Lotus Seven By Birkin America on 2040-cars

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2015 Spanish F1 Grand Prix makes its Deutsche mark

The first race of the European Formula One season inaugurates the second phase of the Championship. Teams overhaul their cars with the big updates they've been working on since Australia, and at the end of The Battle of Spain we find out how the positions on the field have changed. Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg brought a big update to his psychology, straight-up beating teammate Lewis Hamilton to take his first pole position of the season. Mercedes owns the front row and Ferrari maintains its status as primary challenger, Sebastian Vettel lining up in third. Williams proved it's been hitting the books to do better in class, though, Valtteri Bottas slotting into fourth. And Toro Rosso's visit to a track that rewards strong aero rewarded them with the best team grid position since the Italian Grand Prix in 2008: Carlos Sainz secured fifth, ahead of Max Verstappen in sixth. Kimi Raikkonen's bout of Saturday woes – it seems the Finn is always handicapped by lots of tiny issues – continued in Barcelona with one of his sets of prime tires getting cooked by malfunctioning tire warmers. He recovered well enough to take seventh on the grid, but he's got some strong competition ahead of him. He led three other drivers in the Continuous Issues department, Daniil Kvyat unable to wrestle his Infiniti Red Bull Racing higher than eighth, Williams driver Felipe Massa getting it wrong in Turn 3 to fall five places behind his teammate Bottas, and Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull enduring another engine change and sloppy car behavior to get tenth. And while it turned out to be a steady race a little rough around the edges, the positions on the battlefield just might have changed. A little. Of the 66 laps in the race we might have seen Rosberg for three of them – maybe. The German got a smashing start, had a clear lead into Turn 1, and after that we checked in occasionally during his two pit stops and again at the checkered flag. He owned the entire weekend the way we're used to seeing his teammate do, and the cameras left him alone to run his race. No one got within seven seconds of him during the first third, and as the pit stop strategies played out that cushion grew. He finished seventeen seconds ahead of Hamilton, and 45 seconds ahead of third-placed Vettel. Hamilton, on the back foot all three days, stumbled out of the gate.

Weekly Recap: Chevy and Alfa plot comeback strategies

Chevrolet and Alfa Romeo were two of the 20th Century's most iconic automotive brands. Chevy embodied America's post-war power and confidence. Alfa was the definition of the stylish Italian sports car. They reached halcyon heights in the 1950s and '60s, before declining precipitously amid new competition, changing consumer tastes, and uneven corporate management. Both say 2015 is the start of something better, and this week Chevy and Alfa laid out ambitious plans and showcased new cars that they hope will make them more relevant this year, and in the coming years. Each brand sits at its own crossroads, and their paths forward are as different as the Chevy Cruze and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Chevy is still a sales beast, as evidenced by its volume of 4.8 million vehicles sold around the world last year. Chevy executives are fond of saying one of their cars is sold every seven seconds, which illustrates the strength and reach of a car brand that is the fourth largest in the world. "Make no mistake about it, we are a brand for the people," said General Motors North America president Alan Batey. But he wants consumers to want to buy a Chevy for its design and technology, not simply because it's affordable. That starts with all Chevys now featuring a distinctive a family look, with sporty cues from the Corvette or strong lines that riff on the Silverado pickup. "We want people to fall in lust with our cars," said Mike Pevovar, executive design director for Chevy passenger cars. "That initial emotional attraction has to be right on the exterior, and that's where form comes into play." Chevy is also loading up its cars, like the freshly unveiled 2016 Chevy Cruze, with technology to appeal to a younger crowd that prizes connectivity. The Cruze will offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with its MyLink infotainment system, and OnStar with 4G LTE and wifi. Seeking out younger buyers is also sound business practice: Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers as the largest single age group in the United States. Younger buyers also can improve a brand's image, which is another area where Chevy would like to improve. Chevy ranks 82nd on Interbrand's Best Global Brand's list, behind 11 other automakers. Apple is No. 1. "We need our own variation of the Genius Bar," Batey said. 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia View 3 Photos Meanwhile, Alfa is in different shape.

The Lotus Evija is the company’s first all-electric hypercar

Internally known as the Type 130, the new Lotus Evija combines several firsts for the British company into one wild shape. First of all, it’s the companyÂ’s first in-house all-electric car – the Lotus chassis provided to the likes of Tesla for the first Roadster doesnÂ’t count. ItÂ’s also the companyÂ’s first hypercar, claiming an astonishing (and provisional) 1,973 horsepower. Perhaps more importantly, itÂ’s the first all-new car from the company since the Evora, and the first to be conceived entirely under the ownership of ChinaÂ’s Geely. Yup, thatÂ’s a lot of firsts. ItÂ’s not the first EV hypercar – itÂ’ll have competition from the likes of Rimac and the upcoming Pininfarina Battista, plus the next-gen Tesla Roadster assuming that does eventually hit the market – but itÂ’s definitely early on the scene. And just look at it – the styling is wild, incorporating some continuing Lotus themes – particularly around the greenhouse – but with an overall direction thatÂ’s much brasher than the companyÂ’s other products. The deep side sculpting resembles is complex and stylized, as are the rounded, narrow quadrangle taillights supported by a massive rear diffuser. The front is arguably the least distinctive and biggest departure for the company. The verticality of the headlamps seems like a blend of the Ferrari F8 Tributo and the old Lamborghini Gallardo, without really aping either. Look closely and it appears to be an evolution of the shape of the EvoraÂ’s lamps, but without that context fresh in your mind itÂ’ll appear more generic supercar than something uniquely Lotus. The bodywork has some neat party tricks. Active aerodynamics allow for an F1-style Drag Reduction System, and thereÂ’s a deployable rear spoiler. There are no fixed side-mirrors; little cameras deploy from the front fenders and another camera embedded in the rear of the roof provides a rear view. ItÂ’s also different. The extruded, bonded aluminum architecture weÂ’re familiar with from the Elise/Exige line and the similar but unique Evora are gone, replaced by a company-first one-piece carbon fiber monocoque tub. Lotus is targeting a curb weight of approximately 3,700 lbs, and the lightweight tub (just 284 lbs) contributes to that.  The battery is housed behind the seats, and feeds power to four individual motors, providing all-wheel drive and infinitely variable torque vectoring.