One Lap of the Web: Miniature mania, police-trimmed BMW Isetta and tweeting at automakers

-- Michael Paul Smith doesn't have a fancy camera. What he does have is a fuzzy beard, a lot of time on his hands, and the ability to create amazingly realistic scenes using scale-model cars and a handful of tiny model buildings. Smith's secret to bringing his nostalgic visions to life?

Lotus Exige S Roadster arriving Summer 2013 (video)

So the revelation that the Lotus Exige S Roadster – which had an outing as a concept at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show – is finally making it in to production and will arrive in the Summer of 2013 is exactly the sort of Lotus news we want to hear. Lotus has revealed the Exige S Roadster as a reality in a short tease video (below) telling us the new Lotus will be ‘Ready for the Summer’, although by the time it gets in to the hands of customers summer will probably be already over (if it’s not already – we have had a few nice days in a row). The Exige S Roadster will get the same 345bhp 3.5 litre V6 complete with supercharger as the coupe which will be enough to get you to 62mph in just 4 seconds, and you’ll be able to row it along with either a six-speed manual or automated manual ’box plus, thanks to a very lightweight folding roof and the loss of the back spoiler, the Roadster will weigh no more than the coupe so should handle exactly how a Lotus is meant to.

New Toyota Auris, Auris Tourer Estate & new Verso MPV at Paris

Toyota will reveal the new 2013 Auris, Auris Tourer Estate and Verso MPV at this month’s Paris Motor Show. We’ve already had the reveal of the new Toyota Auris ahead of the Paris Motor Show, but it won’t just be the new Auris that’s on Toyota’s stand. For the first time we are getting a Toyota Auris Tourer (Estate) added to the Auris range and aimed straight in to the firing line of the new Ford Focus Estate and Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer.