2005 Lotus Elise Base Convertible 2-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Nissan GT-R, Armada and the new Kia Sorento | Autoblog Podcast #658

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer for the final episode of 2020. They've been driving some interesting cars, including the Nissan GT-R, the new Nissan Armada, a Mercedes-Benz GLA and a pair of new-gen Kia Sorentos. They talk a bit about an interesting new EV called the Ace from Alpha Motor Corporation. Finally, the trio takes turns talking about their favorite cars they drove this year. Enjoy, and we'll be back with more episodes in 2021. Autoblog Podcast #658 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:2021 Nissan GT-R 2021 Nissan Armada 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 2021 Kia Sorento Alpha Motor Corporation unveils Ace electric coupe Our favorite cars of the year: Zac: Lotus Evora GT John: Polestar 2 Greg: McLaren GT Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Kia Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Nissan Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Performance Sedan Polestar

Lotus Evija shown in John Player Special livery at Goodwood SpeedWeek

Goodwood SpeedWeek is here, and Lotus is using the event to highlight the upcoming Evija electric hypercar. Lotus is calling this the car’s “public dynamic debut,” which is relatively true, though the lack of a public audience at Goodwood does put a bit of a damper on the idea. Regardless, the livery used to wrap the Evija is what truly caught our attention. For those familiar with Lotus racing liveries of the past, youÂ’ll immediately recognize it as a modern take on the John Player Special livery. Lotus even photographed the Evija in this livery sitting next to a few old Formula 1 cars wearing the original John Player Special digs. Black and gold just looks proper on a Lotus racecar, and it looks absolutely superb on the Evija, too. Since this is technically a dynamic debut, Lotus also gave us a short video that you can check out below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The most intriguing part is the audio. Those electric motors are loud. It canÂ’t come close to matching the yowl of a high output gasoline engine, but the Evija is clearly going to make its own dramatic, electric noise. ThatÂ’s all well and proper, because extra theater is what electric cars typically lack. In an adjacent news brief, Lotus detailed some of the things it did to save weight. Lotus believes that “Colin Chapman would agree the Evija is 100% a true Lotus.” To make it so, Lotus says the carbon fiber monocoque is extremely light, weighing in at just 284 pounds, contributing to making it the lightest electric hypercar when it comes out (not as though thereÂ’s much competition).  Using holes and free space contributed to the lightweighting efforts, too. The venturi tunnels through each rear haunch both save weight and produce downforce. The center console design and floating dashboard leave tons of empty space behind where weight would accumulate otherwise. LotusÂ’ crossbeam design for the dash helps it serve as a structural member and also houses the interior ventilation system, combining two elements into one and saving weight. Lotus says youÂ’ll be able to see the Evija attack the Supercar Run on SpeedWeek, where it will attempt to set a fast lap time against many other new supercars and hypercars. Related Video:

This 450-hp electric Lotus Evora is powered by Tesla and Chevrolet

When someone mentions an electric Lotus, the first thing that comes to mind is the Tesla Roadster, the California-based automaker's first vehicle. That car started life as an Elise before being heavily massaged and adapted by Tesla's engineers. In a similar spirit, the people at Onpoint Dyno are close to finishing Blue Lightning, a track-ready all-electric Lotus Evora. Blue Lightning uses a Tesla drive unit and a Chevrolet Volt battery pack, both mounted in the middle in place of the Evora's 3.5-liter Toyota V6. It's putting down about 450 horsepower at the wheels. The car was built for time attack sessions, so power is fed through custom forged wheels and super sticky Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires, the same ones found on the last Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. There is a custom digital instrument cluster in place of the Lotus gauges. There's also a regen paddle on the left side of the steering wheel. With a full charge, Blue Lighting should go about 120 miles. While the car runs under its own power, it's only about 90 percent complete. It has no power steering, no firewall in between the seats and the motor and battery pack, no A/C, and a large hole where the shift lever used to be. Other final touches include fine-tuning the brakes and suspension. There is also a custom rear bumper coming that should make it look more like the new Lotus Evora 400. Onpoint Dyno expects the car to hit the track in the next month or so. Related Video: