Future of Lotus

[dooie]

From this and the earlier shots from Autocar, I think sadly that the new lotus will have a transverse engine. Let's hope that Lotus search far and wide to find a transaxle that can handle a load more torque, like the German DCT can. 

 

Although there is a load of talk saying the new lotus will have the current Toyota 2GR engine, I’m hoping that they will modified Geely’s own 3.5 V6 JLV-6G35 rather than an off the peg item. Whats the point of Geely buying and owning Lotus just to carry on using off the shelf items.

 

Geely have their own transmission facility, they own Drivetrain System International. A 7 speed DCT or a 6 speed manual that can handle more torque than the current Toyota EA60 gearbox is a must.

 

I was hoping for an inline mid engine'd car that could do the Esprit name justice, it would be fitting for the last ICE Lotus. 

[Likuid]

3 minutes ago, dooie said:

From this and the earlier shots from Autocar, I think sadly that the new lotus will have a transverse engine. Let's hope that Lotus search far and wide to find a transaxle that can handle a load more torque, like the German DCT can. 

 

Although there is a load of talk saying the new lotus will have the current Toyota 2GR engine, I’m hoping that they will modified Geely’s own 3.5 V6 JLV-6G35 rather than an off the peg item. Whats the point of Geely buying and owning Lotus just to carry on using off the shelf items.

 

Geely have their own transmission facility, they own Drivetrain System International. A 7 speed DCT or a 6 speed manual that can handle more torque than the current Toyota EA60 gearbox is a must.

 

I was hoping for an inline mid engine'd car that could do the Esprit name justice, it would be fitting for the last ICE Lotus. 

Kind of agree. Assuming this really is a mule for the next car or new Esprit. Maybe they are just testing something else using an Evora?

[Bibs]

LOTUS WINS UK GOVERNMENT SUPPORT AND FUNDING TO DELIVER NEXT-GENERATION EV ARCHITECTURE

An engineering partnership led by Lotus has won UK Government support and funding to develop an all-new next-generation Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) architecture.

The news was confirmed today by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC). The funding is awarded as part of the APC’s Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator (ARMD) competition. Funded by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the competition is delivered on behalf of the APC by Cenex, the UK’s Low Carbon and Fuel Cells Centre of Excellence.

The successful application is called LEVA, which stands for Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture. Led by Lotus, it is targeting the acceleration of and innovation behind new lightweight structures for next-generation BEVs. Incorporating cutting-edge UK-based engineering and digital manufacturing expertise, LEVA will be a showcase for pioneering new BEV chassis and powertrain concepts.

Lotus will collaborate with supply chain partner Sarginsons Industries and leading academics from Brunel University London to harness the full ‘light-weighting’ potential of the vehicle architecture.

Matt Windle, Executive Director of Engineering, Lotus, commented: “This is great news for our industry and its transition to electrification. As a collaboration between Lotus, Sarginsons Industries and Brunel University London there is a wealth of talent involved, and we are excited to have already begun the project work. Following the launch of the Lotus Evija, our all-electric hypercar, this project is a key building block in our vision to deliver a full range of electrified Lotus performance cars ‘For The Drivers’. Funding of this nature is critical to stimulate the automotive industry and supply chain as both continue to adjust to a rapidly changing landscape.”

More details on Project LEVA will be released by Lotus and its partners in due course.

[TdM]

Looking on PH everyone seems to be wondering what poor little Lotus can do Vs the might of Tesla... I have to hand it to Tesla their PR drive has worked wonders to blind people to facts

[C8RKH]

Yup, blind to the build quality issues, the paint issues, etc.  Tesla's reputation is one thing, the surveys suggest the reality is something else.

However, owners seem to love them.

[21gg]

Maybe they are all smoking the same stuff as the boss  😂

[NedaSay]

Musk's Distortion Field...

The overall perceived quality of Tesla product is not the best, but they make for comfy rides, wow factor and it feels good being part of the people who are doing something to lower nefarious emissions... That's what i get from the all thing. Still when you sit inside and see the panels gaps...sigh!

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Let’s have a refresh of thinking on the new sports car due for launch middle of next year. That’s presumably the mule for it above, now in yellow. It looks to have the same wheelbase as the Evora. We know it will have a V6 (probably the same Toyota one, rather than ex Geely). We don’t think there will be any electric motor technology. We know it will be the usual aluminium chassis technology and presumably primarily glass fibre panels. We can see it will be a couple of inches wider. We think the engine will still be transverse located, so still sit quite high. We also know it is expected to cover a huge range of prices: I think I read £55000 to well over £100000, so there must be some major mechanical differences between bottom and top range models.
 

