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Lotus awaiting Evora 414E funds
Monday, August 23, 2010
Lotus is awaiting news of Technology Strategy Board funding for its Evora 414E range-extending hybrid.
If it gets the funding, it will build two prototypes; without it, there will only be one.
See pictures of the Evora 414E at the Geneva motor show
The concept was unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March and is based on the Lotus Evora platform.
Power for the Evora 414E is provided by a pair of electric motors – one located at each rear wheel – with a single-speed reduction transmission allowing torque vectoring between each unit. Each motor produces 204bhp or 207PS, which explains the 414 name.
The concept’s lithium ion batteries can be charged via a typical household plug or the car’s onboard generator – a 47bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder Lotus Range Extender petrol engine.
Lotus claims the car will be able to hit 0-60mph in less than 4.0sec and will travel up to 35 miles on all-electric power.
Read more about the Evora 414E
Lotus’s engineering division is also intensifying its research into the human-machine interface.
The company has recently reviewed its plans in that area, as well as in vehicle electronics and systems integration, not least because of the rise of electric and hybrid vehicle projects, such as the fuel cell taxi
Read more about the Fuel Cell Hybrid London taxi
A prototype Fuel Cell Hybrid London taxi was unveiled on 7 June this year and is the work of a consortium of companies, including Lotus Engineering.
London is looking to clean up its air quality, much polluted by diesel fumes from taxis and buses, and the taxi is one of its first steps in tackling the problem.
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