Extended-range sports car at the electronic vanguard
By Marc Lachapelle

Lotus is back in F1 this year and Colin Chapman’s philosophy lives on in the cars designed by Group Lotus, owned by Malaysian carmaker Proton. In Geneva, Lotus Engineering unveiled the Evora 414E Hybrid, a concept that embodies its core principles: lightweight construction, efficiency, leading-edge electronics and exceptional dynamics.

Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid concept

Based on the new 2+2 sports car that will be coming to North America this year, the Evora 414E Hybrid is named for the 414 horsepower (in PS, the German measure) produced by its innovative plug-in and extended-range hybrid powertrain. This equates to 408 SAE horsepower and Lotus says its hybrid sports car can sprint to 100 km/h in about 4 seconds. About as quick as a supercar or the all-electric Tesla roadster, largely built at Lotus cars, by the way.

Each of the 414E Hybrid’s rear wheels is driven by an electric motor that produces 204 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. By modulating the output to each wheel individually Lotus uses ‘torque-vectoring’ to define the car’s handling. The system should finely control understeer and oversteer, prevent slides as would a conventional yaw control system and enhance high-speed stability. Agility and turn-in are also improved beyond steering input by accelerating the outside driven wheel a touch more. (more…)