Will it replace all 3 current ranges (Elise, Exige and Evora?). Going from the above guesstimates it seems to be “just” an updated and wider Evora, probably with Evija styling cues. What’s your current thinking?

[Nathan Pitman]

Whatever it is mechanically I don’t think it’s going to feel quite as special as the current line up, surely it’s going to have particulate filters, easier ingress, less analog, more tech. I think Lotus has (unintentionally) come to stand for something very special as a side effect of having to reinvent the same basic model line up year after year. This new car will certainly be for the drivers, but not likely the existing drivers. I can only imagine that the current model line up (Elise and Exige in particular) will go on to represent the end of a golden era in driver involvement terms. 

[TdM]

Can't see it replacing the Elise/Exige, it's too big surely (read too wide).

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Yeah not sure how they’re going to achieve £55000 with the supercharged V6 either? So that would mean either the return of an off-the-shelf 276bhp NA, or installing a 4 pot, which might be a bit small in this even bigger car. No problems at the £110,000 upper price though.

[Bravo73]

1 hour ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

Let’s have a refresh of thinking on the new sports car due for launch middle of next year. That’s presumably the mule for it above, now in yellow.

Are you sure that it’s not just a run-out version of the current Evora? Slightly wider track (a la GTE), slightly more power, adios Evora?

[C8RKH]

Hope so @Bravo73, sounds enticing...

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Hmm but the first anyone has heard of it, if true!

[Jason is Chasing]

5 hours ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

Yeah not sure how they’re going to achieve £55000 with the supercharged V6 either? So that would mean either the return of an off-the-shelf 276bhp NA, or installing a 4 pot, which might be a bit small in this even bigger car. No problems at the £110,000 upper price though.

They would have to be anticipating sales like the C8, and there would be very few LT1s to be found today.  Almost everything that were seeing is the LT2/3 range on or about 85-120k.  Chevy can do this and lose money on the Vette, because the rest of their lineup eats the cost, they know Vette owners are a small margin of profit, and that's a hugely small market.  If they're going after that market I think they'll find that the Corvette market is a cult, and they're behind the power curve to compete directly. 

 

They are well suited however to go after the Mazda Miata,  but that's a different topic entirely I imagine.

 

Or they do like Alfa introduce it, as the 4c was, then pull the plug counting on introducing a Sport Saloons, and SUVs to take the brunt of the ROI.

 

Noone is going to ask me, but its exciting,  I personally think they'd be better off making the safety modifications to their current Elise/Exige Lineups as a reintroduction to the US, heck pick an Elise any Elise, almost any condition and its 30k if its road legal.  After which pushing the new platform. 

 

Curious stuff really,  and pretty exciting. 

 

(Obviously I'm typing 'thought to mouth here)

Edited October 3, 2020 by Jason is Chasing

[PAR]

The regulations are too far down now so you can’t modify an Elise or Exige to fit it anymore. You need a new chassis for that because of space  required for certain equipments. 

The new car is there to be a global car and will aim at being the main seller for the brand.

What we think we know is:

It will be a 2 seater only. It will be pitted against the Cayman. It seems to be there will be both a 4cyl and a V6. I have to assume both will be with turbo.

The chassis will still be aluminium ( or carbon) and closer to the Evora than anything else.

Strong suggestion the engines will still be Toyota sourced.

The new car has to have a roof and a no roof option to address the market widely and will be easier to use than the Elise and provide a more modern feel than an Evora inside.

This means the Evora will remain out there as the other global car so dealers have also a +2 options.

The Elise/Exiges are somehow making money so they will have to think hard on a strategy here but clearly there is a new “design language” that they won’t fit.

Although the Evora was never the success hoped for, a +2 has a value for many potential customers. The new car seems to borrow meaningfully  from the Evora  platform so it would seem logical that once the new car is launched, they could upgrade the Evora with some of the equipment and lessons learned of the new car. It is not guaranteed but as it seems economically sound, that seems more likely than not.

One lesson Porsche has learnt though the years is that you can’t know for sure what your clients will really want so you are better off offer them choices and then get on with it. I think there is a good chance Lotus is getting there with the new car and will not have the issue of the cayman that is artificially held behind to not overshadow the 911.

If the new car look super cool and is better than my Elise and my Evora at certain things (even if it is taking my kids to school and my wife to Dinner!) the likely thing is that I will find an excuse to get one at one point. Like for most cars, looks is going to make or break the car and then all those technicals will just be people self justifying their spending. Making sure there is no reason to not buy the car is  what all these technicals discussions are and I think Geely will be good at that.

