Lotus powersliding into the hybrid car market

If you want to make a car handle -- and handle well -- you call Lotus. Just ask Tesla; without the help of the gearheads in Hethel, the US's hottest electric vehicle would probably still be just a concept. Perhaps dissatisfied with the relatively minimal PR love it's been receiving from the Tesla relationship, Lotus has announced plans to develop its own battery-powered car. However, unlike the all-electric Roadster, this new offering will include a Volt-like supplementary fuel-burning engine to add a bit more range and, one would figure, rather a lot more mass. That's not exactly good news for those who worship the Lotus mantra of "to add speed, add lightness," but at this point we don't have any idea about what the thing will weigh, cost, or indeed look like. If all goes according to plan we should get some answers when those international automotive powerhouses who are still alive bum a ride to the Geneva Auto Show in March.

[Via Autoblog]

[(01) @ Jan 2nd 2009 9:35PM]

Sweet. I, for one, am looking forward to the high end sports car take on green.

[conor @ Jan 2nd 2009 9:43PM]

Say, wasn't this on autoblog?

[bill cant fart @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:11PM]

Nope. that "[Via Autoblog]" at the end of the post doesn't exist.

[paul34 @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:15PM]

This is the kind of competition that benefits us all.

Now, please excuse me while I wait for my cold fusion powered bicycle.

[loosely_coupled @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:15PM]

"...unlike the all-electric Roadster, this new offering will include a Volt-like supplementary fuel-burning engine to add a bit more range and, one would figure, rather a lot more mass."

A "bit" more range? How about it actually makes the car a lot more viable to those other than rich car collectors who will hardly ever drive it... Even if it has a relatively large Lith-Ion pack, it's unlikely to get more than 60-100 miles per charge. For most people who's daily driver is the only car they own, All-electric is a pipe dream until cars have supercapacitors or some other exotic power storage that lasts 200 miles, charge in

[Oh_Shite @ Jan 3rd 2009 3:47PM]

Im sorry but most people I know dont drive 200 miles a day.When I lived in Florida I did 80 on school days tops. When I moved to Hawaii I was doing maybe 10 and now that I live in the Bay Area I do 25 max. 200 miles a day is not necessary for most people and for those people there will be extended range options. After getting back from the Uk this week I am wishing for better mass transit so I can dump the car altogether.

[Pedobear @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:17PM]

Pretty much shameless self (in-network) promotion.

[spinoza @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:19PM]

How is this any different than the Dodge EV? Just different badging?
http://jalopnik.com/5094636/dodge-ev-360-degrees

[Major4Play @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:04PM]

So Dodge paid Lotus for another clone of an Elise. Unless you are suggesting Lotus ripped Dodge ? Like anyone outside of America would want to copy an american car design, you guys are in the stone age !

[charliex @ Jan 3rd 2009 1:17AM]

dodge ev is based on the europa, not the elise.

[John McDole @ Jan 3rd 2009 11:13AM]

Because the dodge EV is only an electric vehicle and not an REEV. Hence the "volt like" comment.

[Bryan @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:31PM]

The Elise is one of the hottest cars on the road today.

Isn't there an E89 Elise out? I swear I saw pics at some point. An EV Elise would make my life- well and the 100k to buy one.

[Lotus Elise Blog @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:55PM]

I still think Lotus has some of the best engineers in the industry, they've helped a lot with the Tesla development & others so their own car should have some superiority.

http://www.lotuseliseblog.com

[Major4Play @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:05PM]

They were founded in 1952, they have not done too badly so far.

[Charlie Taylor @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:11PM]

the phrase is "Simplily, then add lightness." It was said by Colin Chapman, Lotus' founder.

[Wormbolt @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:16PM]

Simplily? How cryptic of him.

[VMax @ Jan 3rd 2009 4:12AM]

No, the phrase is "Simplicate, and add lightness".

[knocks21 @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:19PM]

loosely_coupled: did you fail first-grade math? How does Tesla Roadster's 244 miles per charge not add up to at least 200?

