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Lotus Type 130 electric hypercar confirmed for July 16 reveal

Lotus just formally announced that its electric hypercar will be revealed on July 16. It's called the Type 130, and it's confirmed for production at Lotus headquarters in Hethel, Norfolk. The name is derived directly from the production quantity, as Lotus is capping the car at just 130 units. This project is coming together at a rapid pace, as Lotus also says the first customer deliveries will happen in 2020. Meeting time goals for the production of EVs has proven troublesome for some manufacturers, so we'll see if Lotus is able to deliver in the next year and a half. The British sports car company has Chinese backing in the form of Geely now, so the funds to make this car happen appear to be there. Lotus says that it's had several hundred people express interest in buying the Type 130 since its confirmation at the Shanghai Auto Show. Of course, with only 130 slots available to buy the vehicle, we'll see how it all shakes out once Lotus announces what we expect will be an extravagant price tag. Hypercars, and especially electric hypercars, are never cheap. Lotus released a teaser photo that tells us next to nothing, but it is a photo of the car. The teaser video below is a bit more interesting with the "Hand Built in Britain By Lotus" emblem and the electric charge port hidden off to the left. It has an automatically closing door there, which doesn't exactly feel like Lotus' style. If something can be done mechanically to save weight, that's typically the path taken. We won't prejudge the car too harshly, though, as this represents an entirely new take on Lotus vehicles. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2015 Belgian Grand Prix is a return to scheduled programming

With summer intermission over, the second half of the Formula One season commenced in the Belgian countryside at Spa-Francorchamps. After qualifying, it looked a lot like the first half of the season with just a few minor changes. Lewis Hamilton was even more dominant in his Mercedes-AMG Petronas than usual, regularly taking half a second out of his teammate in just the middle sector of the circuit. Teammate Nico Rosberg tightened it up a tad for his final hot lap, but Hamilton still took pole by 0.45 seconds ahead of Rosberg in second. With his Williams back at a power track, Valtteri Bottas got himself up to third, although more than a second behind Hamilton. Romain Grosjean in the Lotus in fourth had his best qualifying performance since his fourth-place grid spot at the 2013 US Grand Prix. This was a huge boon for Lotus, the team facing another financial issue off track that threatened to have its cars impounded as soon as they left the circuit. Grosjean had to have his gearbox changed before the conclusion of six races, however, so the five-spot penalty meant he'd actually line up ninth for the race. Sergio Perez put the Sahara Force India in fifth, where we're more used to seeing his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing in sixth. Felipe Massa got the second Williams in seventh, in front of the second Lotus of Pastor Maldonado in eighth. Then came the first and only Ferrari in the top ten, Sebastian Vettel qualifying ninth after a disappointing Saturday for the scuderia; teammate Kimi Raikkonen suffered gearbox issues and qualified way down in 16th. Carlos Sainz took tenth in the Toro Rosso. A new start procedure in Belgium meant drivers had to handle clutches on their own, without the engineers finely tuning bite points between the garage and the start line. That was in conjunction with another rule limiting the kinds of radio messages possible between engineers and drivers, aiming to put more of the car in the drivers' hands. After an aborted start when Hulkenberg's car quit while sitting on the grid, Hamilton made the most of the new procedure. His start wasn't amazing but he beat everyone else off the line, while those behind were alternately getting bogged down or leaping ahead. Midway through the first lap the top ten was Hamilton, Perez, Ricciardo, Bottas, Rosberg, Vettel, Maldonado, Grosjean, Massa, Marcus Ericsson. At the end of 43 laps, Hamilton would still be in the lead.

Lotus bids farewell to the Elise and the Exige with Final Edition models

Lotus will put the Elise, the Exige, and the Evora out to pasture later in 2021 to make room for a new model that internally is being called Type 131. Before it embarks on this major lineup overhaul, the firm will send off the Elise and the Exige — two of its best-known and longest-running models — with a limited Final Edition. Fittingly, the Final Edition models represent the ultimate evolution of the Elise and the Exige, nameplates released 25 and 21 years ago, respectively. Lotus added power and, somewhat surprisingly, equipment without straying from the famous "light is right" philosophy that shaped both cars. Collectors have two variants of the Elise (Sport 240 and Cup 250) and three of the Exige (Sport 390, Sport 420, and Cup 430) to choose from. Stepping inside either Final Edition version of the Elise reveals a thin-film transistor (TFT) instrument cluster that can be configured with regular gauges or a racecar-like display, depending on whether motorists plan to hit the road or the track. Lotus also redesigned the steering wheel to give taller drivers more space. New upholstery and stitching patterns round out the major updates, and every Final Edition wears a specific metal plaque. Outside, the changes include new additions to the palette, including Azure Blue, which was one of the launch colors when the Elise was presented to the press in 1996. Racing Green, the hue worn by the model when it made its global debut at the 1995 edition of the Frankfurt auto show, makes a comeback as well. If 2,032 pounds is too heavy, Lotus offers optional parts (like carbon fiber panels) that shed 53 pounds. Power for the Elise still comes from a supercharged, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine mounted directly behind the passenger compartment. It delivers 240 horsepower (23 more than stock) and 180 pound-feet of torque, figures that give the roadster a 4.1-second zero-to-60-mph time. Selecting the Cup model brings a full body kit that generates 145 pounds of downforce at 100 mph and 341 pounds at the Elise's 154-mph top speed. Like the Elise, the Exige range receives Final Edition-specific paint colors, decals, and other exterior accents. Inside, it's a similar story: Lotus added a TFT screen and a new steering wheel, among other updated parts. Instead of a four-cylinder, the Exige packs a meaner punch thanks to a supercharged, 3.5-liter V6 tuned to put 397 horsepower (a 47-horse increase) and 310 pound-feet of torque under the driver's right foot.