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11/06/2008 18:52. While car manufacturers around the world are looking at making their cars lighter and more fuel efficient, Lotus Cars is already there.

The low-volume sports car manufacturer has seen a global shift in manufacturing to emulate the philosophies and production already in place at Lotus.

Using an extruded and boned aluminium chassis weighing just 68kg and lightweight components and body panels, the Lotus Elise and Exige sports cars are known for ultimate handling and performance, but lesser recognised is their lightweight footprint on the environment.

The Lotus core philosophy of performance through light weight also has positive knock-on effects of improving fuel economy and reducing the effect on the environment. Using a modest 1.8-litre four-cylinder, its 100kW Variable Valve Timing... // Fullboost