1977 Lotus Esprit on 2040-cars

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Recap: 2013 Australian Formula One Grand Prix is all about the rubber [w/spoilers]

A pre-season full of talking points was swapped for a brand-new set of talking points after the running of the opening grand prix of the 2013 Formula One season. The consistency of the regulations from last year to this year and the triplicate dominance of Infiniti Red Bull Racing meant that no one would have been that surprised if the relative order of things remained the same. But teams found so many ways to switch things up that, in typical pre-season fashion, no one was ready to make any bets on in-season performance, and a couple of surprising players suffered the ignominy of getting it really wrong: McLaren knew it was in trouble from the very first test, while Williams drivers applauded their car as the best in years, only to have Pastor Maldonado call it "undriveable" on the very first day of practice in Melbourne.
And then there were those Pirellis, the Italian company talking up the fact that its super soft tires would only go off so quickly that it would force teams to pit at least twice during the race.
Even then, no one could have seen the first round of pit stops beginning on Lap 5.

Detroit Electric is actually active in Detroit

Here's some news that will make the urban scavengers sifting through the ruins of the Motor City a little disappointed. Detroit Electric, the slow-moving electric-vehicle maker basing their wares off of a couple of Lotus models is employing people in Detroit. And some local vehicle production may follow. The company is working out of Detroit's Fisher Building, which had been empty last year, and says it plans to boost its employee count from eight to about 20 by the end of the year, The Truth About Cars reports. Detroit Electric changed its production plans for the Lotus Elise-based SP:01 last year, moving the manufacturing base of that model to the Netherlands from a production facility in Plymouth, MI, about 30 miles west of Detroit. Right now, the SP:01 is being worked on in Europe, Malaysia's Paultan.org says. That 201-horsepower model can go from 0-62 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds and has a single-charge range of about 190 miles. That model is expected to be priced at about $135,000. Detroit Electric is also working on a 2+2 EV based on the Lotus Evora, and, while government approvals await, the four-seater may be available for sale as soon as early 2016.

Lotus Evora roadster to follow 400 coupe to US market

Lotus is in the midst of resurgence, and that includes a renewed assault on the US market. The new Evora 400 is coming to America, and though the new 3-Eleven won't be certified to drive on American roads, the company has confirmed that it will be offered here for use on track. But that's not all. According to Automotive News, Lotus is preparing to follow up on the aforementioned Evora 400 coupe with an additional roadster variant. Instead of a folding roof mechanism, the open-top Evora will incorporate two carbon-fiber roof panels able to stow behind the front seats. Otherwise it's expected to be mechanically identical to the coupe, with a 3.5-liter supercharged V6 packing 400 horsepower and a series of other enhancements over the preceding Evora S. Lotus was forced to withdraw the Evora – the last model it offered in the US – from the American market last year after it no longer complied with federal regulations. Bringing the new Evora 400, and its upcoming roadster variant, to the US will necessitate fitting it with a new smart airbag – something which Lotus confirmed to Autoblog it is preparing to do. According to spokesman Alastair Florance, "the Evora 400 will arrive in the market as a 17MY and will be fully compliant with FMVSS 208, including the smart air bag element." The coupe is expected to arrive here in December, with the yet-to-be-unveiled roadster to follow six months later. The news confirms what we heard earlier about the company's future plans. Those also include a new SUV being designed principally for the Chinese market, and an even more radical 4-Eleven to follow at some point in the future. Related Video: