Nice, but seeing this car already at 1900lbs, there is NO way Lotus will achieve a sub 3300lbs EV Sportscar.
Do you think solid state batteries will become a reality? They seem to be a "holy grail" of sorts when it comes to density and safety.Thanks! At least here in the United States we are the only team that is racing door-to-door in electrified vehicles. Yes, these are custom designed from the ground up by a small shop called Entropy Racing. The cars really are amazing to drive and really fun and exciting. And believe me, Im a tough critic because one of my primary personal race cars is a lotus super seven series III that I vintage race! Not exactly anything like any kind of an EV race car ha ha! When we race these cars, we race them against all gas powered cars since there are no other EVs to race against. And we do more than hold our own most times!
On a down note right now, the sanctioning bodies starting this year are trying to apply an all EV ban on the race tracks in United States. The thinking is that the EV cars that are being produced today by manufacturers and that would try to go on a race track even in a drivers education situation almost all have the unsafe battery chemistry that can cause big fires that are hard to put out. So they are putting out a blanket ruling that basically just says no EVs no matter what. We have tried to appeal explaining that we run the LFP battery chemistry that is very safe, but they do not wish to change the blanket ruling for fear that there will be issues with people trying to sneak in with the unsafe battery chemistry. At this point , I think Entropy Racing is ready to throw in the towel which is very unfortunate. We have been racing here for nearly 10 years developing the cars and never had any issues.
Type 135 will likely have a 2025 reveal and was originally targeted for 2026 launch. Recent interviews seem to indicate it'll slip into 2027 launch, which could even mean 2028 for the US.
Yep, and maybe it'll look even better than the Emira. Late 2021 when there was still hype around the Emira reveal, Matt Windle signed off on the design, and in an interview he said it looked GOOD with strong emphasis.
Lotus has been targeting the same weight as the heaviest Emira for some time. Not sure if C&D approximated 3300lb or if they got it from insiders like some other info in the article. Here's what Windle had to say a couple years ago:
That's similar to what Richard Rackham has said when the LEVA platform was first revealed. According to Rackham, the mass and packaging of the battery, cabling and motor(s) approximates the weight and physical dimensions of a comparably powerful internal combustion powertrain
As someone mentioned, there's the Porsche Cayman EV in 2024/2025. Also, there's the MG Cyberster in around the same time, but that's a good amount over 4000lb. Maserati has the Granturismo Folgore (EV), but that's more of a GT 2+2 coupe than a sports car. It's about the length of a midsize sedan (BMW 5 Series) and super heavy since it's an ICE platform.
Here were the high level targets for the vehicle when Lotus was still deciding what technologies to use for the platform. Even if the battery is smaller, with a modern chemistry, the weight targets, and the lower drag due to being a lower car without batteries underneath everything, it could get a decent range.
Like the same how they first stated the Eletre will be 2000kg?
It may get crowded.
This whole post was filled with great info - thanks for sharing! I remember the Matt Windle podcast interview and I've been interested in the car ever since.
I follow your very informative Type 135 posts over on the other place. Thanks for curating a summary on here for people. Absolutely no problem with posting links to other sources of info.Type 135 will likely have a 2025 reveal and was originally targeted for 2026 launch. Recent interviews seem to indicate it'll slip into 2027 launch, which could even mean 2028 for the US.
Yep, and maybe it'll look even better than the Emira. Late 2021 when there was still hype around the Emira reveal, Matt Windle signed off on the design, and in an interview he said it looked GOOD with strong emphasis.
Lotus has been targeting the same weight as the heaviest Emira for some time. Not sure if C&D approximated 3300lb or if they got it from insiders like some other info in the article. Here's what Windle had to say a couple years ago:
"I've actually seen some of the initial work they're doing on the next sports car [Type 135] and it's blown me away already. It will be everything we want it to be: beautiful, lightweight. It will be the Lotus you expect and it will have an amazing performance as well. We are driven by those [principles], lightweighting, dynamics, aerodynamics, they're our core that have been in our business from Chapman...
"The challenge that I've set them for Type 135 is that it needs to weigh the same as Emira as an electric-propulsion car. So they've had to think differently, and the weight saving is significant between what they've done on Project LEVA and where we currently are."
That's similar to what Richard Rackham has said when the LEVA platform was first revealed. According to Rackham, the mass and packaging of the battery, cabling and motor(s) approximates the weight and physical dimensions of a comparably powerful internal combustion powertrain
As someone mentioned, there's the Porsche Cayman EV in 2024/2025. Also, there's the MG Cyberster in around the same time, but that's a good amount over 4000lb. Maserati has the Granturismo Folgore (EV), but that's more of a GT 2+2 coupe than a sports car. It's about the length of a midsize sedan (BMW 5 Series) and super heavy since it's an ICE platform.
Here were the high level targets for the vehicle when Lotus was still deciding what technologies to use for the platform. Even if the battery is smaller, with a modern chemistry, the weight targets, and the lower drag due to being a lower car without batteries underneath everything, it could get a decent range.
Here's a slide from the Lotus Technology investor presentation, showing the target MSRP and launch timing. It seems like it'll be a bit more expensive than the Emira, so maybe topping out at close to $120k with all options.
I have a compilation of all Type 135 news and Lotus white papers for the LEVA platform at another Lotus forum. Hopefully mods are okay with me sharing that link, since I don't want to have to bring it all back over here lol. If not, I can take it down.
Lotus' main focus in those scenarios may be focused on the fast charging. You could drive to the location, do your twisty drive, charge and eat, then drive back.
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