Official: Lotus headed to Le Mans with Lola LMP2
 

Filed under: [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/category/motorsports/"]Motorsports[/URL], [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/category/coupes/"]Coupe[/URL], [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/category/lotus/"]Lotus[/URL], [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/category/racing/"]Racing[/URL]

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The suitably rapid expansion of the [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/lotus"]Lotus[/URL] Racing division is showing no signs of slowing down. The British marque has its own [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/f1"]Formula One[/URL] team, is supplying engines to the [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/indy"]IndyCar Series[/URL], oversees both [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/gp2"]GP2[/URL] and [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/gp3"]GP3[/URL] teams, has competition versions of its road cars in various GT and rally championships, runs its own karting program, and offers enthusiasts top-notch trackday programs with the Evora GT and Exos/Type 125 single-seater. But that's not enough: now Lotus is gearing up to take on [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/le+mans"]Le Mans[/URL].

The company was planning to design its own [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/lmp2"]LMP2[/URL] racer, and it had snagged the designer of the [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/908"]908 HDi[/URL] away from the [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/18/peugeot-exiting-le-mans-racing-effective-immediately/"]now-shuttered[/URL] [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/category/peugeot"]Peugeot[/URL] Sport racing program. But that apparently didn't go quite as smoothly as planned, so Lotus has instead opted to back an independent team to run a second-tier Le Mans prototype on its behalf.

That team is Kodewa, headed up by former [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/hrt"]HRT[/URL] F1 team principal [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/colin+kolles"]Colin Kolles[/URL] and his father Romulus. They'll be running a chassis built by [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/lola"]Lola[/URL] and powered by a [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw"]BMW[/URL] V8 prepared by Engine Developments - the same arrangement by which Lotus is powering its Indy program. The car, as you can see, features the same iconic black and gold livery as other Lotus racers, penned in this case by Daniel Simon - a former [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/volkswagen"]Volkswagen[/URL] Group designer responsible for the [I]Tron:Legacy[/I] lightcycles and the livery run on [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/12/hispania-racing-team-f111-rounds-out-the-formula-1-preseason/"]last year's HRT F111[/URL].

Look for the Lotus LMP2 to debut when the [URL="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/wec"]FIA World Endurance Championship[/URL] kicks off here at Sebring in March, with a second car expected to join at Spa in May. Press release after the jump.[URL="http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/02/lotus-headed-to-le-mans-with-lola-lmp2/"]Continue reading [I]Lotus headed to Le Mans with Lola LMP2[/I][/URL]

[URL="http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/02/lotus-headed-to-le-mans-with-lola-lmp2/"]Lotus headed to Le Mans with Lola LMP2[/URL] originally appeared on [URL="http://www.autoblog.com"]Autoblog[/URL] on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:31:00 EST. Please see our [URL="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/"]terms for use of feeds[/URL].

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