Lotus Renault GP

[Bibs]

This is a GROUP LOTUS - RENAULT - GENII F1 car...

2 black and gold Lotus F1 cars on the grid in 2011 !!!

Click For News

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Now that looks like a Lotus!... but what next for Team Lotus I wonder?

[Jukka]

Is there four black and gold Lotus cars then? Interesting times, nice to see what happens .

[simonb]

Wonder if Lotus gave Genii money or shares?

Genii were keen on Saab at the start of the year; wonder if Danny boy will be working for different masters soon

[Red]

Someone needs to buy Dany a penis, because he obviously hasn't got one. How does this help the brand or the sport? If there's two teams in black and gold, one called Team Lotus and one called Lotus Renault, people will abreviate them to Lotus and Renault. Epic fail.

P.S. *punches Dany in the face*

[jim clark]

Well is anyone suprised at the news, only surprise is the colour scheme I thought Dany would want the cars scarlet like that lot from Maranello !

Long live Team Lotus in Nolfolk.

[rogerch]

I really would like to hear some definitive news about a new road car.

[Bibs]

Why, are you looking to buy one?

[ez_matt]

Got the real picture from this link:

http://my.renaultf1.com/profiles/blogs/genii-capital-and-group-lotus

Edited December 8, 2010 by ez_matt

[Bibs]

So is this Group Lotus writing a cheque to get their name on the nose of the Renault car next year as produced in Enstone at Renault HQ or will Lotus be involved more than that?

[USAndretti42]

They spent 2 months coming up with that colour scheme? How they hell do they ever design a compete car? I think the pinstriping is way too thick and clumsy. Don't like it at all although the overall concept is good. It's just the execution that needs to improve.

[neill1607]

I can understand Dany Bahar wanting to get the Lotus name closer to the front, and the Renault team were closer than Lotus Racing in 2010.

With the experience gained in 2010 & the renault engine, I'm expecting Team Lotus to perform better in 2011, but I still don't think they'll manage to pull ahead of the Group Lotus/Renault team. Although I'd love to be proved wrong.

After arguing about the use of the Team Lotus name, it now looks as though the proposed Black\Gold colour scheme is being used by Group Lotus/Renault; after Team Lotus had made it clear that was their intended colour scheme for next year.

Is there anything else Dany can do to promote unfriendly rivalry between the two "Lotus" teams?

I'm sure Team Lotus are getting more hacked off as each day passes.

Shame - Mike Gascoyne seems to have been fairly open & friendly towards the forum - Although Dany lent his Esprit for the NEC show.

Any further insights Bibs?

[Red]

"Group Lotus; as much a part of F1 as AT&T". On the positive side, this will all be over once Danys bankrupted Group Lotus.

[bo90]

This is a GROUP LOTUS - RENAULT - GENII F1 car...

2 black and gold Lotus F1 cars on the grid in 2011 !!!

Click For News

Bibs, surely tou mean 4 Black & Gold Lotus cars on the grid?

I'm just glad that I am not doing the camerawork on the track!

Edited December 8, 2010 by botus

[Advantage]

Bibs, surely tou mean 4 Black & Gold Lotus cars on the grid?

Nope, 2. Twitter clicky

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

"Lotus, just like buses, you wait for ages and then 2 come along at once"

Love it, good to see Team Lotus still have a sense of humour. It'll be hard not to think of them as the 'official' Lotus. Good luck in 2011 and beyond.

[rogerch]

I see the light !

[islandbloke]

After careful ( 5 seconds) deliberation I've voted to support Group Lotus (Renault), in that they're more likely to do some good for 'our' Lotus. Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoigne seem to be generally good blokes and I wish them well (and was cheering the green cars on this season).

But being objective they're Air Malaysia GP (or whatever) running on 'cherished plates', whereas the new Lotus Renault feels more like a (albeit Proton owned) factory effort. Sure, Chapman ran 'Cars' and 'Team' as separate concerns but he himself was the common link...

Bahar is taking Lotus Cars to a place I'll never be able to afford to visit, but thinking about all those guys at Hethel with mortgages to pay, I have to concede that his vision and ability to get things moving is breathtaking.

And before we all jump to lynch anyone, it could be that this has all happened fairly quickly and he's HAD to act aggressively to protect his employer's assets and rights.

[jimw]

Looks very likely though that manufacturing will be moved away from Hethel though unfortunately.

[matk]

I thought this BBC blog was quite perceptive and informative. Makes the point that no matter how much ill feeling, there will be 4 Lotus branded cars on the grid. Ain't that great publicity? The ongoing war will only generate more publicity and get the Lotus name in the news. I think that's rather good..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/12/lotus_v_lotus.html

Eventually there'll be an out of court settlement and it will resolve down to one team again (only my 2p). In the meantime I'm going to sit back, relax, and enjoy supporting both teams!

[NedaSay]

Hum so Lotus sponsors Genii Renault F1 and the cars will be Renaults until at least 2013 unless Genii and Proton are willing to sit on the FOM money! Group Lotus is infringing on how many trademark here: the color scheme, the use of this logo in F1, the use of the name...? Funny how HP and Lada have disappeared from the picture I'm sure that Genii smaller sponsor will wonder what now! I wonder what Kubica is thinking!

I think some lawyers are going to have plenty of fun and huge end of year bonuses thanks to the pending lawsuits.

If ever Team Lotus was to be faster than Genii Lotus Renault GP it would seriously hurt some egos in Malaysia.

- F1

- Indy

- GP2

- GP3

- LMP2

- GT2

How much can a small sports car manufacturer like Lotus and their very small mother company Proton can shed in motorsport !?

By my calculation it's going to be around at least 50M$ for next year alone!

Still having four Lotuses in the championship is going to be sweet! Ferrari won't like it they always said they wanted a third car and now both Redbull and Lotus will have four racers on track! However my allegiance will go to 'Norfolk' Team Lotus!

Edited December 9, 2010 by NedaSay

[rocket63]

Lets be clear, there are two Red Bull teams on the grid

[ez_matt]

Bahar: Two Lotus teams 'no problem'

....

..

"Not [a problem] at all - for me, four are better than two," Bahar told BBC Radio Norfolk. "The controversy, that is something that has mainly been pushed up by media I would say, has been dealt with directly by our shareholders in Malaysia and with the owners of the 1Malaysia racing team [Team Lotus' parent company], and doesn't really touch us.

..

....

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88628

Edited December 9, 2010 by ez_matt

[Iconic Ride]

Is it even possible for this whole contrivance to become more bizarre? With paint, a badge and OPM, Group Lotus/Proton buys their way into the midfield. Who do they think they have fooled? If they were so willing to buy into Renault, why couldn't they simply have "pooled their efforts" and done the same with Team Lotus?

Yes, it will be exciting to see 4 "Lotuses" on the grid, but the brand confusion will remain, perhaps even increase for the public at large. A consolidated team would be a so much more efficient use of resources and money. But noooooooo........The penis wars continue.

[NedaSay]

They have fooled not that many...This team is The former Renault Team not Lotus! But I guess some marketers will do their utmost to convince the media covering F1 to call these cars lotuses! I do want Tony, Mike and the gang of Hingham to finish ahead of Renault Lotus GP in the 2011 championship!

How can Bahar say that supporting Team Lotus would be more expansive than sponsoring another team!? What tells them that Renault has the potential to go back to the big time!? They have lost in the span of two years 75% of their top management! They are struggling for money! If it wasn't for Kubica the team would have finished no bettter than 7th in the championship!

Edited December 9, 2010 by NedaSay