Lotus has unveiled a brand new EV idea which it calls “Concept 1,” a light-weight(-ish) electrical sportscar idea impressed by the Lotus Esprit with almost 1,000hp and able to speeds as much as 200mph.
Right here at Electrek, we see and report on a lot of wild EV ideas. These ideas are sometimes accompanied by lengthy treatises on how the design incorporates varied “core ideas,” pointless branding of issues that can by no means make it to manufacturing, and buzzwords aplenty.
In a manner, the Concept 1 is not any completely different. My eyes glazed over on the 2,000+ phrases in Lotus’ press launch earlier than reaching the desk of technical specs.
And but, there may be nonetheless one thing right here, as a result of that is Lotus – an organization with an extremely important motorsport heritage… and a big electrical automobile heritage too.
Lotus is the corporate that offered the light-weight “gliders” on which the unique Tesla Roadster, the automobile that began the fashionable electrical automobile period, was constructed.
And recently, Lotus has gotten into electrical automobiles by itself, with the $2million Evija hypercar and the consumer-focused Eletre SUV and Emeya Hyper-GT.
However you’ll discover – a kind of issues will not be just like the others. Regardless of being an organization well-known for its concentrate on small automobiles, owing to founder Colin Chapman’s principle to “simplify, then add lightness,” the Eletre and Emeya are each over 5,500lbs, greater than twice the load of the unique Tesla Roadster.
And so, Lotus’ new Concept 1 – packed stuffed with probably-unrealistic idea options, but additionally clearly going downmarket from the Evija’s eyewatering $2million pricetag – might sign considerably of a return to type for the wayward small-car maker.
That’s as a result of its curb weight is listed at a way more affordable 1600kg, or 3,527lbs. That is nonetheless hefty in comparison with absolutely the lightest autos on the highway proper now, however it’s on the decrease finish of strongest sportscars accessible right now (together with lighter than the Evija), fairly low in comparison with different EVs, and considerably lower than some ridiculous gas-powered chonkers.
It’s additionally much more than the unique Lotus Esprit which the Concept 1 takes inspiration from, which started at round 2,000lbs. However later variations of the identical automobile weighed as a lot as round 3,000lbs, not too far off from the Concept 1.
In that comparatively small package deal, Lotus claims it has match some nice efficiency specs.
Its 986hp powertrain is able to sprinting 0-100km/h (62mph) in lower than 2.5 seconds, with a high pace of 320km/h (198mph).
Vitality comes from a 70kWh battery with a 250 mile vary. This can be a little smaller than a number of the bigger batteries we’ve seen round (the Eletre has a 112kWh battery, for instance), however that’s the good thing about having a lightweight, low-slung automobile.
However specs don’t inform every thing about how a automobile feels to drive. And Lotus is promising to carry distinctive driving dynamics to this automobile, via strategies like together with the motor and battery as burdened members and mounting the rear wing on to the suspension meeting.
It additionally desires to make use of steer-by-wire, a expertise which has been considered for a very long time however solely not too long ago has made its manner into manufacturing autos, just like the Lexus RZ and Cybertruck.
However maybe probably the most placing a part of the driving force expertise on the Concept 1 is its 3-seat design, seating the driving force within the heart of the automobile, much like the famed McLaren F1.
The automobile’s gentle weight comes from intensive use of superior supplies like carbon fiber and titanium, that are positive to spice up the value of this automobile in the event that they make it to manufacturing. In that previously-mentioned 2,000 phrases, there’s loads of discuss 3D printing and recycled supplies as properly.
However Lotus says that it desires to scale back the quantity of “A-surface supplies” – these you’ll be able to contact – all the way down to 10 or fewer, in comparison with the 100-or-so in most automobiles.
“There’s been this era of maximalism, and other people having to do one-upmanship and go above, above, above. And I believe we’ve reached that time the place it plateaus in stylistic phrases, and likewise within the demonstration of tech. We’re not in a loopy numbers race with this automobile.”
-Lotus design VP Ben Payne, as quoted by Wired
So the unique Lotus philosophy of “simplify, then add lightness” is definitely current on this idea, signaling a return to type for the model after a couple of years of wandering within the desert.
Lastly, whereas we’re simply speaking a few idea right here, we’ve definitely seen loads of EV ideas make their manner into manufacturing in a roundabout way or one other. Even notably wild ones just like the BMW Imaginative and prescient EfficientDynamics idea ended up being made into the BMW i8 sportscar.
So we would even see this Concept 1 present up on the highway sooner or later. However, even when we don’t, not less than it exhibits that Lotus is again to eager about smaller automobiles (as they need to have been all alongside…), and we’ll hopefully get an actual EV sportscar out of them in a couple of years.
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