2011 Lotus Evora, Gry/tan/blk,tech Pkg,prm Pkg,srvd on 2040-cars

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Last Lotus Elise delivered to the person it was named after

Lotus just made an announcement on its social media channels that the last customer-bound Elise has been built — we'll note that Lotus built the very last Elise for itself — and delivered to its final customer, Elisa Artioli. If you havenÂ’t heard of her before, itÂ’s time for a little Lotus history lesson. Back when the Elise came to fruition and was released in 1996, Romano Artioli was the companyÂ’s chairman. When it came time to finalize a name for the two-seat sports car, Romano looked to his granddaughter, Elisa, for inspiration.  For those who find full-circle stories satisfying, itÂ’s hard to get any better than this one. The Elise youÂ’re looking at here is the final customer-bound Elise in the world, and itÂ’s going to none other than the woman who the car is named after. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As for the spec of the car itself, this is an Elise Sport 240, and itÂ’s painted in “Championship Gold.” The Sport 240 features a 1.8-liter supercharged four-cylinder thatÂ’s good for 240 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque. Weighing only 2,033 pounds, itÂ’s capable of a 4.1-second 0-60 mph sprint and has a top speed of 147 mph. What a lovely story! WeÂ’ve asked Lotus for more photos and additional information, and weÂ’ll update when we hear back.

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.

2015 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix puts a dark horse in the desert [spoilers]

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen had said after Malaysia that Ferrari can challenge Mercedes-AMG Petronas purely on pace, beyond the scope of tire wear, in the dry. We didn't see that in China, where Lewis Hamilton easily kept everyone behind and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel only got close to Mercedes' Nico Rosberg when Rosberg slowed down to conserve his tires. But the Iceman's words seemed prescient during qualifying for the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. At the front, nothing has changed so far this year: four races, four pole positions for Lewis Hamilton. Instead of teammate Rosberg next to him, though, he'll look over to see the scarlet Ferrari of Vettel, who took advantage of Rosberg's cautiousness to snatch second place on the grid. In Q2, Rosberg tried to conserve the tires he'd start the race on and said he couldn't get into a groove in Q3, putting in a time 0.147 seconds slower than Vettel. The second Silver Arrows will share his row with the second Ferrari, Raikkonen – yet again – saying he might have left some time on the table during his hot lap but getting around just one tenth off Rosberg's time. Williams is established as the best of the rest behind two teams this year instead of just one last year, Valtteri Bottas claiming fifth ahead of Felipe Massa. Daniel Ricciardo of Infiniti Red Bull Racing said he wants to fight with the Williams', he'll be helped with a good start off the line for the first time this year. Nico Hulkenberg got Force India into Q3 for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix last year and into eighth on the grid, ahead of Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso and Romain Grosjean putting in another excellent day's work for Lotus. Come race time, it turned into Mercedes power against Ferrari strategy. When Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle talks about the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team he often mentions how their engine advantage leads to other advantages throughout the car. Not having to use aerodynamic changes to make up for power unit deficiencies, for instance, means they can run the aero setup they want, which optimizes speed and tire wear throughout a lap. It equates to advantage on top of advantage on top of advantage. That's where Lewis Hamilton is right now, so fundamentally dialed in to his car and his racing that he run the races he wants to run. From the front spot, the Brit ripped off another perfect start and led the field into Turn 1, relinquishing the lead only during pit stops.