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Lotus Elise (2010): a new face for evergreen roadster

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 16 February 2010 15:19 Lotus has just whisked the covers off the new, sleeker 2011 model year Elise – with a new fish-eyed face inspired by the Evora and a one-off 2007 'concept toy car' made for model car specialists Hot Wheels. The 2011 Lotus Elise will be shown at the 2010 Geneva auto show next month. It's a modest facelift with those wedgier lamps, LED day-running lights, more pronounced grille and fresh rear bumper and engine deck, but many of the changes are under the skin.Lotus Elise 2011: the engineering changesNorfolk continues its engine partnership with Toyota and has swapped the 1.8-litre four-pot for another Japanese-sourced four cylinder, this time downsized to 1.6 for the entry-level Elise S, sporting 134bhp and 118lb ft.It's the 1ZR engine with Valvematic breathing apparatus and a lower redline than the previous, manic 1.8.

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

Man drove for 40 years without a licence

A MOTORIST is facing prosecution for driving without a licence for almost 40 years, traffic police have said. The unnamed driver was also found to have no insurance when pulled over by members of the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) in Birmingham. A police spokesman said the motorist was stoppedin the Nechells area of the city at 9.40am on Thursday.