F1: Sebastian Vettel takes his 6th Win in Valencia

Sebastian Vettel is on a roll and no one seems able to stop him and his Red Bull from adding a second Formula 1 championship to their trophy list. This was confirmed once again today in the European Grand Prix in Valencia, in the eighth race of the 2011, where Vettel took his sixth win of the season. The German world champion started from the pole position and was never challenged during the race as he cruised to another win.

The only driver to even come close was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who started from fourth place and, like his team-mate Felipe Massa, made a terrific start. Alonso had a fight with the Red Bull of Mark Webber who, despite starting from the front row, eventually lost out to the Spaniard who finished the race second, more than 10 seconds behind Vettel.

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Lotus Aims to Better Ferrari’s 458 Italia and McLaren’s MP4-12C with New Esprit

Lotus has lofty aspirations for its all-new supercar, the Esprit, which was presented as a concept at last year’s Paris motor show along with four other concepts. According to the company’s CEO, Dany Bahar, the new supercar will be launched in 2013 and will offer a “more authentic driving experience than both the Ferrari 458 Italia and the McLaren MP4-12C”.

Bahar revealed that development of the the new Esprit is already under way, with prototypes up and running.

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Join Mercedes GP or Team Lotus for a Day

British fans are getting ready for their National Motorsport Week, and two UK-based Formula 1 teams are each giving two members of the public the unique opportunity to join their pit crews for a day.

Mercedes Petronas GP will randomly select two winners from those who will enter an online competition. The window of opportunity opens today, Monday 20 June, and will close at midnight on Thursday 23 June.

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Silverstone Organisers Ask: What is the Best British Sports Car of All Time?

The fifteen finalists in the Silverstone Classic’s, “Best British Sports Car of All Time” vote-in have been announced, and boy is there some choice picks. Before we get to that though, can I just point out a misnomer in using the, “of All Time” qualifier?

This assumes (prophetically?) that Britain will not be making any more sports cars in the future, whereas, “Best British Sports Car So Far” would be a far more accurate description. But enough with semantics: who are our lucky finalists? Read on….

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Lotus to Kill Elise and Exige for North America in August

If you’re a fan of the lightweight sports cars from Lotus, namely the Elise and its closed-top sibling, the Exige, and live in North America, then you’d better hurry up before the well dries up. That’s because production of the North American spec model will end in August according to a report from Autoblog.

The reasons behind this decision lie in the lack of “smart” airbags, which are now mandatory in the US, along with Toyota’s decision to stop production of its 2ZZ 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder engine that powers US-spec models. The Elise and the Exige will continue to be sold in Europe, as they’re equipped with a new 1.6-liter four-cylinder unit.

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Sebastian Vettel Wins Exciting Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix

It has been some time since we last watched such an exciting Formula 1 race as the one held on Sunday at the Istanbul Park circuit. Even though the weather did not play any role and the winner's position was not threatened at any time, it was an eventful race. Behind Sebastian Vettel, who has won three out of four GP’s this year, anything was possible.

Mark Webber crossed the finish line in second place, with the Australian managing to overtake Ferrari's Alonso with seven laps to go, after the Spaniard held the second position for a large part of the race. Still, for Alonso and Ferrari, this is the best result so far this season.

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F1’s Team Lotus Acquires British Sportscar Maker Caterham

The owners of Formula One Team Lotus announced today the acquisition of lightweight sportscar manufacturer Caterham, for an undisclosed sum from the shareholder consortium led by Corven Ventures.

Based in England, Caterham has made a name for itself for building the Seven, a lightweight two-seater sports car that was designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman and who sold the rights of the car to Caterham in 1973.

Team Lotus chiefs Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin said in a statement that the company plans to expand Caterham’s profile and product family while also continuing the development of the Seven.

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Robert Kubica Discharged from Hospital, Still a Long Way Before F1 Return

Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica has left the Santa Corona hospital in Italy where he had spent the last 11 weeks after a scary rally accident. According to a hospital statement, the Polish driver is in good condition and will soon begin rehab. “He will carry on being monitored by the Santa Corona doctors who had him in their care through scheduled appointments," the hospital said in a press statement. Read more »

VIDEO: Lotus Renault F1 Driver Vitaly Petrov’s Yee-Haw! Moment at the Malaysian Grand Prix

It was only a matter of time before someone edited a video of Vitaly Petrov’s spectacular exit from last week’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The Russian pilot of the Lotus Renault F1 team ran too wide at a turn near the end of the race and as he tried to get inside the track again, he hit a bump on the grass that launched the race car high into the air.

The maker of the video thought the scene with the F1 car going airborne looked a lot like something you’d see in The Dukes of Hazzard, hence the audio background. For Petrov, the incident wasn’t as funny as the impact resulted in a broken steering column mount that forced him to retire from the race. Enjoy the clip after the break.

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Artist Envisions a New Take on the Lotus Caterham 7

Much in the same way as Morgan’s pre-Supersports models, the Lotus / Caterham 7 has remained relatively unchanged throughout its long life. A lightweight body with no fixed doors or roof, a flat windscreen, exposed front wheels and a four cylinder motor embody the Seven’s design and engineering philosophy.

Diseno-Art has drawn up a nice design study in the form of the “New 7”, a vehicle designed to expand and complement the existing range of 7-badged vehicles.

With larger proportions and more refinement than the archaic (yet still beautiful) lines of the current generation, the New 7 is designed to be uniquely tailored to each customer’s needs and offer a high level of customer service while still holding to the brand’s philosophy of lightweight, simple and fun.

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Geneva 2011: Lotus Keeps its Evora Debuts Simple but Significant with Mansory in the Mix

After Lotus blew its proverbial head gaskets all over the Paris stage with a futuristic lineup consisting of a sedan and no less than four coupes, simplicity was the name of the game for the 2011 Geneva motor show. Lotus brought two special edition Evoras, a relatively low-key showing in stark contrast to its behavior in France last year.

Before you roll your eyes thinking, "Christ, another special edition blah blah blah," one of these two new Evoras is very different than another special edition Mustang or Bugatti.

The Mansory Evora comes from the union of two weight-conscious companies; Lotus prides itself on keeping its vehicles trim, while Mansory "provides valuable insights and an intuitive feeling for [high-end customisation]" while also offering "state-of-the-art carbon components".

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