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Lotus announces four EVs and moves its technology division to China

Lotus took a big leap towards the mainstream with the announcement it's building four new EVs, and only one is a sports car. The others include a sedan and two SUVs. And on top of the new product announcements, the automaker revealed its Lotus Technology division is going to set up headquarters in Wuhan, China. With the Elise out of the picture and its pockets full of cash from Geely – parent company to Volvo, too – Lotus is moving forward with its ambitious expansion plans. It announced it will grow its line-up of models with four electric cars shown in the sketch above: an SUV called Type 132 internally and due out in 2022, a sedan marketed as a four-door coupe known as Type 133 and expected to go on sale in 2023, a second SUV referred to as the Type 134 that will make its debut in 2025, and a sports car currently dubbed Type 135 that we'll allegedly see in 2026. This isn't the first time Lotus has made wild claims about its future, but this time it might actually have the funds to pull it off. We knew that an SUV was in the pipeline, leaked patent images may have revealed its exterior design, but the sedan and the second high-riding model are new additions to the company's product roadmap. Lotus explained its so-called "premium lifestyle" vehicles (read: four-door models) will all ride on a new platform called Lotus Premium that's said to be highly modular. Its wheelbase can vary from about 114 to 122 inches, and it can take battery packs with a capacity of 92 to 120 kilowatt hours. It's also compatible with an 800-volt charging system, and Lotus claims vehicles built on the new architecture will be capable of reaching 60 mph from a stop in less than three seconds. As for the other news, while Lotus ostensibly remains based in Hethel, England, its historic home, the Lotus Technology subsidiary broke ground on a new facility in China in August 2021. Lotus explained it formed the division to develop batteries and energy management systems, electric motors, electric control systems and other EV components. Investing in Wuhan rather than in Hethel will certainly raise more than a few eyebrows. It's a move that brings Lotus closer to its parent company and some of its key investors, such as Nio, while pivoting it away from its historic home and its main markets.

Watch some vintage F1 cars blast up a Japanese mountain road

It's a rare treat to see classic Formula One cars racing anywhere, but watching them on a Japanese mountain road is absolutely sublime. The folks behind Motorhead from Japan took over the toll road's twisting stretch of tarmac to turn this impossible dream into a reality. The unusual opportunity of a closed mountain road would be a waste for only two vehicles, and there were plenty of drivers in amazing machines that wanted to blast up the hill. After the vintage F1 cars got their turn, some drifters in a Nissan GT-R and a Toyota GT86 added some tire smoke to the misty mountain air. A couple more GT-R racecars and some modern sports cars eventually joined them. Before the rain hit, this team had quite a party going on. This video features amazing camera work, but the music unfortunately drowns out the chance to hear these amazing racecars. If watching this leaves you wanting more, Motorhead released a video last year of another group of impressive performance vehicles on the mountain road.

Fighter jet-inspired Lotus EV was developed for endurance racing in 2030

Lotus is about to start writing a new chapter in its long history, and the plot could include a renewed focus on racing. It unveiled a futuristic concept called E-R9 that explores what an endurance race car might look like in 2030. Developed by Lotus Engineering, the E-R9 is a digital design study that exists only in computer-generated renderings (shown above). It's finished in black and gold, a color scheme chosen as a tribute to the British company's past race cars, and it's equipped with a stunningly advanced suite of active aerodynamic add-ons. Its morphing body panels can be controlled automatically or manually, depending on the situation. On long straights, they flatten out to reduce drag. When a corner approaches, they generate more downforce. The vertical control surfaces on the back end of the triangle-shaped body adjust themselves as-needed to allow the car to pivot around a turn. "The result is a racer that’s partly driven like a car and partly flown like a fighter jet," Lotus promised. Fittingly, the driver sits in a fighter jet-like cockpit with a wrap-around windshield that provides excellent visibility. Photos of the cockpit haven't been released, however, but it's likely as science fiction-esque as the exterior design. Power for the E-R9 comes from a fully electric drivetrain that assigns each wheel its own motor. It's an evolution of the system fitted to the Evija, the first production-bound electric Lotus. Details like range, horsepower, torque and acceleration aren't available, but the firm hinted that its racer uses a battery pack built with a mixed-cell chemistry. Interestingly, it also pointed out the battery can theoretically be swapped out during pit stops, which solves the issue of pausing the race — or losing precious seconds — while the driver waits for the pack to take a charge. Many of the features showcased by the E-R9 are not in production, but Lotus says that could soon change. "The Lotus E-R9 incorporates technologies which we fully expect to develop and be practical. Lotus has an amazing history of developing unique solutions, and weÂ’ve done it many times in motorsport and with our road cars," said Lotus chief aerodynamicist Richard Hill in a statement. While that's not a confirmation that Lotus will send the E-R9 to the track in 2030, it's a strong signal that the company wants to continue racing for decades to come. Related video: