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This 450-hp electric Lotus Evora is powered by Tesla and Chevrolet

When someone mentions an electric Lotus, the first thing that comes to mind is the Tesla Roadster, the California-based automaker's first vehicle. That car started life as an Elise before being heavily massaged and adapted by Tesla's engineers. In a similar spirit, the people at Onpoint Dyno are close to finishing Blue Lightning, a track-ready all-electric Lotus Evora. Blue Lightning uses a Tesla drive unit and a Chevrolet Volt battery pack, both mounted in the middle in place of the Evora's 3.5-liter Toyota V6. It's putting down about 450 horsepower at the wheels. The car was built for time attack sessions, so power is fed through custom forged wheels and super sticky Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires, the same ones found on the last Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. There is a custom digital instrument cluster in place of the Lotus gauges. There's also a regen paddle on the left side of the steering wheel. With a full charge, Blue Lighting should go about 120 miles. While the car runs under its own power, it's only about 90 percent complete. It has no power steering, no firewall in between the seats and the motor and battery pack, no A/C, and a large hole where the shift lever used to be. Other final touches include fine-tuning the brakes and suspension. There is also a custom rear bumper coming that should make it look more like the new Lotus Evora 400. Onpoint Dyno expects the car to hit the track in the next month or so. Related Video:

Lotus Emira delayed for the U.S. while allocation amount and prices rise

It's Lotus' turn to catch the production and pricing virus, an ailment that's caused almost every automaker to lag on delivery timetables while increasing prices for reservation holders. Last October, Lotus Emiras intended for the UK home market were already trailing delivery estimates by six months. Early last year, Lotus expected to get Emiras tagged with U.S. plates as soon as fall of 2022. Now, CarBuzz reports that Emira V6 First Edition units destined for the U.S. will land on our soil this summer but won't be released to customers until between mid-October and mid-December. According to a letter sent by Gator Motorsports' franchise Indy Lotus in Indianapolis, Indiana, the holdup is U.S. certification.    On top of the delay, prices are going up for all U.S. and Canadian reservation holders except those who have completed paperwork for the initial North American V6 First Edition allocation. Lotus said the various troubles and quagmires around the world have increased the Emira's unit cost by around $14,400. Folding that into the MSRP would make the price $108,300 before destination. We say "initial" about that allocation because Lotus has upped the North American allotment by 600 units, making 1,300 in total to come to come to NA, the U.S.-specific number slightly smaller. When the second tranche becomes open for reservations, they will cost $105,400 in the U.S., that price already on the U.S. retail site configurator. Anyone who reserved the AMG-powered four-cylinder Emira I4 First Edition is going to see their cost rise from the $85,900 announced before. The new price MSRP be revealed until later this year, deliveries not scheduled to commence until Q2 of 2024. Of course, we should expect the cost of the regular series production cars to rise as well. The situation varies by market, so anyone on any of Lotus' lists should check with their Lotus dealer. A lively thread on Emira Forum that started in February is up to 26 pages as global Emira buyers try to figure out who needs to confront what increase. Part of the ire comes from Lotus having promised none of the pricing challenges would be passed on to reservation holders, saying, "The price you're being quoted is the price you'll pay for your Emira."     Ready for the good news? There will be more options to spend your money on.

Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari 512M and more immortalized as Lego sets

Lego has announced a slew of new Speed Champions sets, the ones based on actual licensed cars, for 2022. The latest batch includes a smorgasbord of supercars, from beloved classics like the Lamborghini Countach to yet-to-be-released promises like the long-awaited Mercedes-AMG One. There are seven cars in total, released in five sets.  Our favorite is probably the 262-piece Lamborghini Countach, based on a later LP500 variant. Not only does it tick the box of a childhood dream machine, but the angular shape of the real-life Countach lends itself well to being recreated in Lego bricks. Also, it's modeled in white rather than the typical red. Lego Speed Champions Ferrari 512M 1 View 6 Photos We also really dig the Ferrari 512M. It marked the last of Ferrari's V12 endurance racers, and even though it was soundly spanked by the Porsche 917, the cars are undeniably beautiful. The 291-piece Lego set does a great job of capturing its brutal wedge silhouette in brick form. Lego Speed Champions Lotus Evija 1 View 5 Photos Rounding out the single-car sets is the 247-piece Lotus Evija. The electric Lotus has a bit of a generic supercar look about it, but that's not entirely the fault of the Lego kit. Its dramatic vents can't really be replicated with the limited "resolution" of the Lego bricks. Its rear, with unique taillight-encircled air tunnels, is a bit more distinctive. Lego Speed Champions Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR & Vantage GT3 1 View 7 Photos In addition to the single car sets, there are two larger sets of two cars each. One is a 592-piece Aston Martin-themed pack that includes the Valkyrie AMR Pro and Vantage GT3. Again, it's a bit difficult to sculpt the cars' curvaceous lines out of straight-edged bricks, but the effort is admirable. The Valkyrie is probably the more successful of the two, as the Vantage would resemble a Corvette or Viper if it didn't have stickers to clarify the details. Lego Speed Champions Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance & Project One 01 View 9 Photos Last but not least is a twofer comprised of 564 bricks to build the Mercedes-AMG One and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton's W12 racer. In Lego's official product description the driver is not mentioned by name, but the number 44 gives it away. The model of the One indeed looks like a sharp supercar, but the blocky pieces don't exactly replicate the lines we've seen on camouflaged test mules.