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Lotus Evora 'Sports Racer' is oddly named and fully loaded

Lotus has just announced a new Evora 'Sports Racer' model that is, well, frankly not much more sporty or racy than the standard Evora or Evora S. Instead, the British company calls the Sports Racer a "visually enhanced and optimized version" of both the Evora and supercharged Evora S. To unpack that a little: The new trim will get a new set of unique exterior colors and a revised interior treatment, and it's fully decked out with options.
The 'Sports Racer' will be available in the buyer's choice of Carbon Grey, Nightfall Blue and the Ardent Red that you see in the image above (the only image we've seen of the car so far). Gloss black accents set the model apart and can be seen on the roof, forged wheels, mirrors and rear badges. Inside, one may choose between black-leather sports seats with red piping and stitching, or a Venom Red leather interior with black piping and stitching. How naughty.
In terms of tech, the 'Sports Racer' gets Lotus' Sports Pack and its remapped throttle response, higher redline, more powerful cross-drilled brakes and a more aggressively programmed Dynamic Performance Management system. The stereo system is also upgraded from the basic Evora, with a DVD player and seven-inch touchscreen display thrown in for good measure.

Elise Time Attack could be most extreme Lotus yet

The Lotus Elise has given birth to some seriously fast and varied machinery. Aside from Lotus' own models like the Exige, 2-Eleven, 340R and Europa, electric vehicles like the Tesla Roadster, not to mention the never-released Dodge Circuit and Detroit Electric SP:01, are all based on the Elise's platform. As were/are the Melkus RS 2000, the Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 and the Hennessey Venom GT. But this could be the most extreme use of the lightweight chassis yet.
This Series 1 Elise has been built by one performance-obsessed Brit with a single purpose: to compete in the UK's Time Attack championship. For those unfamiliar, Time Attack is something like a rally or a hillclimb event, only it takes place on a racing circuit. Each vehicle goes out on the track by itself and sets the best time it can, without needing to worry about other competitors until the finish line is crossed and it's the next racer's turn. That's what drove Lee to modify his Lotus so thoroughly, with more wings, diffusers, flaps and carbon fiber than a Boeing factory. Check it out in the video below.

Lotus hiring 100 after securing lb100m investment

Lotus is getting a shot in the arm courtesy of corporate parent DRB-Hicom, which has announced a 100-million pound ($152.3M USD at today's rates) investment in the Hethel, UK-based manufacturer. The troubled brand was also in the news last week, with DRB announcing a new, three-year plan that would see variants of existing models introduced.
The money will create 100 new jobs in Hethel, with 45 new engineers, 40 manufacturing operatives and 18 university grads joining the team. Lotus has already seen an uptick in sales this year, according to a Norfolk-based news site, with 40 to 45 cars being produced per week and 722 road cars and 45 race cars sold between January and May. Even sales in the UK have seen a big jump - Lotus only moved 70 units in 2012, but it's already sold 80 cars in the first half of 2013.
Better yet, Lotus is citing an increased demand for its cars around the globe as the motive behind the new hires. While still quite uncertain, Lotus looks like it might finally be on the right track.