Premium Pack Technology Pack Reverse Camera Sport Pack on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Fighter jet-inspired Lotus EV was developed for endurance racing in 2030

Lotus is about to start writing a new chapter in its long history, and the plot could include a renewed focus on racing. It unveiled a futuristic concept called E-R9 that explores what an endurance race car might look like in 2030. Developed by Lotus Engineering, the E-R9 is a digital design study that exists only in computer-generated renderings (shown above). It's finished in black and gold, a color scheme chosen as a tribute to the British company's past race cars, and it's equipped with a stunningly advanced suite of active aerodynamic add-ons. Its morphing body panels can be controlled automatically or manually, depending on the situation. On long straights, they flatten out to reduce drag. When a corner approaches, they generate more downforce. The vertical control surfaces on the back end of the triangle-shaped body adjust themselves as-needed to allow the car to pivot around a turn. "The result is a racer that’s partly driven like a car and partly flown like a fighter jet," Lotus promised. Fittingly, the driver sits in a fighter jet-like cockpit with a wrap-around windshield that provides excellent visibility. Photos of the cockpit haven't been released, however, but it's likely as science fiction-esque as the exterior design. Power for the E-R9 comes from a fully electric drivetrain that assigns each wheel its own motor. It's an evolution of the system fitted to the Evija, the first production-bound electric Lotus. Details like range, horsepower, torque and acceleration aren't available, but the firm hinted that its racer uses a battery pack built with a mixed-cell chemistry. Interestingly, it also pointed out the battery can theoretically be swapped out during pit stops, which solves the issue of pausing the race — or losing precious seconds — while the driver waits for the pack to take a charge. Many of the features showcased by the E-R9 are not in production, but Lotus says that could soon change. "The Lotus E-R9 incorporates technologies which we fully expect to develop and be practical. Lotus has an amazing history of developing unique solutions, and weÂ’ve done it many times in motorsport and with our road cars," said Lotus chief aerodynamicist Richard Hill in a statement. While that's not a confirmation that Lotus will send the E-R9 to the track in 2030, it's a strong signal that the company wants to continue racing for decades to come. Related video:

Why all of this year's F1 noses are so ugly [w/video]

If you're a serious fan of Formula One, you already know all about The Great Nosecone Conundrum of 2014. Those given to parsing each year's F1 regulations predicted the strong possibility of the so-called "anteater" noses as far back as early December 2013. Highly suggestive visual evidence first came after Caterham's crash test in early January, with further proof coming as soon as Williams showed a rendering of the FW36 challenger for this year's championship. That car earned a name that wasn't nearly so kind as "anteater."
Casual followers of the sport - or anyone who gets the feed from this site - probably don't know what's happening, except to wonder why the current year's F1 cars are led by appendages that would make Cyrano de Bergerac feel a whole lot better about himself.
The short answer to the question of ugsome F1 noses is "FIA regulations and safety." The reason there are various kinds of ugsome noses is simpler: engineers. The same boffins who have given us advances including carbon fiber monocoques, six-wheeled cars, double diffusers and Drag Reduction Systems are bred to do everything in their power to exploit every possible freedom in the regulations to make the cars they're building go faster - the caveat being that those advances have to work within the overall philosophy of the whole car.

Lotus hops into Extreme E with Jenson Button ahead of first race weekend

The Extreme E racing series is filling out with a host of interesting names, and Lotus is the latest manufacturer to join the fray. Lotus is hopping in as technical partner to the Jenson Button Extreme E team, making it quite the British powerhouse. A single photo of the rally vehicle is above with a simple JBXE and Lotus livery. Seeing Lotus hop into electric racing makes sense given that it will be pushing the Evija hypercar out the door soon. The company says it will be leveraging the experience it gained in development of that car to help it succeed on the motorsports side. “We are on the cusp of an exciting new era of electrified motorsport, and weÂ’re delighted to support the JBXE team as Technical Partner,” says Matt Windle, managing director of Lotus Cars. “The complex technicalities of EV racing present a fascinating challenge, and using our learnings from more than a decade of electrifying sports cars – most recently with the Lotus Evija hypercar – we can bring valuable knowledge to the team.” Jenson Button is acting as both the team owner and driver of the car in the Extreme E series. Other notable car companies hopping into the series include GMC (a Hummer partnership), Fisker, Hispano Suiza and Cupra. Other racing outfits are also hopping on without the support of major car manufacturers. The field has just nine teams right now, but the slow trickle continues with promising entries. This latest development with Lotus and Jenson Button is just another feather in the seriesÂ’ cap. "Lotus is a great British brand that is inextricably linked to motorsport, so we are delighted to welcome Lotus Engineering to JBXE,” Button says. “Extreme E is a unique and exciting formula, full of 'world firsts' and challenges, and to announce that a brand such as Lotus Engineering is coming on this journey with us is a proud moment for myself and the team. We are very excited about our new technical partnership and canÂ’t wait to show what we can do in the first race this weekend.” That first race — termed the “Desert X Prix” — will take place in Saudi Arabia this weekend. ItÂ’s airing on Fox Sports in the U.S. The second race is nearly two months after this upcoming one and will take place in Senegal.