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Lotus working on range-extending electric vehicle

 
1 1,771 views Jan 2, 2009
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The next Esprit is expected to be built around an Evora chassis but with a V8 powerplant

The next Esprit is expected to be built around an Evora chassis but with a V8 powerplant

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Lotus is working on an electric sports car to battle the likes of Tesla's Roadster and Fisker's Karma. According to its CEO, Michael Kimberley, the company is already "working on the technologies that will go behind" the electric Lotus, and that consumers should not be "surprised to see an electric Lotus shortly".

The news comes following the recent unveiling of the Lotus Evora four-seater, for which there is already a long list of celebrities showing interest. The Evora and the new electric Lotus are part of an extended push to expand Lotus' model range and increase the breadth of its sales, and the company has invested around £60 million ($88 million) to develop technologies that will improve the overall efficiency of its range, reports the Financial Times.

The new electric Lotus will use a petrol-powered generator to charge its batteries on the move, and with this technology in place the car is expected to be able to travel around 300 to 400 miles per tank of fuel. Lotus is co-operating with an unnamed major automotive manufacturer to help develop certain parts for its upcoming electric vehicle, including the range-extending technology, and while the electric-only range for the vehicle still remains uncertain, similar technology in GM's Volt yields a 40 mile electric-only range.

Interestingly, Tesla Motors currently contracts Lotus to assemble the bodies for its Roadster, but when Lotus begins production of its electric sports car it will be aiming squarely at cars such as the Tesla Roadster.



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Comment (1)

  1. ma_LisaV avatar LisaV Posted: 1/3/2009 1:41am PST

    I think Lotus is the perfect Company, purrrfectly situated to be doing this. Would it be so wrong to work with Pininfarina for the 4 door?
     
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