Special Edition specification produced and set for release from September 2010.
The Elise SC and Exige S RGB Special Editions will both be specified to a high level with Sports and Touring packs as standard. The Elise SC RGB Special Edition has a supercharged 217 hp (220 ps) 1.8 litre engine which blesses it with a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds (0-100kmh in 4.6 seconds). The Lotus Exige S RGB Special Edition uses the range topping 257 (260 ps) supercharged and intercooled 1.8 litre engine which endows it with a 0-60 mph in around 4 seconds and a phenomenal aerodynamic downforce figure of 92.5 lbs (42 kg) at 100 mph (160 kmh).
Roger Becker said, "I am honoured that Lotus has named these two special editions after me, especially as it allows me to offer the customer my favourite specifications. The past 44 years have been an incredible journey and I'm looking forward to watching Lotus progress in the future, I have no doubt that the company will continue to go from strength to strength."
Both the Elise SC and the Exige S RGB Special Editions are available in four colours, Aspen White, Starlight Black, Solar Yellow & Carbon Grey and each one is identified by a numbered interior plaque, Roger Becker's signature on the side of the bodywork and special monochrome Lotus nose badge.
At the end of 2010, production of the European versions of the Elise R and SC and the Exige S and Cup 260, which use the 1.8 litre 2ZZ VVTL-i engines supplied by Toyota, will finish due to changes in legislation and the introduction of "Euro 5" Type Approval which does not apply to these cars. Production of the Elise R and SC and the Exige S and Cup 260 will, however, continue for all other markets.
Andreas Prillmann, Chief Commercial Officer for Lotus Cars said, "I would like to thank Roger for his dedication to Lotus It's fitting that an exclusive number of the last of the 1.8 litre Elises and Exiges for Europe are dedicated to Roger, who has been instrumental in the development of so many Lotus cars over the years, in particularly the Evora, the Exige and the recent versions of the Elise. Not only has his extensive knowledge and learning been passed on to our team of talented and skilled engineers, but also his passion for the Lotus brand and heritage has helped Lotus grow into the world class organisation that it is today."
The new, super efficient 2011 Model Year Lotus Elise, introduced to the market earlier this year, will continue for all markets where it is sold including Europe.
The Lotus Elise SC RGB Special Edition in more detail:
- 217 hp (220 ps) supercharged 1.8 litre engine
- Lotus ultra lightweight forged alloy wheels
- Sport pack
- Touring pack
- Four paint colours - Aspen White, Starlight Black, Solar Yellow & Carbon Grey
- Roger Becker signature on rear of the car
- Roger Becker numbered plaque
- Monochrome Lotus badges
- Air conditioning
- Recommended Retail Price:
- UK: £38,550 (including VAT)
- Euro Zone: € 43,655 (excluding regional taxes)
- Switzerland: CHF 71,435 (excluding taxes)
Official European Combined Cycle = 8.5 litres / 100 km (33.2 mpg)
Official European Extra Urban Cycle = 6.4 litres/100 km (44.1 mpg)
Official European Urban Cycle = 11.8 litre/100 km (23.9 mpg)
199 g/km of CO2
The Lotus Exige S RGB Special Edition in more detail:
- Standard Features
- 257 hp (260 ps) Supercharged 2ZZ 1.8 engine
- Lotus ultra lightweight forged alloy wheels
- Performance pack
- Sport pack
- Touring pack
- Four paint colours - Aspen White, Starlight Black, Solar Yellow & Carbon Grey
- Roger Becker signature on rear of car
- Roger Becker numbered plaque
- Monochrome Lotus badges
- Structural shear panel which gives increases lateral stiffness to the rear subframe by 30%
- Air conditioning
- Recommended Retail Price:
- UK: £41,950 (including VAT)
- Euro Zone: € 50,042 (excluding regional taxes)
- Switzerland: CHF 81,887 (excluding taxes)
Official European Combined Cycle = 8.5 litres / 100 km (33.2 mpg)
Official European Extra Urban Cycle = 6.5 litres/100 km (43.5 mpg)
Official European Urban Cycle = 11.9 litre/100 km (23.7 mpg)
199 g/km of CO2
Press release announcing Roger Becker’s retiremen:
Roger Becker Lotus' Director of Vehicle Engineering is retiring from Group Lotus after a long career of 44 years.
Roger, 64, joined Lotus in 1966, working on the Elan assembly line at Cheshunt, but his natural driving and engineering skills came to the attention of Lotus founder Colin Chapman and Roger was quickly moved to the vehicle development team where he worked directly with Mike Kimberley (former Lotus CEO) on the Lotus Europa Twin Cam - his first Lotus car development project.
During his career at Lotus, Roger has been responsible for the development of every Lotus car, including the legendary Esprit, Excel, Elan, Elise, Exige and the new critically acclaimed Lotus Evora. Roger has helped to maintain the philosophies laid down by Colin Chapman and has ensured that the essence and purity of Lotus is instilled in all new Lotus cars. He also has imparted his chassis engineering knowledge and development skills to many of the world's major automotive manufacturers in support of Lotus' consultancy engineering business.
On his retirement, Roger Becker said, "I have had a dream career at Lotus, with the honour of not only working directly for Colin Chapman but also working with some of the finest people in the motor industry. With the Lotus Evora successfully entering the market with unprecedented global adulation, and at 64 years of age, I feel now is the natural time to retire. The Evora has given me my finest hour at Lotus and I leave knowing it will be the foundation of all our next generation cars. The product engineering team will build on this to develop many more award-winning products and I wish them every success for what promises to be a very exciting future for Lotus cars and the Lotus brand."
Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus plc said, "On behalf of all the staff at Lotus, I would like to thank Roger for his contribution to Lotus over 44 years and we wish him well in his retirement."