Lotus is working on an electric sports car for launch in 2027, but the automaker may push the launch back until EV technology, and in particular batteries, advance enough to ensure the car can deliver the lightweight ethos of gas-powered Lotus sports cars like the original Elise.
In an interview with Autocar published on Tuesday, Lotus design boss Ben Payne said the technology at present “does not really allow you to recreate that product in a convincing way.”
Although he didn't say the car, which is code-named the Type 135, would be delayed, he also said in the interview that the business case would also need to make sense.
EV demand isn't growing as much as many automakers had expected. Lotus last year predicted sales to grow to 26,000 units in 2024, though the automaker is well off that mark with only 2,194 cars delivered in the first quarter of the year, and less than half of those deliveries were EVs.
2021 Lotus Elise Sport 240 Final Edition
Lotus was originally developing the Type 135 together with an electric successor to Alpine's A110, though the two automakers went their separate ways last year.
Lotus even showed the platform it planned for the Type 135 as early as 2021, which the automaker referred to as the E-Sports platform. Lotus announced at the platform's reveal a base configuration with a 66.4-kwh battery, a 469-hp rear-mounted motor, and a short wheelbase with seating for two. A more potent configuration with a 99.6-kwh battery and a dual-motor powertrain good for at least 871 hp was also announced.
In his interview, Payne said solid-state batteries could be key to Lotus getting an electric sports car to be similar in size and weight to one of its gas-powered models, though he didn't mention whether there are plans to use the technology.
