A minor spat has broken out on Youtube over whether or not a Lotus Exige GT3 traveling close to 250km/h [155mph] should have passed in between a Mazda MX-5 and a Porsche Boxster during the Production Sports Cars CUE Enduro Series held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia.

If you watch the first video shot from an inboard camera on the MX-5, it looks like a rocket ship flew by inches away from the Japanese roadster. In fact, it all happens so fast that you have to actually pause the video to see the Exige GT3 driven by Barton Mawer.

According to the Philip Island Circuit's official website, the driver in the No66 MX-5 was Michael Hall. Here's what he said on Youtube:

"I'm chasing down a Porsche Boxster in the #66 Mazda MX5 whilst trying to hang onto the lead of Class E. Meanwhile Barton Mawer is trying to hunt down Alan Simonsen in the Lambo for the overall lead, and obviously not in the mood to waste any time."

Lotus is a brand with a long and distinguished history – yet that's not enough if your present situation is dire. In the first eight months of the year, Lotus sales were merely a blip in the UK sales chart as only 272 cars were delivered, a 24% decrease to the already depressing 358 units of the same period in 2010.

Karl Heinz Kalbfell, who used to work for BMW, was brought in last year in an effort to increase sales. He says that the reason Lotus can’t sell more cars is that the public isn’t aware of the company's products.

Among the many world premieres at the Lotus stand in Frankfurt is the new Exige series and more specifically, the street-legal Exige S, and the competition Exige GT with which the British company plans to make its comeback to the world of rallying.

The road-going Exige S somewhat deviates from Lotus' philosophy of making ultra-lightweight sports cars with small displacement engines as it brings in the Evora S' 3.5-liter supercharged V6 that produces 350-ponies.

Last time we brought you spy photos of the 2013 Lotus Exige, it was a set of grainy pictures shot from a distance, which only revealed the profile of the British firm's mid-engine sports car. But our canny scoopsters are back with a new batch of photos, this time showing the prototype in detail.

The developed model pictured appears to have a longer wheelbase and rear overhang than the outgoing Exige while the design is entirely new featuring a lower nose that resembles the styling of the Evora. Our spies told us that the car also looked wider than the older model.

Lotus will hold the world premiere of the Evora GTE Road Car Concept at the McCall’s Motorworks Revival event tomorrow, August 17, at Pebble Beach.

The road-going concept is inspired by the Evora GTE racecar, which has been developed to participate in endurance races, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in the newly formed GTE category.