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Lots of electric cars that are fun to drive, built to glide down a road like a swan on a river. Of course, just like the manic splash of the swan, there’s plenty of hardware and software in the background to maintain that serenity. But the feeling can be so soporific that we end up longing for the day when total autonomy comes to put us out of our misery.
Unless, of course, you’re driving a new Lotus.
You see, when you drive an electric Lotus, you get a sense of cognitive whiplash that you don’t occasionally experience on those days. Electric cars are fast and have a lot of torque thanks to their electric motors, but they rarely have anything like it. a personality. But even when you’re driving their new two-ton SUV, you can cruise around a race track as if you were driving a go-kart. It’s this outdated electrical intelligence and handling unit that Lotus hopes the embattled automaker will regain its former glory.
Lotus
If you’re not a car enthusiast, I wouldn’t blame you for not knowing that Lotus has a huge role in production and that F1 (the focus is on it) is guilty of many of the inventions that have shaped the way we build, drive and “We’re talking about [having] that pioneering, rebellious spirit,” says Mike Johnstone, Lotus’ new vice president of advertising operations. For more than 75 years, Lotus has been a left-wing automaker, with consumers needing anything that “isn’t necessarily compatible with the prestige quo. “
Lotus is a well-known company and proud of its special features. It was founded specifically in the Norfolk countryside, a hundred miles or more from the rest of the British automotive industry. This is idiosyncratic co-founder Colin Chapman (pictured above), whose standout mantra was to “simplify, then add lightness. “These are idiosyncratic technical innovations, such as monocoque bodies, floor-effect aerodynamics, and the early use of carbon fiber. Their cars’ idiosyncratic obsession with better handling and speed than comfort.
It would be impolite to mention the idiosyncratic monetary relationship between Chapman and John DeLorean that would lead to the latter’s downfall.
It was this idiosyncratic reputation that made it an appeal to pop culture personalities looking to stand out from the crowd. Patrick McGoohan chose a Lotus Seven to be the Prisoner’s car in 1996 because it had a “rebellious feel”. Mrs. Peel drove a Lotus Elan, while James Bond drove a Lotus Spirit underwater in The Spy Who Loved Me and a Turbo Esprit in For Your Eyes Only. And Richard Gere was driving a Lotus Esprit in Pretty Woman because Porsche and Ferrari, questioned first, quibbled on the subject of the film. I doubt Lotus has ever uttered the word “brand safety” with an honest face.
Since Chapman’s death in the early 1980s, Lotus has become synonymous with stagnation, passed down from parent company to company. Its range of styles suffered: it sold the Elise from 1996 to 2021, while the Exige was in production from 2000 to 2021. The newest car before Geely was the Evora, and its 12-year lifespan made it the youngest and most up-to-date car on the market. All three were discontinued in 2021 when the Emira debuted as the company’s last gas-powered car.
Lotus was kept alive by its small but passionate fan base, which included several automotive executives. But while demand for their own cars waned, the rest of the industry continued to rely on their expertise to keep the cars running smoothly. Fingerprints can be noticed on many prestigious cars, from the DeLorean DMC12 to the Aston Martin DB9 and even Sinclair’s C5. Most importantly, Tesla’s first roadster evolved on the Lotus platform, with the first series of cars built at its base in Hethel, England. .
In 2017, Geely, the Chinese electric vehicle giant that owns Volvo and Polestar, bought a 51% stake in the company. In recent years, it has taken large sums of money to propel the company into the 21st century. The queue was emptied, the headquarters was reorganized, and a new electric-only facility was built in China. I was able to stop at the company’s plant in Hethel to see the culmination of this investment, but also to check the driving of all the new vehicles. The style that’s making headlines Of course, it’s the Evija, the company’s $3 million, all-electric hypercar.
The Evija
Emeya, Eletre, Emira, Evija, Evora, Exige, Elise, Elan, Spirit: it’s a tradition, or something like that, that all lotuses have incomprehensible Latin false names that begin with an E. The Evija will be passed down in your memory as the company’s hypercar, of which only 130 will be made. One of the first belongs to former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button, wearing a Brawn GP paint in honour of his 2009 victory.
Lotus has chosen to place a series of devices in the centre of the car, behind the two seats, to maintain this weight distribution at the centre point of the engine. The bodywork is made of a single piece of carbon fiber, and it is obvious to everyone that this is first and foremost a racing car, with a Lamborghini style. To save weight, there’s little soundproofing, so you can hear the roar of gears and the road as you cut through the air. Stand Off and listen as the powertrain spins to power the 500W 4-wheel-mounted motors.
