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Lotus CUV sets sights on Macan

The idea of a minimalist sportscar brand like Lotus actually building a crossover, as opposed to its APX concept, is still a bit hard to comprehend. But survival in the modern automotive landscape isn't easy, and a higher-volume model could do a lot to keep the lights on. Hot off the debut of the feather-light 3-Eleven at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, company CEO Jean-Marc Gales is now divulging some more details about the future model. At the moment, Lotus plans to launch the crossover in 2019, and the company has some rather specific targets in mind. "We want to get SUVs to be light and fast. The nearest rival will be the Porsche Macan – but ours will be better," Gales said to Auto Express. Rumors suggest the use of aluminum and composites with the goal for a weight as much as 400-500 pounds less than Porsche's smaller CUV. The model will be exclusive to the Chinese market at launch. While the Lotus crossover is under serious planning, actual development isn't underway yet. According to Auto Express, the company and its Chinese joint venture partner are still waiting for a license to build cars there. Once that comes, they intend to kick things into high gear. Gales also suggested that a Toyota-sourced powertrain, possibly a hybrid, was in the cards.

Stock Miata beats bunch of high-powered cars in wet 1/4-mile drag race

When is a stock, 167-horsepower Mazda MX-5 Miata quicker than a Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, Lamborghini Gallardo, Lotus Elise and a Porsche 911? When it's raining. Sort of.
Mazda Canada arranged a unique drag race to show off the fact that the Miata's optional power retractable folding hardtop can go from top-down to top-up in just 12 seconds flat. In this video, all six cars line up for a drag race, and it starts to rain (well, sort of - but you'll have to watch the video all the way to the end to see what we mean). The green flag is waved, and the timer starts as soon as the convertibles begin to put their tops up. But because the Miata's roof mechanism gets the car's roof back up a full 5.1 seconds quicker than the second-place car, the Mazda gets a serious advantage off the line for the actual drag race.
It's a fun video. And while we've spoiled the results (come on, the video was uploaded by Mazda, you knew the Miata was going to win), be sure to see how it all unfolds, below.

See the Lotus Evija in detail in this 23-minute video

Henry Catchpole splits his time as a contributor to Evo magazine with on-camera work for Carfection. The ever-gracious Englishmen took to the studio again recently to pore over the brand new Lotus Evija — and his first gift to us is the electric coupe's proper pronunciation: ee-VYE-yah. For a full 23 minutes, Catchpole tours the coming Lotus hypercar with Lotus' head designer Russell Carr. The two men sweep over the car from front to rear, Carr explaining the origins and details of the many shiny bits that attract Catchpole's eye. The spec sheet alone is attention-getting. A 70-kWh battery fuels a powertrain rated at 2,000 horsepower and 1,254 pound-feet of torque. All-wheel drive and torque vectoring are made possible by electric motors motors front and rear, but the setup is novel. A single drive unit on each axle combines a motor and inverter, but we're told each wheel gets its own gearbox. The package is a little shorter and wider than a Porsche 911, but sits seven inches lower than the roof of the German. Scales bend to the weight of 3,700 pounds in spite of magnesium center-lock wheels, that grandeur managed in part by six Multimatic spool-valve dampers, three on each axle. Just 130 Evijas will be produced, starting next year, each one starting at around $2.1 million. Lotus has filled the coupe with visual flourishes. The Lotus badge on the front is metal inlaid into the carbon fiber bodywork. Carr said he wasn't sure the engineers would be able to finalize that for production, but the designers are hoping. Fans inside the headlights keep the lumens cool, while movable DRLs and turn signals angled like the winglets on an airliner make the lumens look cool. Another neat lighting trick: The "T" in the word "Lotus" on the rear fascia acts as the reversing light. Two features we haven't yet seen on the latest batch of hypercars are adjustable seats, and a strip of metal in the headrests that can be etched the slogan of a customer's choice. And in spite of all the firsts for Lotus in this car, there's one holdover from the Hethel carmaker's other compact sports cars: A dearth of luggage space. The only cubbies are polygonal-shaped holes in the rear of the door sills. It doesn't sound so bad when Catchpole explains it, though, so check out the video.