Lotus Elise S Cup R poised for US consumption

Lotus can’t sell its road cars in North America anymore (dang safety regulations!), but that won’t stop them from sending some hardcore track vehicles here for the true enthusiasts. Enter the Lotus Elise S Cup R. The Cup R variant of the Elise sports a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, delivering 217 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque with help from a Magnuson R900 supercharger.

Chevrolet WTCC Ultra concept

Chevrolet has released a sketch of their WTCC Ultra concept that will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in three weeks. Styled by Ewan Kingsbury of GM Australia, who also worked on the Holden Torana, the concept was further developed in Europe to produce a fully working prototype, while the engine comes from Korea and the body from Japan. The international collaboration demonstrates the breadth of GM's resources, and has resulted in Chevrolet's vision of a new generation of World Touring Cars.

Mazda mourns Neil Warrior

Mazda's Director of Public Relations - Neil Warrior - sadly lost in the Air France tragedy When a plane goes down it understandably makes headlines as the loss is so big in one fell swoop. Paradoxically, the news coverage also illustrates just how safe air travel normally is. After all, more people are lost every day in road accidents than in even the biggest air disaster.