2008 Lotus Elise Ca Ed - Saffron Yellow/ Magnolia - 5k Miles! Hard Top! Clean!! on 2040-cars

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Lotus shows how drivers will be able to change the Evija's behavior

Lotus published footage of the Evija, its first series-produced electric car, undergoing shakedown testing on its Hethel, England, track. It also detailed the model's different driving modes, and the effect they'll have on the powertrain. Electric technology is heavy, and Lotus is known for making ultra-light cars, so engineers walked a fine line as they developed the Evija. Gavan Kershwa, the brand's director of vehicle attributes, explained his team managed to give the 2,000-horsepower coupe the handling enthusiasts expect from a mid-engined model by placing the lithium-ion battery pack, which is the heaviest part of the car, directly behind the passenger compartment. Matt Windle, the company's research and development boss, told Autoblog composite materials and clever packaging help offset the battery's weight. The part the steering column is mounted to is also used as a ducting for the climate control system, for example. All told, the Evija tips the scale at approximately 3,700 pounds. Enthusiasts will have five driving modes, named Range, City, Tour, Sport and Track, at their fingertips. Range mode caps the car's output at 1,000 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque and makes the Evija rear-wheel drive to maximize driving range. City makes the Evija easier to drive around town, while Tour lets the driver choose between rear- and all-wheel drive while raising the powertrain's output to 1,400 horsepower. Sport puts 1,700 horsepower and 1,254 pound-feet of torque under the driver's right foot, and it tweaks the various stability control systems to improve traction. Finally, Track unleashes the car's full potential while dialing in the highest level of torque vectoring. It also changes the chassis settings, according to the company. Lotus will continue fine-tuning the Evija in the coming months, and production is scheduled to start in 2021. Though it was delayed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 130 units are planned, and Autoblog can confirm the first year of production is sold out — but there are still build slots available, contrary to what some sources are reporting. Looking ahead, Windle told us the Evija is a trailblazer whose design language and technology will permeate future models.  Related Video: Green Lotus Coupe Electric Performance

Lotus Eletre configurator welcomes virtual tire kickers

The Lotus Eletre configurator is ready to be toyed with. There aren't that many customization options to play with, but the total experience is quite fun. The exterior palette consists of seven colors. The odd bit is that, try what browser we may, we couldn't get the names of those seven colors to appear anywhere. The menu looks like black, green, red, yellow, and three shades of silver, but clicking the latter three reveals what looks like a metallic silver, a flat gray, and a rose-tinted-something. Same with the interior, which comes in green, black, white, or beige. All but black result in a two-tone cabin. Things are much easier when it comes to wheels. The floral petal rims either come in all black or black with polished accents, the center caps are either Lotus yellow or black, and the calipers are either yellow, red, green, black, or charcoal.  For those of you unsure about the Eletre's looks, the well stocked Animations, Beautyshots, and Environments sections could get you on board with the styling — it did for us; a red Eletre under a cosmopolitan setting spoke to us in a way the yellow debut model did not. A couple of notes, though. Choose your colors in one of the Environments; the ambient lighting in the Beautyshots changes the vehicle lighting like in real life, turning the bright yellow calipers into a dusty gray in one instance, for example. The animations that show off features like the aero shutters in the grille and the active rear spoiler need a couple of clicks to perform. And again, just like in real life, the Eletre only does what you tell it; if you leave the hatch up in the Boot animation then click the Spoiler or Front Left Door, the boot stays up. Click to a city environment with the driver's door and hatch open and you'll be crystal clear as to what the Eletre looks at the end of a shopping run, a feature we've never seen in a configurator before. You have your mission and your cautions, now go play. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2017 Lotus Evora 400 Review | Autoblog

Renault considers fielding its own F1 team again

Renault has a long history in Formula One, but while it successfully ran its own team until 2010, these days it participates only as an engine supplier – and just to the two Red Bull teams. That could be changing in the near future, though, as the latest reports indicate that the French automaker is considering fielding its own team once again. According to Autosport, the company has ruled out starting its own team again from scratch, but it is weighing the possibility of buying an existing team. The last time it competed was when it took over the championship-winning Benetton team in 2002, building it back up to win back-to-back world titles in 2005 and 2006. It subsequently dropped in form until Renault sold the team in 2011 to Genii Capital, which has run it under the Lotus banner ever since. The Lotus team continued using Renault engines with limited success until this season when it switched to Mercedes. With Caterham now gone from the grid, that leaves Renault with only one customer: Red Bull, which runs both the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso teams under Renault power. It's a situation in which the French company apparently doesn't particularly revel, leading it to consider buying a team again and running it in-house. Considering the difficulty the Lotus team it once owned has encountered lately, reacquiring its old operation could prove the most logical step for Renault, but of course that doesn't mean that's what it will ultimately do. It could continue strengthening ties with Red Bull until it acquires a large portion of it (or Toro Rosso) – something which Audi is said to be eying as well. Or it could look to another team altogether. Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Williams may not be up for sale, but we could easily see Renault taking over cash-strapped Force India or Sauber, or even pouring its resources into getting Caterham or Manor/Marussia back up to speed and whipping it into winning form. News Source: AutosportImage Credit: Franck Robichon/AP/Pool Motorsports Lotus Renault F1