What comes out on the other side is blistering acceleration and enough G-force to make you feel your lunch moving from one side of your abdomen to the other. Yes, other EVs can go fast and some ramp up ridiculously fast, but the Evija plays in other waters. For car enthusiasts, Lotus has been synonymous with fast driving dynamics and slightly mediocre reliability. But the Evija feels mature, solid, solid, and able to harness all the natural roar that only an electric motor can provide.
I’d go so far as to say that the Evija is terrifying, especially when Karl Eaton, one of those responsible for the vehicle, took me around the track in one. He waited until the car reached 201 miles per hour to begin explaining all the details to me. Possible options incorporated into your design. I didn’t forget much of what he said at the time since he sought to maintain all the fluids in my body.
El Eletre and Emeya
Of course, the Evija is Lotus’ flagship as a luxury EV maker that stands out from the crowd. It’s unlikely that it has a few million of them, but its lifestyle will make you aware of the relatively more affordable features in its range. The Eletre is the first true Lotus EV, priced at around $100,000 and again, a little out of the ordinary. While Lotus prides itself on making fast, mid-engined sports cars, this is a two-ton SUV that proves to perform just as well on a race track as its E-named predecessors.
On my first few laps, I drove the Eletre like a high-sided SUV, that is, smoothly. After all, I didn’t want to leave this thing behind when I wished I could save 3 years’ worth of paychecks just for the chance to take a look. in the sales brochure. My co-driver kept pushing me to overtake harder and despite everything I did, I realised that Lotus had done something incredible. It’s a car that you can launch on a track and feel like Lewis Hamilton, and then bring his home without missing a beat.
The Eletre is out now, but we probably don’t want to wait a decade to see what sequel Lotus has planned. Next on the list is the Emeya, a luxury hyper-grand tourer founded on the same platform as the Eletre. See the common design language and focus on active aerodynamics in the frame to help cars get closer in corners. There are gaps and air vents around the frame to help push air past the cabin and keep all four wheels planted on the road.
When it comes to interiors, Lotus is a company that historically eschews second-hand retail outlets such as convenience and ease of use. After all, those elements don’t do with Chapman’s mantra of simplifying and adding lightness. But Eletre and Emeya have gloriously nothing Chapmanesque cabins, replete with sumptuous fabrics and physical dials and switches more reminiscent of a high-end camera. When you look at the price and see that the sumptuous excesses of this style charge the same as a Tesla Model X, it gives the impression that the current ones want to do it much faster.
The Spirit of the Lotus
It can be simply said that Lotus is just a badge under which Geely can place the parts it uses elsewhere. But Mike Johnstone said the parent company has no interest in diluting what makes Lotus Lotus. “More than 99% of all our progress is done ‘Ourselves,’ Johnstone said, “where we get advantages [from being owned through Geely] is on a source chain. “
Much has been made of the role that Lotus plays in the automotive firmament in the new global electric vehicle. Colin Chapman’s stated principles were to simplify and increase lightness. Aren’t bulky electric vehicles, without their gasoline engines, an insult to your memory?Luckily, all I had to do was cross the street bordering Lotus’ headquarters in Hethel and ask an expert: Chapman’s son, Clive (pictured, left). Clive is the boss of Classic Team Lotus, a traditional logo that drives the company forward. Old petrol F1 cars. Despite the usual call and proximity, there is no monetary relationship between Lotus and the Classic team.
Clive gave me a tour of the facility, which houses those vintage F1 cars and competes them in historic events, such as the historic Monaco Grand Prix. If you own one percent of an older Lotus, you can also submit it here to have it. restored by specialists. On the top floor there is a collection of antique lotuses of all kinds. It is a rare and enchanting sight to behold. I asked Clive what his father would think about going electric. “Dad was never sentimental,” the young Chapman said, pointing me to an immaculate Lotus 56 from the collection. He explained that his father was never attached to any generation or philosophy, despite what some Lotus enthusiasts might claim. After all, the Lotus 56 was equipped with a fuel turbine engine that is more noticeable in aircraft than vehicles, but Colin Chapman was very interested in the speed merit it can also have. Offered.
It turns out that what Colin Chapman cared about at the time was the same thing that matters to Lotus today: advancing automotive design, but the method was uncommon. Before testing one of Lotus’ electric vehicles at their test track, I tested the Emira (petrol) and used it as a reference. I expected the following cars to pale in comparison to the last “real” Lotus made at Hethel. And yet, the new cars, despite their batteries and electric motors, are still just as agile and full of life as ever. This is, I suppose, the explanation for why Lotus has a clever chance of status in the new world, as it has enough uncompromising spirit left to stand out from the crowd and ensure that, for those who wish to will still be able to feel hooked to their car.