Lotus bares blueprint for next-gen EV sports car platform

In a recent press release, British sports car manufacturer, Lotus revealed a pioneering blueprint for its next-gen EV sports cars.

The new EV architecture was developed through Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture), a platform that every sports car from the automotive brand will most likely use in the foreseeable future.

“Project LEVA is as revolutionary now as the Elise architecture was in 1996. In true Lotus spirit, significant weight savings have been achieved throughout, with a focus on ultimate performance, efficiency, and safety being engineered into the structure from the outset — for example, by utilizing the vehicle structure as the battery enclosure, having an integrated EDU, eliminating bolt-on subframes and optimizing the multi-link suspension components,” said Project LEVA lead and Lotus Cars Head of Vehicle Concepts Richard Rackham.

According to Lotus, the brand’s latest innovation will provide a platform for a range of EVs with variable layouts, wheelbase lengths, battery sizes, and configurations.

Lotus offers three examples including a two-seat sports car setup that can accommodate a low-capacity modular chest battery and a single electric motor, a two-seat sports car arrangement with a longer wheelbase that can accommodate a high-capacity modular chest battery and two electric motors, and a four-seater sports car format that can house a lower capacity modular slab battery with either one or two electric motors.

In addition, Lotus says that reduced environmental impact during assembly will be achieved by using cold cure, spot bonding, and advanced weld processes in building these platforms.

Funding for the project came in part from the Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator program (ARMD). Awarded by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the program is delivered on behalf of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) by Cenex.

“Project LEVA and the electric sports car architecture are perfect illustrations of the innovation which continues to be at the heart of everything Lotus does. Today’s EVs are heavy in comparison to their ICE equivalents, so the ARMD funding has helped Lotus to innovate earlier in the product cycle and develop a new vehicle architecture that targets lightweight and performance density from conception. Rather than developing a single vehicle, it means Lotus now has the ‘blueprint’ for the next generation of electric sports cars, for future Lotus products, and for the Lotus Engineering consultancy to commercialize,” commented Lotus Cars Executive Director of Engineering Richard Moore.

Photos from Lotus

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