Electric avenue
And away from the racetrack, Lotus’s sports car range prepares to go fully BEV in a joint venture with Alpine
ITS LE MANS ASPIRATIONS MAY BE some years away from becoming reality, but Lotus has confirmed that in the meantime it will not only replace its entire current sports car range, and work with Alpine on the project, but the process will start later this year with the Type 131 (see evo 278) beginning prototype production.
This show of strength will be delivered by a new managing director, Matt Windle, who has moved from his role as executive director of Lotus Engineering to take over from current Lotus Cars MD Phil Popham as the company continues to expand under its Vision80 strategy.
Even for Lotus, with the backing afforded it by parent company Geely, this is no small undertaking. Under the terms of its agreement with Alpine, Lotus will develop a new scaleable platform that both companies will use to build electric sports cars, with the French manufacturer replacing its A110 and the British firm launching two new models to replace its current Elise, Exige and Evora line-up, which will cease production in 2021 and be marked with five special editions (two Elises, and three Exige models). While Lotus will lead the design, development and engineering of the platform, Alpine will provide the project with scale as the French firm embarks on its own transformation to an electric sports car brand under CEO Luca de Meo’s plans.
Both parties will also work together on electric powertrains, with Lotus drawing on its learnings from the Evija hypercar project (pictured) and Alpine tapping into the resource of Renault’s electrification experience in small, compact vehicles.
The two new electric Lotus models will cost between £60,000 and £85,000. Before these arrive, the Type 131, a mid-engined hybrid V6 supercar aimed at undercutting the 911 and following on where the Esprit left off in 2004, and built on a modified Evija platform, is expected to the be the last internal combustion engined Lotus.
‘TWO ELECTRIC ZXZXZXCERIBUS. MODELS WILL E PER RE E PLC A O CENT EH C EU P CURRENT A EL TI USER, E EX VIE G RE EA P NED LE IV TO ARAB LINE-UP’ IPICTA