Exclusive: Lotus F1 Racing Unveils Lotus Cosworth T127 in London

Lotus became the latest Formula 1 team to launch its 2010 challenger,  as the wraps officially came off the new car in London on Friday.

As revealed exclusively by AUTOSPORT's spy shot earlier this week,  the new car - named T127 - carries the colours used by the legendary  team back in the 1905s and 1960s.

The Lotus name is returning to Formula 1 this year after having quit  the sport at the end of the 1994 season. The team is now owned by  Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes.

The new car was shaken down at the Silverstone circuit earlier this  week and the team is scheduled to begin testing at the Jerez circuit  alongside rivals from next week.

Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will be the man in charge of  racing the Lotus cars this year.

Lotus is the second new team to complete and launch its car ahead of  the start of the 2010 season. Technical chief Mike Gascoyne said Lotus  is aiming to do a professional job this year.

"We are looking in really good shape," Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT  earlier this week. 

"We have to improve the pace of our car and the  results from wind tunnel, but that will come with time.

"Our first aim was to be on the grid - to be a professional team  where everything is to be F1 standard. We definitely will do that. The  team will look good and step one has been achieved."

article originally appeared on: autosport

 Click Here To View Over 20 Exclusive Images of Lotus F1 Cosworth T127

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Details on Proton Hybrid Concept designed by Giugiaro planned to be unveiled at Geneva

There is not a single doubt that Proton is serious about improving its image and offerings nowadays. A creative collaboration was developed by Proton together with Italdesign Giugiaro (an Italian company that has the expertise of providing the necessary support for carmakers world wide with creativity and engineering support) as a part of the group's long-term strategy to expand its market as well to match the global automotive standards. 

Together with the Italdesign Giugiaro, Proton is in the process of developing a new hybrid car, They has also unveiled some information on the hybrid car series that is said to be fully unveiled at 80th Geneva Motor Show on 4th of March.

Above is the first photo of Proton's hybrid car concept that is designed by the Italians that is bravely said to "revolutionise traditional segmentation in the car market" by Giugiaro. They also admitted that the hybrid car was developed with the "aim of optimising the available on‐board space and car access ergonomics".

“This is the outcome of several years of study: the solution allows interior

spaciousness on a par with that of a segment D saloon despite maintaining the

exterior dimensions of a segment A car” explained Giorgetto Giugiaro, Chairman of

Italdesign Giugiaro.

According to Giugiaro, the concept will features a raised floorpan that is able to accomodate the batteries of the hybrid system at the rear. The car is also higher that other compact cars to ensure the best use of interior space. Passengers also neither have to get down into the car as in a coupe nor "climb up" as in a SUV because the seat H point is designed to be at the perfect height of a passenger's hip ensuring the passenger to enter the car in a natural way. The four seats are identical,  independent and sliding, ensuring identical comfort to passengers and driver alike. The distance of the rear seats from the front seats is comparable to that of an SUV. It's worth a mention that the four seater, five door hatchback is just 3550 mm in length. Last but not least, the car also features a hybrid system that includes an internal combustion engine fitted at the front used to recharge the lithium ion batteries, while the drive is fully electric.

                                                                                   

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Exclusive Spyshot of Lotus F1 Completing Shakedown at Silverstone

Ahead of its launch in London on Friday, the Lotus F1 team has shaken down its car at Silverstone.Reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy was given the honour of driving the car during the brief test on the short Stowe circuit, before the car heads to Jerez to take part in the second of two sessions at the Spanish venue.

During the test, the car used was running in the iconic Lotus's yellow and green colours as seen in the spyshot above that was posted by Autosport. However, it's not clear whether Lotus will keep them for the upcoming season or just used for the initial test. 

Also notable are the sponsor logos of Proton, Malaysian tourism, the Tune Group and Naza Corporation, but not team boss Tony Fernandes' airline AirAsia.

Team chief executive Riad Asmat indicated to the Star newspaper that more sponsors could be unveiled at Friday's official launch.

"You can see from the livery of the car who will be supporting us. It will be a mix of Malaysian and international sponsors," he told the Malaysian publication.

Lotus’ first test-run at Silverstone was emotional on a lot of levels for those involved in the team’s return to Formula One. Even Tony Fernandes, Lotus’ team principal, admitted that he got emotional after watching the car make its first test run around Silverstone. 

"Shakedown started. Quite a few tears." said Tony Fernandes in his Twitter account.

Lotus' shakedown saw it become the second of the four new teams to get a car on track after Virgin completed its shakedown at Silverstone last week and was just 21 weeks after an entry for 2010 was secured.

“It was a big moment to see the car turn a wheel for the first time,” Gascoyne toldBBC Sport. “We had no major issues or anything that gives us concern for the future.

"To have done everything from scratch to a running car in 21 weeks is a fantastic achievement. It was a brief shakedown as we didn't get some of the last parts from our suppliers until 6am on Tuesday morning, but that was to be expected given the timescales. 

"We only got to the track at lunchtime but it went pretty well. We were able to do a few laps, which was perfect and great reward for everyone for all the effort they've put in. We got a good number of laps in and we did all the systems checks so we can run in anger in Jerez."

Following Friday's launch, the team will head to Jerez de la Frontera where it will join the majority of its rivals in the third pre-season test of 2010, scheduled to get underway on 17 February. It will be the second of the new teams to take to the track.

source: motorsport ; crash ; pitpass

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Proton Edar Aims To Sell 165,000 Proton Cars This Year

SHAH ALAM, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- Proton Edar Sdn Bhd, the marketing arm of Proton Holdings Bhd, aims to sell 165,000 proton cars this year from 148,027 units last year, says Chief Executive Officer Mohamad Shukor Ibrahim.

He said the higher sales target stemmed from aggressive marketing strategies to compete with established car companies, introduction of new upper-end sedan model and rising consumer sentiment in view of improved economic outlook.

"We'll unveil new models towards the second half of this year to attract customers and excite the car industry amid the competitve market," he told reporters after the Proton Drive for Holiday Campaign prize-giving ceremony.

Mohamad Shukor said the company sold 14,485 units or 14 per cent increase last month as compared with 10,134 units in the same period last year, driven by strong sales of Proton Saga, Proton Persona and Proton Exora.

He said Proton Edar was confident of consolidating its 257 outlets, including outlets under Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd and authorised dealers, to 191 by year-end.

He said the rationalisation would ensure profitability for all dealers and benefits to existing and new customers as a stronger network would improve services.

On challenges in the automotive industry, Mohamad Shukor said the likely increase in the overnight policy rate (OPR) this year would affect sales, adding that the market was currently enjoying lower rate over the last 20 years.

He said the hike in OPR towards the second half of this year was sensitive to the industry as banks would start tightening lending criteria while household finances become fragile following lower disposable income.

"We know the government is very supportive to the local auto industry. The co-relation between the performance of car industry and economic growth is very close," he added.

source: bernama

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