JustBritish

When reading ‘Type 72′, the die hard Formula 1 fans will inevitably think about Lotus most successful F1 car of all time that made furore with twenty Grand Prix wins between 1970 and 1975. To honor these achievements Lotus has released the Exige S Type 72 Special Edition. The British car maker will be producing twenty units for the UK, a further twenty units for the European mainland and a limited run of cars in Japan and selected markets around the world.

To draw even more attention, the colour scheme of the Exige S Type 72 equals the famous and easily recognizable black and gold livery and is finished by the same person who painted racing cars for Team Lotus. With a total weight of just 935kg (2061lbs) and a Type 72’s supercharged engine producing 240bhp a sprint from standstill to 62 mph (100 kmh) is done in just 4.7 seconds. Top speed is reached at 145mph (233km/h).

The Sport Pack includes a bespoke high quality interior, sports seats with gold stitching and a adjustable anti-roll bar. Each unit gets a special build plate to remind you of the F1 car’s 20 Grand Prix victories. The exterior gets a set of unique black and gold light weight wheels and is finished with hand-painted logos.
Luke Bennett, Operations Director for Lotus Cars Limited said, “The Lotus Exige S Type 72 is an evocative sportscar, combining cutting edge handling and performance with the iconic Type 72 color scheme, one of the most famous racing liveries of all time. The Exige provides an intense driving experience either on road or track and this limited edition is a worthy car to celebrate such a legendary racing car.”

The Lotus Exige S Type 72 will be sold for £35,995 in the UK and you can get one for €40,332 in Europe.

Popularity: 14% [?]

British engineers are gearing up for an attempt on the world land speed record with a vehicle they believe will be capable of 1,000mph.

The design for the Bloodhound SSC – SuperSonic Car – is now complete. Built from aerospace-grade aluminium, it is based on a 14-foot hybrid rocket and a jet engine from the Eurofighter Typhoon. A third engine pumps fuel through to the rocket.

The designers claim it should achieve 135,000 horsepower – equivalent to the power of 180 Formula One cars -British car aims for 1,000mph record and is expected to accelerate to 1,050mph in just 40 seconds.

The original design featured a much smaller rocket, positioned above a rather heavier engine. But this created too much drag. Increasing the size of the rocket threatened the stability of the vehicle, and the decision was made to effectively turn the design upside down.

The record attempt will be made by Wing Commander Andy Green, who established a record speed of 763mph in 1997. It will take place at a dried-up lake bed in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province in 2011.

Check out the Bloodhound SSC site for more information.

Popularity: 10% [?]

A 1950 Aston Martin that raced twice at Le Mans sold for 550,000 pounds ($900,000) at an auction in London last night as demand contracted for other high-value classic cars.

The dark blue DB2 Team Car came fifth and third in the French 24-hour race in 1950 and 1951 respectively. It was offered with a low estimate of 250,000 pounds by RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, at its annual “Automobiles of London” sale in Battersea Park.

The classic British racer had been owned by Aston Martin’s chairman David Brown, who coined the “DB” marque, and had been kept unrestored in the same private collection for the last 52 years.

“It was a strong price,” said Simon Kidston, a Geneva- based classic car adviser. “The purchase will give the buyer instant access to exclusive racing events like the Le Mans Classic,” Kidston said in an interview.

The sale raised a total of 10.9 million pounds with fees, with 81 percent of the cars successful, RM said. These figures include lots that were sold after the auction, such as a 1925 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS that found a buyer later in the evening at 522,500 pounds, said RM. No figures were available for the number of lots left unsold at the end of the auction. The presale estimate for the event, which included 84 cars and 37 lots of memorabilia, was 10 million pounds.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Rocketsports Racing (RSR) is scheduled to debut the Jaguar XKR GT2, the newest entry in the American Le Mans Series, at the famed Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta this week.

In preparation for a full championship effort in 2010, the team plans to enter the last two events on the 2009 ALMS schedule using the track time for testing and development.

The car is currently undergoing extensive system tests at RSR’s East Lansing, Michigan facility and is being prepared for a performance evaluation and shakedown prior to Road Atlanta.

The team will be hosting a press conference on Thursday, September 24 at Road Atlanta to officially unveil the car and drivers for 2009, and tire partners.

RSR will face a flurry of competition in GT2 from the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Corvette and others. Fourteen GT2 machines are currently entered for the 1,000-mile/10-hour road race classic. The Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta will be held September 23rd -26th.

Popularity: 10% [?]