The Evija is set to become the first in the new breed of battery-electric cars from Lotus. Conventional wisdom says that Lotus is very likely to introduce more battery-electric cars such as the Lotus Evija into production very soon. The new one will be powered by advanced battery technology developed by Britishvolt. A new Lotus Type 132 will use batteries made by a pre-existing manufacturer.
The batteries for the new one will be manufactured in a new facility in Britain, both companies announced. Lotus is partnering with UK-based battery maker Britishvolt on the development of a new, high-performance sports car, the two companies announced today. Lotus, a UK-based automotive company, is set to unveil an electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) called the Type 312 Eletre tomorrow. During its UK-based livestream earlier today, Lotus Cars publically pulled off the sheets on its next hyper-SUV, the Lotus Eletre.
Lotus Cars is already touting the Eletre as the most connected Lotus car yet, but before getting to that, let us run through some performance specs shared. When it starts manufacturing later this year, the forthcoming hyper-SUV, the Lotus Eletre, will be Lotus Cars first five-door production car, and also its first electric-powered, plug-in-style electric car. According to Lotus, the upcoming Lotus Eletre hyper-SUV takes the heart and soul of its sports car, the Emira, and combines it with its fully-electric Evija hypercar, creating a brand-new hyper-SUV category. According to a press release from Lotus Cars following its unveiling event, the upcoming Lotus Eletre hyper-SUV will have all-wheel-drive, built on the companys new 800V Dedicated Electric Architecture, which includes over 100kWh battery.
The Type 132 Eletre will be UK-based Lotus first vehicle based on its new Lotus Premium Architecture electric platform. The new Type 132 Eletre electric SUV, designed by Lotus Technical Creative Centre Limited (LTCC) in Warwickshire, England, takes Lotuss fundamental principles and DNA of over 70 years of sportscar design and evolves it.
Eletre, meaning “coming alive”, is the first Lotus utilitarian and is a key player for the expected surge in demand for luxury, battery-electric SUVs. Lotus unveiled on Tuesday its – , a hyper-SUV with a battery-electric propulsion system called Eletre — the first in a three-vehicle EV lineup that Lotus plans to introduce in the next four years.
The Lotus SUV with an electric propulsion system shows that Lotus is also stepping up its sustainability game. As the first Lotus SUV and an EV, the new model heralds a significant point in our history, and is an explicit indication of our continuing ambition to change the way we do business, said Matt Windle, managing director at Lotus Cars.
In their lightweight EV architecture, Lotus has also defined its battery strategy for its first-generation electric vehicles. Last week, Lotus unveiled their Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture, or LEVA, a highly modular, changeable battery-electric architecture which will be the basis of the two forthcoming sports cars, and possibly the GT 2+2. For 2 seat sports cars, its Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture offers both wheelbase lengths, and small and large bays for holding batteries just outside the passenger compartment.
The batteries can go up in flames if they are hit, but considering that an EV is contained within a truck or a boat, impacts on vehicle and batteries would be significantly mitigated. Your electric car will be turned off for the duration of the vehicle transport process, meaning that shipping it is no more dangerous than a conventional vehicle. The storage capability of the Battery-Powered Car Transporter is comprised of four 225-kWh Lithium-Ion batteries.
Importantly, Lotus is not using a 2-speed transmission with the Evija, indicating any future Lotus sports cars powered by batteries-electricity will have no added weight from the transmission. If the weight of the battery pack and the electric motor(s) is near that of an internal combustion engine, its shifter, and its filled tank, then Lotus would have a sports car perhaps comparable to the Super Sports cars, weighing a little more than 3000 pounds.
Without doubt, EV companies view battery-powered vehicles as the future of global transportation. This is just the start for Lotus and the journey Lotus is taking towards electrification before 2028, so I am sure that we will see more fascinating technologies down the road. This strategy builds upon the earlier Lotus developments with their first fully electric hypercar, the 2000hp Evija.
The result is a hyper-SUV that is truly unlike anything else on the market; the electric drivetrain inspired the cabin-forward design, which mirrors the Lotus sports cars iconic mid-engined layout, creating a look and location unique in the SUV segment. Lotus has big hopes the Eletre will do for diminutive Lotus what the Porsche Cayenne did for Porsche – and although being electric may give it the appearance of being Teslas rival, it is an incredible departure. Lotus unveiled the cars four new architectures, tech roadmap, new global identity, and the namesake of its newest vehicle in a special virtual world meeting this week called “Driving Tomorrow”.
Lotus Cars UK sportscar manufacturer test and development team British sportscar manufacturer Lotus Cars opened this week on the companys fully electric hypercar, Evija, as it heads down the final stretch ahead of entering production months from now. In a separate statement to media outlets, the Lotus Design & Testing teams, led by Lotus Cars managing director Matt Winther, and the companys legendary Chief Test Driver Gavan Kershaw, had plenty to say about the Lotus Evija all-electric hypercar. Several media outlets were able to get test drives of the Lotus Evija prototypes in the companys Hethel UK HQ, and reported on prototypes that they drove that boasted only a total power output of 1600hp from four electric motors on the car, one motor per wheel.
