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2022 Lotus Emira revealed with two engine options, Evija-inspired looks

The final internal-combustion-powered Lotus has been revealed: the 2022 Lotus Emira. The styling looks like a blend of the outgoing Evora and the all-new Evija electric car. It also features two choices of engine, one of which comes from AMG. The Emira's nose has the closest resemblance to the electric car, particularly in the headlights and the vent openings on either side of the hood. But the whole car has a softer, more rounded shape like the EV rather than the old Evora. It has very large intakes on each side, and a slim, wrap-around taillight at the back. The body fits over a typical Lotus bonded-aluminum chassis, and the company says the lightest version of the car will weigh around 3,100 pounds. Two kinds of suspension are available, the standard Tour setup and an optional and stiffer Sports version. Also noteworthy is the inclusion of hydraulic power steering, rather than electric. Powering that chassis is your choice of engines. It will launch initially with the same supercharged 3.5-liter V6 from the Evora. Next summer, it will be offered with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder from AMG. Lotus says three transmissions will be available: manual, automatic and dual-clutch transmissions. It didn't say which pairings of engine and transmission would be available, but we expect the V6 to get the manual and automatic options, while the four-cylinder gets the dual-clutch transmission (just as it does when in Mercedes A-Class-related cars). The company also says power will range from 360 to 400 horsepower. This will get the car from 0 to 62 mph in under 4.5 seconds. The interior is fairly minimalist, but definitely more advanced than recent Lotus offerings. Most surfaces are covered in fabric, leather or Alcantara. It has two screens for instruments and infotainment. The former has a 12.3-inch screen, and the latter has a 10.25-inch touchscreen. Features include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There's only seating for two, and cargo space is split between a 5.3-cubic-foot trunk and a 7.3-cubic-foot area behind the seats. The Emira was revealed this week at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Pricing for the U.S. has not been announced, but it will cost under 72,000 Euros in Europe. That comes to around $85,000 in the United States. We should know more about specifications and pricing closer to when it goes on sale sometime this year.

China's Geely buying majority stake in Lotus

Geely, the Hong Kong car company that owns Volvo, is acquiring control of British car company Lotus. Geely is purchasing a 51-percent stake in Lotus from struggling Malaysian car company Proton, and a 49.9 percent stake in Proton itself. Etika Automotive will gain the other 49 percent of Lotus. France's PSA Group and Japan's Suzuki had apparently also been interested in acquiring Proton. Geely says it plans to revive both Proton and Lotus. "The agreement lays the foundation for a wider framework for both Geely Holding, Proton and Lotus to explore joint synergies in areas such as research and development, manufacturing and market presence," Geely said in a news release. Those joint synergies will be highlighted by the lightweight chassis technology Lotus is known for, which could help Geely improve fuel efficiency. Geely CFO Daniel Donghui Li said the company aims to "unleash the full potential of Lotus Cars" by expanding and accelerating new products and technologies. Proton was nationally held but was privatized in 2007 to Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom, which is owned by tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. It was supposed to be the flagship for Malaysia's economic development.Though it owns two factories, Proton mainly rebadges foreign-made cars and sells them in Malaysia. What it has, what Geely presumably wants, is a distribution network in Southeast Asia to pit Chinese cars against Japanese automotive dominance in the region. Retaining a 50.1-percent stake in Proton is seen as a face-saving move. "Proton will always remain a national car and a source of pride, as Proton will still have a majority hold of 50.1 percent," Malaysian finance official Johari Abdul Ghani said. "Our very own much-loved brand now has a real chance in making a comeback, a huge one I hope." Related Video:

Renault formalizes return to F1 with Lotus acquisition

No longer satisfied with simply providing engines, Renault confirmed that it will return to running its own Formula One team next season. Though the terms of the deal are still being worked out, the French automaker will re-acquire the team currently known as Lotus. Renault previously owned and operated this same operation for nearly 10 years. Renault first entered the series in 1977. The company shut down the original Equipe Renault Elf in 1985, but continued powering Lotus, Ligier, and Tyrrell for another season. After a three-year break, it returned as an engine supplier with Williams in 1989, winning championship titles with the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Damon Hill behind the wheel. The 1995 season saw the start of the partnership with the team now in question when Benetton switched over from Ford power. After several years of success and more titles, Renault bought out the team and ran it as its own from 2002 through 2011 – winning two more titles with Fernando Alonso – before selling the operation to Genii Capital, which has run it since under the Lotus name. Even after Lotus switched to Mercedes power, Renault continued supplying other teams with engines, most notably winning back-to-back world titles with Red Bull before the new turbo hybrid engines arrived and Renault's performance dropped off. Now, in another case of history repeating, Renault is gearing up to bring the team based in Enstone back in-house. The move will likely see the Lotus name disappear again, after it was hotly contested with the Caterham team that ultimately disappeared as well. With it, Renault will return as a full-on works effort with its own engines, just like rivals Ferrari and Mercedes. Renault Announces Return to Formula 1 in 2016 - Carlos Ghosn announces his decision that Renault will return to Formula 1 with its own team for 2016 season. - Renault, 12-time Constructors' Champion with nearly 40 years in the sport, is an iconic brand in Formula 1 and intends to play an active role in the sport's development. - F1 is a technology showcase and accelerates development of Renault's innovation and range of sports cars. Following the September announcement of the signing of a Letter of Intent with Lotus F1 Team, teams at Renault continued to evaluate the possibility of a return to Formula 1. Particular attention was paid to competing successfully with its own team in a financially sound way starting in 2016.