Lotus' last combustion-engined sports car incoming

[scott_e]

"and while the new sports car isn't named"
So does that mean its not an Elise S4 its something new ?

"last combustion-engined model".
Yup , got that news already.

"inspiration from the Evija"
A good thing in my book

"and be priced between £55,000 and £100,000."
ah ok , I am apparently saving for an Exige v6 then ....

50K Elise has been mocked enough on this forums so 100k Elise is pretty darn unlikely

"we're told to expect the car late this year or early next".


https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-bri ... ming/42290

[IanD]

Before that, some Elise special editions released today

https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/range/e ... -editions/

[scott_e]

Aye , spotted that too. I like the look but not the seats. The carbon seats in the 250 and 380 look better IMO.

Guess that means the next Elise will be all electric.

[scott_e]

In-fact , an all electric Elise would probably be around the 55K + mark based on the price inflation on electric models of existing petrol models ... well it aint gonna be any cheaper that is for sure ....

[campbell]

It’s where Tesla started, after all. It would make lots of sense

[Corranga]

It’s where Tesla started, after all. It would make lots of sense

A few years too late mind...

[hendeg]

Looks live EV (and more than just the Evija) is definitely a big part of the strategy.

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/lotus- ... otus/42393

[scott_e]

Didnt seem worth a new thread , another special edition (not the new model yet):

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-bri ... ched/42638

[DJ]

A thread announcing the 'special editions' could quickly become very long! Surely there can only be a finite number of paint jobs and seat embroideries they can do.

[scott_e]

A thread announcing the 'special editions' could quickly become very long! Surely there can only be a finite number of paint jobs and seat embroideries they can do.

would be well documented for future generations on the plus side.

[rawsco]

I’m hoping whatever this is is A: good and 3: arrives just the right time for getting out the M4. If not it’ll be an Exige 410 or something

[robin]

In-fact , an all electric Elise would probably be around the 55K + mark based on the price inflation on electric models of existing petrol models ... well it aint gonna be any cheaper that is for sure ....

I am not convinced about the price inflation. Battery and EV drive train prices are coming down in price quite quickly whilst the cost of the bought in ICE drive train only ever goes up (the engines get more complex with more moving parts and more stuff for emissions control). I mean Lotus won't make a cheap one, but that's more to do with volumes than cost of goods

It is pretty tough to make a light weight battery car though, so Lotus's niche is going to be harder to keep going in EV territory. Even with reduced drive train weight it's pretty hard to hide 200-300kg of batteries, plus enclosures, etc. Even with the simplified drive train, the fuel and exhaust system all gone, you are still looking at +150kg I think. Less of a problem for Evora and Evija and what have you, but an Elise's only real claim to fame is that it still weighs very little.

I hope they prove me wrong though!

Cheers,
Robin

[rawsco]

Elise's only real claim to fame is that it still weighs very little.

But do they tho, modern cars are built with a huge focus on economy, keeping mass down is a large aspect of delivering this (less so for electric/hybrid). I looked at this in comparison to my Exige S2 vs Laura’s little Audi A1 a while back. Exige weighed in at 932kg (on paper) the little Audi ~1100kg for it’s config. The A1 was bigger had a steel bodyshell, 5 leather seats, Diesel engine, Plush interior, lots of tech many airbags and a good crash rating. The little A1 had an obvious focus on economy, my best was 77mpg Ayr to Falkirk. But it also drove well and had that light weight feel, it was a lovely little car. Has perhaps the lotus weight advantage been commoditised by better modern engineering? Is the lotus low weight thing more a function of their size and lack of features over actual engineering these days?

[campbell]

Interesting experiences, Ross. Never driven an A1 so can’t really compare.

Our MINI Cooper R53 was a hoot and prob similar weight to the A1? But it was no Elise. Albeit mine really was sub-800kg unladen so that’s a 300kg or nearly 40% upswing in mass when moving to the MINI.

Going to be an interesting decade whatever happens!

[robin]

I like to think that in the sports car bracket the lotus cars are the lightest cars that are still practical. Any less and you have to be hard core to drive them to/from the track.

That's their niche.

I can see a BEV Evora being a thing. It's mostly a GT car.

I cannot see a BEV Elise unless they make a deal with tesla for supercharging and even then who wants to do 50laps of Donnie followed by 30 mins at the supercharger?

Even if it had a 200 mile range (50kWh), that translates to 150 miles between charging stops, each of which would likely be 20+mins ... I think it would be hard going.

Our BEV does 300 miles on a full charge notionally, but at UK mway speeds that's more like 250 and then you usually only supercharge back up to 75% so actually you do about 200 miles between stops to optimise the total trip time. (Batteries charge fast up to about two thirds, then the charge rate tapers off, so you are better off using only the bottom 5..75% of the battery).

At 200 mile per stop, that's ok. Need a piss by then anyway but at 100 miles per stop it would be a pain.