Lotus is shifting in the direction of an all-electric future, and understandably individuals are nervous concerning the British firm’s shifts to EVs. However after getting a take a look at the Lotus Concept 1 Idea in the present day, these considerations needs to be alleviated considerably, as they look like staying near their sportscar roots, whereas embracing the inevitable future.
And I’ve received to say, it’s fairly laborious to argue with a two-door sports activities automobile with 987 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and a goal weight of beneath 3,500 kilos with a 70.0-kilowatt-hour battery pack. One that can dash from 0-60 in simply 2.5 seconds, with a high pace of 200 mph. These are some fairly severe numbers.
Certain, it’s simple to dismiss the Concept 1 as simply one other idea that received’t see the sunshine of day, however truthfully it appears somewhat fleshed out, so possibly simply possibly some type of the Concept 1 will come to market sooner or later. We are able to solely hope, as Lotus actually wants a win.
“With Concept 1, we’ve constructed on the whole lot Lotus has achieved to this point in its 76-year historical past, to push the boundaries for what it means to drive a efficiency automobile. We need to exhibit that you simply don’t must compromise – with each digital and analogue capabilities working harmoniously sooner or later automobile. In doing this, we’re in a position to carry drivers the very best immersive driving expertise with uncooked emotion, performance and connectivity, on the core,” mentioned Ben Payne, Vice President of Design, Lotus Group.
Lotus has developed a proprietary sports activities automobile door system that permits all occupants with simple ‘step-in’ entry to the automobile with its reverse opening and wrap-over design. With this, Lotus has been in a position to obtain the smallest footprint it will probably with the doorways opened, permitting for sensible use of doorways even in slim areas. As an example, if a automobile is parked in a decent automobile park with a 2.4-meter area, the motive force will nonetheless be capable of get out and in of the automobile with ease. This has beforehand been a problem with related high-performance sports activities vehicles.
Moreover, Concept 1 is a three-seater sports activities automobile which has a central driving place, with a passenger on either side, nestled behind the motive force. Impressed by motorsports, the motive force’s seat in the midst of the automobile supplies the motive force with the very best visibility of the street forward, in addition to easy accessibility to all controls. It’s not in contrast to the seating setup within the iconic McLaren F1.
The within of the automobile construction has additionally been formed across the human physique, with seating built-in into the construction. Lotus has designed the automobile, to reply to the occupant’s physique. As an example, the steering wheel and pedals all transfer in the direction of the motive force. Lotus additionally developed its personal proprietary driver system referred to as LOTUSWEAR, which is an immersive system that goals to ship a customized expertise to each occupant within the automobile.
This options an adaptive mushy and light-weight robotic textile materials, seamlessly enabling the automobile to speak with the motive force and passengers and provide a extra intuitive and comfy in-car expertise. It does this by means of inflatable pods on the seating and steering wheel that can react in actual time to supply extra assist, grip, and refined prompts by way of haptic suggestions.
The automobile additionally options steer-by-wire, which allows precision and management at each flip and the power to regulate steering ratios, pace and really feel. That is designed to ship precision and the smoothest journey, additional enhancing driver confidence, and connecting them to the street.
Little question about it, the Lotus Concept 1 Idea is the sexiest EV I’ve ever seen, and it seems to have the efficiency to match that supercar styling, together with some actually futuristic options we haven’t seen earlier than in a automobile. Hopefully some somewhat well-heeled prospects come knocking at Lotus’ door and persuade them to make this stunner a actuality.
What do you consider the Lotus Concept 1 Idea?
