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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:

Race Recap: 2014 Spanish Grand Prix is boom and bust [spoilers]

The Spanish Grand Prix's 2.892-mile Circuit de Catalunya is considered a preview for the rest of the season, since it's a combination of long front straight and twisting middle sectors mimic sections from every other Formula One track to follow. After the long break following the flyaway races to open the season, teams and fans have also been looking forward to this race to see if anyone had a realistic hope of catching Mercedes AMG Petronas; Infiniti Red Bull Racing honcho Christian Horner boiled his team's outlook for the season down to the line, "We've got to [beat them in Spain] if we're going to make a championship of it."
If we take that as our starting point then the weekend began as a bust. Lewis Hamilton only just beat Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for pole, the Brit's final effort getting him 0.178 seconds clear of the German. Daniel Ricciardo, proving Red Bull is at least the best of the rest, took third but did so more than a second behind Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas of Williams lined up fourth, almost 1.5 second behind and Romain Grosjean delivered overdue good news for Lotus by taking fifth on the grid, more than 1.7 seconds behind pole. Kimi Räikkönen in sixth outqualified his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso in seventh, but he couldn't be happy about it because the Ferraris were nearly two seconds behind, and Jenson Button in eighth in the McLaren was more than two second behind. Felipe Massa put the second Williams in ninth, and Sebastian Vettel overcame a terrible start to the weekend to make it into Q3, then didn't set a time when his gearbox failed, then got dropped five places to 15th on the grid when the gearbox had to be changed.
When the lights went out, then came the boom...

Lotus Exige Sport 410 Quick Spin Review | An unobtainable gem previews an American future

HETHEL, England — You can get the measure of a car brand by the environment in which its products are built. The narrow, bumpy, hedge-lined lanes of eastern England explain a lot about the way a Lotus goes. The character of a company's chief speaks to the brand's intentions as well. Jean-Marc Gales has been portrayed unflatteringly as a Eurocrat bean counter, but his approach has been to strip weight and cost out of the product to the benefit of performance on both track and bottom line, defining brand attributes that Chinese money can hopefully bring to a wider audience. He drives fast, thinks quickly and acts without hesitation. You sense he likes people who do the same, and the speed with which Autoblog posted the story announcing the new Exige Sport 410 is something he commented upon in flattering terms. Despite the fact that it'll never appear on American dealer lots, Gales made us very welcome at the factory to drive it. A quick update on where the Exige is at since it was last seen on American shores in 2011. Though it's still based around what's fundamentally the same extruded and bonded aluminum tub as every other Elise and Exige of the past 20 years, it's gained pounds, cylinders and performance to the point where it shows circuit pace that'll have 911 GT3 owners watching their mirrors. Since going from a 1.8-liter four-cylinder to the Evora-derived 3.5-liter supercharged V6, the Exige has evolved into a proper hot-rod, some way removed from its dainty roots and punching harder with each iteration. And there have been a few. Currently you can buy a Sport 350 or Cup 430 with the uprated, intercooled Evora engine and 430 horsepower, this new Sport 410 related to the latter and benefiting from many of its upgrades but tuned to be more road compliant. And a little cheaper. Unlike the Cup, you can also have it as a roadster, which, in an extreme example of the famed "add lightness" policy, basically equates to removing the roof panel. It's now arguably too much for the local roads, punching hard in angry bursts of acceleration between corners rather than dancing through them. With no power assistance to the steering and fat, grippy Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, an Exige is a surprisingly physical car to drive, bearing in mind it weighs less than 2,500 pounds. A test track built on runways that once hosted U.S. Air Force B-24 Liberators is a better place to appreciate the Exige's talents.