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Lotus F1 Team promotes Joylon Palmer for next season

After letting its longtime protege Romain Grosjean go to the Haas F1 team, Lotus has named his successor for next season. Driving for the team as it transitions back to being the Renault factory outfit will be one Jolyon Palmer, the current reigning GP2 champion and possibly one of the best-poised drivers to make it into Formula One. The 24-year-old Brit has been steadily working his way up the formula racing ladder, winning races in Formula Two and GP2 over the past several years before winning the latter title last season. During that victorious campaign he also served as a test driver for Force India, before switching to Lotus this season and getting 10 grand prix practice sessions under his harness. Jolyon's own experience undoubtedly sealed the deal, but his upbringing surely put him in a prime position to make it in single-seater racing. He's the son of former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer, himself a past Formula Two champ before completing half a dozen seasons in Formula One. It's what the elder Palmer's been up to since leaving the grid, however, that's put the son in such a strong position. As head of MotorSport Vision, Jonathan Palmer controls five major racing tracks across the UK – including BrandsHatch, Outlton Park, Snetterton, Cadwell Park and the Bedford Autodrome. He also runs a couple of trackday programs, founded the now-defunct Formula Palmer Audi series and continues to operate the FIA Formula Two Championship, the BRDC Formula 4 Championship, and the British Superbike Championship. All of which gave young Jolyon plenty of room to run as he developed his career. Will that be enough to put the young Palmer in a position to win next season? Only time will tell. But he arrives at a pivotal time for the team, which is expected to transition back from the privately held Lotus operation to Renault's hands, running once again as the factory team – but saddled with an engine package that has been underperforming against the competition. One way or another, it ought to be an interesting time to be in Enstone. Related Video:

Lotus readying Evora crossover?!

If it seems to you like every sports car manufacturer is getting into the crossover game, that's because it's pretty much true. And now, we potentially have one more to add to the list, as Britain's Car magazine reports that Lotus – yes, Lotus – is proceeding with plans to build a crossover. Rather than build a new crossover from the ground up, however, Lotus is said to be developing a high-riding version of the existing Evora. It's tipped to keep its rear-drive configuration (rather than going with a proper all-wheel-drive system), with a raised ride height and more rugged styling. In that respect, it may emerge more like a Local Motors Rally Fighter than a Porsche Cayenne challenger. That may yet emerge as not such a bad thing as it may seem on the surface, but for those purists who'd balk at the notion of an off-road Lotus, the British automaker has other plans in store as well. The crossover would arrive on the heels of a refreshed version of the existing Evora, a potential convertible version of the same, and a hardcore, track-focused successor to the 2-Eleven is also said to be in the works. In the end, Lotus would only be the latest in a long string of established sports car makers to get into the crossover game. Porsche of course led the way with the Cayenne and followed up with the Macan, Maserati is set to follow suit, and last we heard, Lamborghini was still awaiting approval to build the Urus concept.

Lotus 3-Eleven may be the quickest track weapon you can buy

Germany's Sport Auto magazine routinely takes world-beating supercars around the short circuit at the Hockenheimring: Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis... the works. But the top of the leaderboard has now been claimed by something altogether smaller and less powerful in the form of the new Lotus 3-Eleven. The most extreme expression of the Elise/Exige platform to date, the 3-Eleven is a track-focused machine of the highest caliber. At its heart sits a relatively humble 3.5-liter supercharged V6, tuned to produce 460 horsepower. But with composite body panels and a low curb weight, it rockets to 60 in under 3.0 seconds flat, and more poignantly laps the company's own test track ten seconds ahead of the Evora 400. Now it's clocked a lap around Hockenheim – sometimes host of the German Grand Prix – in just 1:06.2, just edging out the previous record held by a Porsche 918 Spyder. It also bests the Gumpert Apollo, and the similarly track-focused Radical SR3 SL... not to mention everything else Sport Auto has ever taken to the track. What's even more impressive is that the magazine's road test editor Christian Gebhardt completed the lap on stock rubber and on a cold track that didn't get any warmer than 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Just imagine what it'd do on even semi-slicks and a warm track surface. Related Video: 'HYPERCAR-KILLING' LOTUS 3-ELEVEN SETS HOCKENHEIMRING LAP RECORD - Lotus 3-Eleven raises the bar by establishing a new "sport auto" production car lap record around Hockenheimring - Lotus 3-Eleven now heads the lap time list which features exotic hyper cars and track-focused supercars from some of the world's most prestigious manufacturers - Lap record set by "sport auto" magazine's top road tester Christian Gebhardt The Lotus 3-Eleven, the quickest series production car to come from Lotus' Hethel Headquarters, has set the fastest lap time ever recorded by the leading and highly-respected German car magazine, "sport auto". Driven by Christian Gebhardt, a highly accomplished driver and Road Test Editor for "sport auto", the Lotus 3-Eleven lapped the Hockenheimring short Circuit in an incredible 1 minute 06.2 seconds. This time was even more impressive considering that the 3-Eleven was on standard road tyres and the fastest lap was completed in less than perfect weather, where temperatures did not get higher than 8 degrees Celsius. Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc said, "Christian set a fabulous lap in less than ideal conditions.