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Watch Lotus F1 team careen through a mall in Renault Twizy EVs

The Lotus Formula One Team is sticking with drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado next year, but it's dropping Renault as an engine supplier in favor of Mercedes power. The 2014 F1 season is barely over, though, and that mean's there still a little time left to put those marketing dollars to work, while still having a little fun, too. To that, Renault has put Grosjean and Maldonado behind the wheel of two Twizy electric cars and unleashed them on The Dubai Mall for an ad for the little buggies. The place is one of the world's largest shopping centers, and it also houses an aquarium, an ice skating rink and even a dinosaur. It's a big place, and unsurprisingly, the two F1 pilots drift the little buggies with ease around every part of the complex. Grosjean even gets some time on the ice. Check out the ad for the quirky EV in the video above. Related Gallery Paris 2010: Renault Twizy View 15 Photos News Source: Renault Middle East via YouTubeImage Credit: Related images copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Marketing/Advertising Motorsports Lotus Renault Coupe Electric Videos renault twizy Romain Grosjean lotus f1 team pastor maldonado

Lotus signs Pastor Maldonado to replace Raikkonen

The team currently known as Lotus has had a long string of accomplished drivers behind the wheel, including world champions like Nelson Piquet, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. But Kimi is returning to Ferrari next season, leaving a big question mark over who would fill his seat. And now we have our answer.
Lotus has just announced that it has signed Pastor Maldonado to partner with Romain Grosjean for next season. The surprise winner of the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix has been driving for Williams for the past three seasons, signed after he won the GP2 title in 2010. Though lauded as an emerging talent, Maldonado is clearly not the accomplished champion Raikkonen is, however Lotus apparently needs the money which Maldonado brings with him in the form of sponsorship from the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
Meanwhile, Romain Grosjean, also a former GP2 champion, has been with the team for some time now, starting as its test driver in 2008, promoted for one season to the race seat in 2009, and returning again in 2012. He's been the second driver at Lotus ever since, achieving career-best second-place finishes at the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix and 2013 United States Grand Prix. Whether it will be Grosjean (who gets the higher number) or Maldonado that emerges as the dominant force at Lotus remains to be seen. Scroll down for the complete press release.

Lotus Elise returning to US in 2020

If you've been hoping to get your hands on a new Lotus Elise, we've got mixed news for you. The good news is that Lotus will bring the Elise back to the US market. The bad news is that it won't happen before 2020. Lotus was forced to withdraw the model (along with the Exige) from the US market in 2011 after it no longer complied with US safety regulations and its temporary exemptions expired. Lotus first launched the Elise in 1996 when the company was still owned by former Bugatti chief Romano Artioli. It rolled out the current Series 2 model in 2001, and brought it to America for the first time in 2004. The larger Evora faced similar issues, and was modified in the form of the new Evora 400 that now meets US regulations. Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales tells Automotive News that doing the same with the Elise would be unfeasible. "We'd need smart airbags, plus side airbags and to change the whole front crash structure. It would add 100kg," or 220 pounds, said Gales. While modifying the current Elise would be prohibitive, the next version is being designed to meet American standards. That won't happen before 2020. In the meantime, Lotus continues to sell a small number of certain variants of the Elise and Exige for use exclusively on tracks. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2011 Lotus Elise News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Lotus Lotus Performance