Lotus to invest £500 million to build Esprit, Eterne, Elite & Elan. 1900 new jobs

The new Lotus Esprit Dany Bahar – Lotus boss – revealed plans at last year’s Paris Motor Show to turn Lotus in to an East Anglian Aston Martin. Those plans included one car we knew about – the new Lotus Esprit – and a number we didn’t – the Lotus Eterne, Lotus Elite, Lotus Elan and a new Lotus Elite. But the plans seemed to be nothing more than a wish list, and although it was intimated that Lotus owners Proton were going to provide a war chest of £770 million to fund the development, that later appeared to be an intent to provide Lotus with funds to develop a new range of cars, rather than an actual commitment.

Chrysler, Mopar hope Ram Runner kit can challenge Ford SVT Raptor

In an effort to compete with the Ford SVT Raptor off-road pickup, Chrysler and parts group Mopar have released the Ram Runner kit. The Mopar Ram Runner kit, available for owners of 2009-2011 Dodge Ram 1500 models, can be installed at home or by the dealer for a total parts cost of just less than $20,000. The Ram Runner upgraders on a budget can add kit elements individually as well.

Saab: Muller used Antonov money to purchase Saab

Vladimir Antonov provided the finance for Victor Muller to buy Saab Victor Muller has told Swedish TV that the money he used to buy Saab was funded by alleged fraudster Vladimir Antonov. In a revelation that will surprise no one, Saab ‘owner’ Victor Muller has revealed that the $74 million paid to GM when Spyker (as they then were) bought Saab was supplied to one of Victor Muller’s companies by Snoras Bank refugee Vladimir Antonov. Muller revealed this little nugget of information in an interview due to be televised in Sweden tomorrow, and also revealed he still owed the money (well, the company he owns still owes the money).