RE: Lotus unveils 2000hp, £2m Evija

[biggbn]

donkmeister said:

Is it 2000hp (title) or 2000kW (article)? The latter is nearer 2700bhp.

Beautiful car, but I'm perplexed why they are talking 0-60 times when 0-100 or 0-200mph or 1/4-mile would be far more appropriate metrics for such tyre-shredding power.

0-60 less than 3 seconds
0-124 6 seconds
0-186 9 seconds.

Sounds brutal.

[kambites]

FWIW said:

I think it’s HIGHLY likely that a new Esprit (or any other new Lotus) will borrow from the Volvo range of hybrids - the 400bhp T8 kit for example.

I guess we'll have to wait and see who's right. I could see the Elise being shifted over to some Volvo unit as a transitional move but IMO it would be utter madness to build a new model with an internal combustion engine now.

[B10]

Looks good and hope they do a range of colours.

[tankplanker]

FWIW said:

I think it’s HIGHLY likely that a new Esprit (or any other new Lotus) will borrow from the Volvo range of hybrids - the 400bhp T8 kit for example.

I would put money on them to have the Polestar version of that from the Polestar 1, which makes 592 BHP. I can see a version of that in the ~£150k car, with a similar carbon tub to the Polestar 1.

[Cold]

kambites said:

I guess we'll have to wait and see who's right. I could see the Elise being shifted over to some Volvo unit as a transitional move but IMO it would be utter madness to build a new model with an internal combustion engine now.

Battery cars haven't taken over just yet - and won't for a number of years.

[otolith]

kambites said:

FWIW said:

I think it’s HIGHLY likely that a new Esprit (or any other new Lotus) will borrow from the Volvo range of hybrids - the 400bhp T8 kit for example.

I guess we'll have to wait and see who's right. I could see the Elise being shifted over to some Volvo unit as a transitional move but IMO it would be utter madness to build a new model with an internal combustion engine now.

I suppose a forced induction four pot is traditional for an Esprit, but then it's also traditional for buyers to be sniffy about it.

[RumbleOfThunder]

biggbn said:

donkmeister said:

Is it 2000hp (title) or 2000kW (article)? The latter is nearer 2700bhp.

Beautiful car, but I'm perplexed why they are talking 0-60 times when 0-100 or 0-200mph or 1/4-mile would be far more appropriate metrics for such tyre-shredding power.

0-60 less than 3 seconds
0-124 6 seconds
0-186 9 seconds.

Sounds brutal.

I didn't quite appreciate those numbers as I don't have any in built references. The Chiron does 0-186 in 13 seconds. . I suspect even with the use of its gearboxes, the Evija excels in that "EV" window and runs out of puff quite dramatically, whereas a Chiron or Agera will motor on to 250+ with relative ease.

[kambites]

Cold said:

kambites said:

I guess we'll have to wait and see who's right. I could see the Elise being shifted over to some Volvo unit as a transitional move but IMO it would be utter madness to build a new model with an internal combustion engine now.

Battery cars haven't taken over just yet - and won't for a number of years.

Agreed, but I still think they'd be utterly crazy to release an ICE powered car unless there'a a major change in the direction taken by the Chinese automotive industry.

[Benbay001]

800kw charging?

800000W / 240V = 3000A

Thats a HUGGEE amount of current.

The average amount house has a 100A supply.

You would need your own substation (probably not your biggest concern if youve just spent £2m on a car..)

[kambites]

I don't think anyone is suggesting 800kw charging at home!

[olliep82]

I don't post often (or really at all) but I feel compelled to put in a pennies worth here.

Obviously an opinion is like an assh@le, but surely a British brand as steeped in history for being innovative and forward thinking as Lotus is, that has created a car that is stunning in both shape and stats, should be celebrated shouldn't it?
Especially considering that it was on its knees (again) not so long ago.

