Wheelies: The Black and Gold Edition March 2, 2012, 2:19 pm The Lotus Exige R-GT, with a body based on the refreshed Exige S unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show last September, will be campaigned in the FIA European Rally Championship this year. Lotus International Rally, the newly formed team, is to receive seven cars this year, with three models going to privateers. The R-GT is expected to make its race debut at the Rally 1,000 Miglia in Brescia, Italy, in April. Lotus Cars According to a recent report, Nissan may resurrect the Datsun name for vehicle sales in Russia, India and Indonesia. The Nikkei reported this week that Nissan hoped to sell 300,000 Datsun-badged vehicles annually in the emerging markets. The cars would be priced close to the equivalent of $6,200. Nissan ceased using the Datsun badge in the United States in the early "80s, but phased out its use in Asia slightly later. On Friday, Ford released fuel-economy estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency for the automaker's Focus Electric. The purely electric hatchback, priced at $39,995, received a combined miles-per-gallon-equivalent rating of 105. Last year, the Nissan Leaf received a combined rating of 99 m.p.g.e. Ford also highlighted the E.P.A. sticker for the Focus Electric, which stated the E.V."s range at 76 miles, 3 miles higher than the rating received by the Leaf. Ford Motor Audi, which recently announced the highest annual profit in the brand's history, intends to campaign a diesel-hybrid version of its R18 Le Mans prototype racecar. The all-wheel-drive R18 e-tron Quattro has two electric motors mounted to the front axle, each of which reportedly generates 100 additional horsepower to support the 510-hp, 3.7-liter V-6 TDI engine. Kinetic energy recovered during deceleration would be available to the motors at speeds over 75 miles an hour.