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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.

Race Recap: 2013 German Grand Prix is old beginnings, new endings [spoilers]

Just like at Silverstone last weekend, the German Formula One Grand Prix started with Lewis Hamilton putting his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on pole. The only thing missing at the pointy end of the grid was his teammate Nico Rosberg, who lined up beside him in England but back in 11th in Germany because of a team error in qualifying. So instead it was Vettel in the first Infiniti Red Bull in second, his teammate Mark Webber in third, the Lotus duo of Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean.
Again, just like at Silverstone - and Canada - Daniel Ricciardo used his magic beans to impress with the Toro Rosso, lining up in sixth, followed by Felipe Massa in the first Ferrari, Fernando Alonso in the second. Jenson Button in the McLaren, Nico Hülkenberg finished up the top ten.
When the lights went green, it didn't take long for the race to become a black-and-blue affair...

2022 Lotus Emira revealed with two engine options, Evija-inspired looks

The final internal-combustion-powered Lotus has been revealed: the 2022 Lotus Emira. The styling looks like a blend of the outgoing Evora and the all-new Evija electric car. It also features two choices of engine, one of which comes from AMG. The Emira's nose has the closest resemblance to the electric car, particularly in the headlights and the vent openings on either side of the hood. But the whole car has a softer, more rounded shape like the EV rather than the old Evora. It has very large intakes on each side, and a slim, wrap-around taillight at the back. The body fits over a typical Lotus bonded-aluminum chassis, and the company says the lightest version of the car will weigh around 3,100 pounds. Two kinds of suspension are available, the standard Tour setup and an optional and stiffer Sports version. Also noteworthy is the inclusion of hydraulic power steering, rather than electric. Powering that chassis is your choice of engines. It will launch initially with the same supercharged 3.5-liter V6 from the Evora. Next summer, it will be offered with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder from AMG. Lotus says three transmissions will be available: manual, automatic and dual-clutch transmissions. It didn't say which pairings of engine and transmission would be available, but we expect the V6 to get the manual and automatic options, while the four-cylinder gets the dual-clutch transmission (just as it does when in Mercedes A-Class-related cars). The company also says power will range from 360 to 400 horsepower. This will get the car from 0 to 62 mph in under 4.5 seconds. The interior is fairly minimalist, but definitely more advanced than recent Lotus offerings. Most surfaces are covered in fabric, leather or Alcantara. It has two screens for instruments and infotainment. The former has a 12.3-inch screen, and the latter has a 10.25-inch touchscreen. Features include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There's only seating for two, and cargo space is split between a 5.3-cubic-foot trunk and a 7.3-cubic-foot area behind the seats. The Emira was revealed this week at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Pricing for the U.S. has not been announced, but it will cost under 72,000 Euros in Europe. That comes to around $85,000 in the United States. We should know more about specifications and pricing closer to when it goes on sale sometime this year.