The Lotus Elise and Exige will soon be a thing of the past for North American fans of the brand (though both cars will continue to be offered in other markets), but if our spies prove to be right, the British firm is already cooking up a replacement, at least for the Exige coupe.

Our man with the long lens snagged these pictures of a mid-engined Lotus prototype during testing. But how can we be sure that this the Exige, we hear some of you ask?

Well, the test car does not bear any resemblance to the recent Lotus concept models shown in Paris last year so given the prototype's shape and size, the most plausible explanation is a replacement for the Exige.

It is known for some time now that Lotus is going to axe the Elise roadster and Exige coupe from its North American lineup by the end of August due to Toyota's decision to stop production of the 2ZZ 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder engine that powers the two models.

Fans of the Elise and Exige in other markets around the world including Europe need not to worry as the two cars will continue to be available as they are fitted with a new 1.6-liter four-cylinder unit.

To mark the end of production for North America, the British firm has announced the release of three Final Edition [FE] models. Lotus said will build and import into the US and Canada 15 examples of the Elise SC FE, 25 of the Exige Matte Black FE and 30 units of the Exige S260 FE.

It seems like someone was bound to get a present this Sunday at the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. But it wasn’t meant to be Fernando Alonso, who yesterday turned 30 and also raced for the 30th time with Ferrari. Read more »

If you happen to live or are planning to travel in Europe and would like to move around in a Lotus Evora but can't afford the expense of buying one, you'll be happy to know that Hertz may have a solution to your problem.

The U.S.-based car rental company has just introduced the Lotus Evora for hire in key European markets as part of its Adrenaline Range in the Hertz Fun Collection of Germany, Spain and the UK, and as a special car in the Fun Collection in France.

Last Sunday, after the finish of the German Grand Prix there was a McLaren, a Ferrari and a Red Bull on the podium. No surprise there. So what else is new? Red Bull and McLaren obviously have the best cars from the start of the season, winning all the races except the previous one. Especially Sebastian Vettel has such a big points lead, that he looks to have this year’s driver’s title in his pocket even with half the season remaining. Read more »

The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is investigating oil-cooler leaks on 4,400 Lotus Elise sports cars from the 2005-2006 model years. The safety agency instigated the search after 33 owners complained that their cars’ oil-cooler ruptured, spraying oil on the wheels and /or the engine bay. Read more »

Not to be outshined by their compagni over at the highway patrol unit and their Lamborghini Gallardo cruisers (that is, when they don't crash them...), the Arma dei Carabinieri, a division of the Italian army that polices both military and civilian populations, has received a pair of bespoke Lotus Evora S sports cars. Read more »

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The full inside pages.

None of the usual suspects – aka the drivers of Red Bull or McLaren- occupied the top spot on the podium of the British Grand Prix that took place on Sunday at Silverstone. Instead, the winner was Fernando Alonso, who managed his first win of the season, and 27th overall in his career, making the best both of Ferrari’s obvious progress and the catastrophic pit stop of early leader Sebastian Vettel. Read more »

The unpredictable weather conditions made the qualifying of the British Grand Prix something of a gamble, and the teams weather forecasts were expecting rain during the final session. So everyone made sure that they got out quickly in order to set a fast time before it started to rain again. Read more »

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the quickest time in Friday’s afternoon practice session of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend at Silverstone. Just minutes before the beginning of the session, heavy rain started to fall, with all cars staying in the pits for half an hour because of the condition of the track. Read more »

Lotus’ most recent new sports car, the Evora, will stay into production until at least 2017, when it will be replaced with the new Elan according to the company’s boss Danny Bahar. This changes the initial plan that called for the Evora to be replaced as early as 2012. Read more »

It’s funny how things turn out sometimes. In 1973, Caterham, which was founded in the 1960s as a Lotus dealer, acquired the rights to build the Seven from Lotus. Now, Team Lotus has purchased Caterham Cars through a holding company, part owned by Malaysian Tony Fernandes. Read more »

Here’s something we weren’t expecting; according to a report from CAR Magazine, Lotus will launch a new rally car at the Frankfurt motor show in September. The rally car -not the one pictured here- will be based on the Exige, which is renowned for its road and track capabilities, but we’ve never imagined it near a rally stage. Read more »

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.

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".

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".