Yes, an Elise/Exige replacement is long overdue, and yes the Esprit should have been replaced when we got the Evora instead, blah blah blah. It seems as though some people who profess to be true car enthusiasts on here will never ever be happy.
But yesterday, for me, someone who loves cars and has a particular soft spot for what Lotus do, was actually exciting.

It may be £2 million and totally unattainable for most here (maybe that's the root of the bitterness?) but as a beacon for a brand now seemingly looking forwards again, its surely something priceless.

[CABC]

kambites said:

I'm pretty sure Geely have absolutely zero interest in "appealing to Lotus's core customer base", nor do they appear to have any interest in whether Lotus makes a profit in the near future. They appear to be gearing up Lotus to become in the Chinese market what Porsche are in the European one; probably with the eventual aim of then pushing back into Europe, but Europe is very much not their primary concern at the moment.

Karl, i admire your tenacity in trying to educate old grumps on the internet!

Anyway, when it comes to future tech i always recall words of wisdom i heard before the dotcom crash: People overestimate what will happen in the next 2 years, but underestimate what will happen in the next 10.
in the case of dotcom promises that was true. By 2010 we we surfing, booking and buying on things called iPhones, whereas in 2000 we had SMS, or at best the Nokia 7110 with its thumbwheel!

Edited by CABC on Wednesday 17th July 11:19

[FWIW]

kambites said:

I guess we'll have to wait and see who's right. I could see the Elise being shifted over to some Volvo unit as a transitional move but IMO it would be utter madness to build a new model with an internal combustion engine now.

I'm just going by what the Marketing Director told me when I was at Hethel last September. Position could have changed since then, but the fleet of T8 XC90s in the car park makes sense...

[FWIW]

tankplanker said:

would put money on them to have the Polestar version of that from the Polestar 1, which makes 592 BHP. I can see a version of that in the ~£150k car, with a similar carbon tub to the Polestar 1.

Aye, stands to reason.

[FWIW]

Benbay001 said:

800kw charging?

800000W / 240V = 3000A

Thats a HUGGEE amount of current.

The average amount house has a 100A supply.

You would need your own substation (probably not your biggest concern if youve just spent £2m on a car..)

This is quite interesting. You could have a battery bank which is trickle charged using existing supply (and topped up with solar panels) - charging is then from the battery rather than existing supply. Let me know if you want one, I can supply

[Porsche911R]

kambites said:

I don't think anyone is suggesting 800kw charging at home!

I doubt you will even get the 350KW for home either though. we 1 have in the UK and only 40 planned.

what's the home top end ones 50kw. or is that still not possible.

SF90 really does win here for £500k.

Hybrids are todays and the next 5 years cars, not electric.

[otolith]

FWIW said:

This is quite interesting. You could have a battery bank which is trickle charged using existing supply (and topped up with solar panels) - charging is then from the battery rather than existing supply. Let me know if you want one, I can supply

And there are currently commercial fast chargers with battery buffering - wouldn't be surprised to see people who can afford a 2m hypercar putting one in their garage.

[kambites]

FWIW said:

kambites said:

I guess we'll have to wait and see who's right. I could see the Elise being shifted over to some Volvo unit as a transitional move but IMO it would be utter madness to build a new model with an internal combustion engine now.

I'm just going by what the Marketing Director told me when I was at Hethel last September. Position could have changed since then, but the fleet of T8 XC90s in the car park makes sense...

Perhaps my mistake is in thinking that Lotus would do anything remotely sensible.

[Macboy]

FWIW said:

I'm just going by what the Marketing Director told me when I was at Hethel last September. Position could have changed since then, but the fleet of T8 XC90s in the car park makes sense...

Yes but he and ever other member of the senior management team are gone and with a new CEO and a new strategic plan, all bets are off when it comes to plans they were working from in 2018.

[simonrockman]

Abridged thoughts.

1. The front looks good, the back looks amazing.
2. There is a political head of steam for the UK to build a battery gigafactory
3. This is the halo model for when Lotos launches the long-promised China-built SUV