Lotus unveils new electric sports car concept
Lotus has unveiled a new electric car concept called Theory 1, a lightweight electric sports car inspired by the Lotus Esprit with a power of up to 1,000 horsepower and capable of reaching speeds of 320 km/h.
The company says the new electric sports car concept embodies the future of intelligent high-performance vehicles.
Lotus is the company that created the lightweight car on which the original Tesla Roadster was based, the car that started the era of modern electric cars.
Lotus has entered the electric car space on its own, with the $2 million Evija hypercar, the consumer-oriented Eletre and the Emeya Hyper-GT.
The 1 Theory features Lotus' new Lotuswear interior design, which provides an immersive and personal driving experience.
The car physically adapts to the driver and passengers, making the seats more comfortable and communicating with lights and haptic feedback that might tell you when to turn, for example.
The interior materials are lightweight textiles built with MotorSkins that use inflatable capsules in the seats and steering wheel that adapt dynamically while driving.
The Lotuswear design also embodies all the other modern hardware and software components of the car, including an OLED display, synthetic speed sounds, interior noise cancellation, and immersive sound.
The new Lotus is also capable of Level 4 autonomous driving with autonomous driving hardware including four lidar sensors and six high-resolution cameras, in addition to the Nvidia Drive computing platform for real-time data processing.
The car features wire steering with an electric range of 400 km, produces approximately 986 horsepower, has a top speed of 320 km/h, and accelerates from 0 km/h to 100 km/h in less than 2.5 seconds.
Power comes from a 70kWh battery with a range of 400km. Lotus promises to bring exceptional driving dynamics to this car, through methods such as mounting the rear wing directly to the suspension assembly.
The most striking part of the Theory 1's driver experience is its three-seat layout, with the driver sitting in the middle of the car, similar to the famous McLaren F1.
Lotus has not set a production date for the Theory 1, but it is expected to serve as a platform for research and development.
Geely, the automaker's parent company, is working to reinvent Lotus for the electric age, and has a few electric cars in the pipeline, such as the Emeya.
The Theory 1 concept shows that the British carmaker still believes in lightweight sports cars.