[au-yt]

What The...

Volvo's New Small EV Is Based On A Platform Shared With Polestar, Lotus And A London Taxi Company

https://jalopnik.com/volvos-new-small-ev-is-based-on-a-platform-shared-with-1845300345?utm_source=jalopnik_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020-10-07

[NedaSay]

What the what ?!

 

The SEA platform is the group newest electrified platform, it is going to underpin most thing EV Geely is going to produce. That does include Lotus upcoming SUV whose "clone" - dare I say - has been unveiled already: Lynk and Co Zero concept :

SEA is super scaleable, it is pretty much a skate with only one fixed point and all of Geely companies can play around it to make it fit their need as it is open source...  Volvo can have McPherson struts while Lotus can go double wishbones... It promises more than adequate range( 400miles) and performance using up to 3 electric motors depending on application.

http://zgh.com/media-center/news/20200923-1/?lang=en

SEA has been in development for 3 years and has benefited from R&D from Sweden (CEVT), passing by Germany and China (Geely R&D) to the UK (LEVC and Lotus)

Edited October 8, 2020 by NedaSay

[au-yt]

Very interesting but 400 mile range, really, sorry real world will be lucky to be 200, no one has the battery tech for that range unless its all battery and no people, cynical I may be but every road test on all the electric cars ever read manages manufactures claims, Tesla  3 come close.

[Bibs]

GREEN POWER DEAL SUPERCHARGES LOTUS' NET-ZERO AMBITIONS

 

(Hethel, UK – 8 October 2020) – Lotus and British Gas Business have embarked on a new green electricity deal, which sees the UK’s largest energy supplier provide renewable power to the sports car maker’s headquarters and supporting facilities.

The contract, which began on 1 October, is REGO-backed (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin), where the power is purchased from 100% renewable sources, ensuring the electricity used across Lotus’ UK sites is carbon neutral. As a flexible contract, Lotus can also develop its own renewable assets on sites to self-support its power needs and further its green credentials.

In May, Centrica (the parent company of British Gas) and Lotus announced a partnership to develop a new model for electric vehicle (EV) ownership that fully integrates future mobility and energy. Together, the companies aim to redefine and integrate the relationship between consumers, cars and electricity – controlled by smart devices at home and on the move – which will result in more efficient energy usage, carbon and cost savings.

The companies are also set to introduce a comprehensive sustainability programme across Lotus, leveraging innovative, low-carbon technologies and mitigating the impacts of key business operations from manufacturing through to sales and supporting functions.

“This is an exciting new partnership which has got off to a fast start with this new supply contract announced today. Green power supplies offer an efficient means to supercharge commercial sustainability, and there is much more to follow from Centrica and Lotus as we plot the carmaker’s course to zero carbon,” said Carl Bayliss, Vice President of Mobility at Centrica.    

“This is a huge first step for us in our commitment to becoming a 100% carbon neutral business. Next steps include working across our supply chain as part of our net-zero pledge, launching more zero-emissions vehicles as introduced with the Lotus Evija hypercar, and ensuring these vehicles are manufactured and distributed using the latest, sustainable technology and techniques,” said Uday Senapati, Lotus Cars’ Executive Director of Corporate Strategy and Product Management.

He added: “This is a step change and the start of an exciting journey for Lotus, which is not only about decarbonisation and environmental awareness, but also about making a significant, positive contribution to the customer journey. We will integrate cars, homes and mobile devices, making our model the most efficient, convenient and connected way to utilise energy.”

[Jason is Chasing]

Curious 

[au-yt]

The last comments by Chris Harris sum up I recon where the new Lotus should be, but i dough it...electrification is the end for now, of light weight.

video started just before his comment...

 

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

On 25/09/2020 at 10:08, scotty435 said:

A other test mule out testinghttps://www.autoevolution.com/news/2022-lotus-esprit-test-mule-spied-hiding-under-evora-body-panels-149194.html?fbclid=IwAR1jeQJbg6gpH6qcTSl841X3GHeoJ7qFtaJSMFHlTINYIimlyql83Y2LeQA

2022... is that the projected launch for the new Esprit? Can they please hurry up as I'm not getting any younger! 

[PAR]

Was supposed to be presented this year but now moved to next year and first car delivery may be 2022.

I am still intrigued by this wider car on the picture. I assume it means the architecture of the car won’t be as close as to the Evora as what some people thought. I suspect they will try to have an more balance weight between the front and the back.

[Jason is Chasing]

Wow that's a big statement,  a ban on petrol cars in 2030 for the UK?!?!  Oh my