[c_fmills @ Jan 5th 2009 5:10PM]

When BBC's Top Gear tested the Tesla, they got 54 miles per charge...

[paul34 @ Jan 3rd 2009 3:34PM]

c_fmills, if you also watched the rest of the segment, or even just paid attention to the part you DID watch, you'd note that it was being driven on a track... not just by anyway, but by Jeremy. Of course it'll only get 50ish miles range, as its being wrung out. I bet you would also be surprised to know that your truck is only going to get 4 MPG when you floor it all the time.

He later estimate that under normal driving, it would be around 150 miles - however, that was an estimate, and Top Gear never actually tested them until actual failure due to battery. The scene where they were pushing the car into the hangar was actually because they are not allowed to drive anything into the hangar, and must push it in. It wasn't dead when they filmed that.

I'm not necessarily defending the roadster, but I am attacking your massive ignorance, c_fmills.

[z-man @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:43PM]

I'll take my plasma powered horse, thankyouverymuch

[Ben M. @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:50PM]

I

[Nicholas @ Jan 3rd 2009 1:09AM]

Lotus is developing a small car as well as their 2+2. All are light and should be quite ready for electrification. I was never quite sure what Tesla brought to the equation, but YMMV.

[charliex @ Jan 3rd 2009 1:20AM]

no, its a concept vehicle, there are two versions the biofuel e85 e265 and the trifuel e270, no plans for production that i've heard of.

[charliex @ Jan 3rd 2009 1:22AM]

whoops meant to reply to bryan.

[pablo_paul @ Jan 3rd 2009 5:03AM]

Top gear had a Tesla on round the track it didn't do to well. The problem being you have to drive the car like a Nun to get anywhere near the range Tesla say you'll get, in fact they had two cars.

Anyway where is all this spare generating capacity we'll need to power all of these electric cars, Maybe you could send some to the UK?

[engadget.mlc @ Jan 3rd 2009 5:08AM]

The Tesla *did* tie with the 911 GT3 for lap time, which is nothing to sneeze at.

What I can't figure out is how people could expect a high-efficiency optimal-RPM power-generation engine coupled to a small set of batteries (or ultracaps) to be heavier than a charge-it-and-go electric. That's just stupid talk.

Oh.. right.. engadget...

[sean @ Jan 3rd 2009 1:02PM]

Actually I'd imagine a small ICE engine would weigh a lot less than the huge bank of battery packs the Tesla is carrying around. The Tesla has 1000lbs of batteries, so if you can halve that by adding a 130lb ICE, you're already way ahead. Plus you're no longer tethered to your home socket for range--you can actually drive the thing from LA-SF like a normal car.

[Dan Fruzzetti @ Jan 4th 2009 5:44PM]

Late entry or not, seconded. The amount of ICE required to power those kind of batteries is not much, and even then you're going to be more concerned with volume than you are with mass; carrying around full fuel tanks means carrying the capacity for a longer range (which you won't need anyway), while carrying around empty fuel tanks means carrying around less storage space.

If only we could modularize it; let me choose whether to carry the ICE or have more storage space today, and figure out a way I can vary the shape and capacity of my liquid fuel tank for more storage space tomorrow.

[joe @ Jan 3rd 2009 7:10PM]

"I am attacking your massive ignorance, c_fmills."

Your attacking his "massive ignorance" for stating a fact that was said on Top Gear?

chill out dude

[Zero X Owner @ Jan 5th 2009 4:01PM]

@ loosely_coupled

My daily driver already is a fully street legal (kitted) registered all electric vehicle with high performance characteristics. My daily commute is 26 miles. So I guess that makes you ... completely, unambiguously wrong. Go back to your own pipe dream, while the rest of us continue the real world market penetration of electric drive vehicles, many of which are already lifetime less expensive than their gas counterparts.

[joe @ Jan 7th 2009 10:31AM]

lightliness is next to godliness was phrase i thought it was.

i know, geeky nit-pickery