Written by / Tu Yanping
Editor/ Zhang Nan
Design / Shi Yuchao
The electrification of cars around the world is entering deep waters. In 2021, the global new energy passenger car market will be close to 6.5 million units, with a market share of 9%. The wave of electrification has swept through the markets of cars, SUVs, MPVs and other markets, and has spread to sports car brands.
Similarly, in the face of electrification transformation, some sports car brands use plug-in and hybrid models as a transition, and some directly launch pure electric models. Of course, there are also brands that still seem hesitant.
Porsche was the first to turn around. In 2013, the 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar was launched, and only 918 units were put into production as an electrification test, and in September 2019, the first pure electric sports car, the Taycan, was launched, and mass production of electrified models began.
Ferrari also experimented with the plug-in model first, launching its first plug-in model, the SF 90 Stradale, in 2019. But due to insufficient satisfaction with existing battery technology, Ferrari expects to launch its first pure electric supercar until 2025.
Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's chief marketing officer, once said: "If you're going to build a pure electric supercar, it's better to do it the best you can on the first try, isn't it?" ”
But Ferrari can't do it now, and its old rival Lotus may have to do it first.
Lotus, born in 1948, together with Ferrari and Porsche, is called the world's three major sports car brands, and is the last of the three brands to enter the Chinese market but the one with the deepest connection with China.
Lotus Hodder was asked how he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the two Prancing Horses, starting with Colin Chapman, the soul of Lotus and founder.
Chapman served in the Royal Air Force as a young man as captain of an air scout, flying fighter jets, and during his service organized his own troops to modify cars and eventually won prizes in competitions.
Not only is he a good racing driver but also a great automotive engineer, and he has incorporated many genius creations into the design of the car - aerodynamics, double camshafts, ground effects, double chassis, etc., leading lotus teams to achieve impressive results in F1 and other races.
Lotus team has won seven F1 Manufacturers' Annual Championships, six F1 Drivers' Championships, 81 Formula 1 Races, nine Le Mans Grand Prix Group Titles, one Indy 500 Grand Prix and one World Rally Championship.
In 1977, the Lotus Esprit S1 appeared in the 007 film as a Bond car, which featured footage of it transforming into a submarine. In 2013, Elon Musk acquired the Esprit S1 diving sports car in the movie for $866,000.
Later, the Esprit S1 became the inspiration for Tesla's Cyberrock. Its electric sports car, the Roadster, was built by lotus engineering team on the basis of Elise's architecture.
After Chapman's death, Lotus was changed several times, from Toyota to GM and from an Italian businessman to the Malaysian DRB-HICOM Group. Until 2017, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group bought 51% of Lotus from DRB-HICOM Group, and it came to the hands of Chinese. This time, the eyes of global fans are focused on China, looking forward to ending the drift and ushering in the opportunity for the brand to rise with the support of Geely Group.
In this regard, Lotus opened the road to brand rejuvenation. In July 2019, Lotus unveiled its first pure electric supercar, the Evija, in London. Two years later, in July, Lotus unveiled the Emira, announcing that it would be its last fuel sports car.
Lotus's turn is quick and clean, it has completed the replacement of old and new products, ready for full electrification. How will the former track king, in the new car era, surpass his past self and redefine Lotus?
Redefine supercar
In order to run faster on the track and grow better, Lotus has made many choices. Now, once again, it faces a choice: abandon the internal combustion engine and embrace the electric motor.
At the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show, Lotus's last fuel sports car, the Emiira, and Lotus's first pure electric supercar, the Evija, were unveiled on the same stage.
Emira means "leader" and is code-named Type 131. Prior to that, Lotus had not launched a new car in 10 years. Emira is both the last glory of the Lotus era of fuel vehicles and the first clarion call for brand rejuvenation.
Evija means "pioneer", and as the pioneering work of the brand's electrification, the name is most appropriate. From it, Lotus officially embraced the era of pure electric power.
In early 2020, Evija went into mass production at its Heysel plant at its UK headquarters. As the most expensive sports car in lotus history, it has a starting price of 21.88 million yuan in China and a global limited edition of 130 units, alluding to the product code Type 130.
Lotus's value proposition seems to have found a better landing carrier in Evija.
Chapman, known for his obsession with eliminating excess weight, famously said, "Increasing power will make you run faster on the straights, but losing weight will make you run faster everywhere." "Lightweighting is one of the values Lotus insists on, and this proposition is perfectly inherited in Evija.
In addition to the fact that the body panel is carbon fiber, the Evija is also the first Lotus road car with an all-carbon fiber chassis. The total weight of the Evija monocoque shell base is only 129kg, the battery pack weighs 600kg, and the vehicle weighs 1680kg, making it the lightest pure electric supercar on the market.
Probably because he was a pilot, Chapman had an unusual obsession with the wind. In racing design, he pays special attention to airflow fine-tuning technology and pursues the "ground effect". Later, aerodynamics became a prominent label for Lotus.
In 1968, the Lotus Type 49 pioneered the aerodynamic design of F1 racing cars. As a result, many F1 teams have followed suit, and F1 car design has since entered the era of "air movement".
In the electric supercar Evija, Lotus's aerodynamic achievements were carried forward.
The Evija has a high porosity body design, it has 2 venturi tunnels and up to 16 pneumatic kits. The Venturi effect created by the airflow channel pulls air through the rear arched air deflectors, maintaining the quality of the airflow inside the diffuser and creating an alarming downforce.
Asked how the Evija's aerodynamics compare to that of a regular sports car, Lotus chief aerodynamic expert Richard Hill replied: "It's like comparing a fighter jet to a children's kite. ”
Who says there's no driving pleasure after being electric? Evija didn't say yes.
The mid-battery pack layout allows the Evija to have a balanced center of gravity during the drive, better handling performance, and the motor delivers horsepower and speed that far exceeds that of the internal combustion engine. It delivers more than 2,000 horsepower in a purely electric, all-wheel drive powertrain that accelerates from 0km/h to 300km/h in just 9 seconds.
In track mode, powerful horsepower provides more power to individual wheels, and the continuous high-speed power output of the super electric motor keeps the Evija in a constant state of excitement. Combined with the body aerodynamic system, the Evija has a strong downforce at extreme speeds.
To win the "Most Anticipated Award" at top Gear's Automotive awards of the year in 2021, Evija is no idler.
The pursuit of high performance, the obsession with aerodynamics, and the insistence on pure driving pleasure, Lotus will always retain the soul of the brand. The replacement of the engine by the electric motor is nothing less than a rebirth for Lotus.
In the era of fuel vehicles, no engine can also run F1, Lotus wrote a track legend. In the era of electric vehicles, electric motors superimposed on aerodynamic systems, Evija redefined what a new era of supercaring is, and Lotus's past maverick advantages on the track are magnified.
Redefine Lotus
If Evija is a test of Lotus's electrification, then the upcoming Type 132 is another brave breakthrough for the brand.
The supercar brand SUV is a dimensionality reduction blow, and its feasibility has been verified by Porsche. Now, Lotus is targeting the ultra-luxury pure electric smart SUV market. Type 132, Lotus's first SUV, will usher in the brand's era of lifestyle cars.
From the niche supercar market to the SUV market, from electrification to intelligence, Lotus is conforming to the industry trend and constantly breaking through itself.
Time back to October 2018, when the brand celebrated its 70th anniversary, Lotus released the "Vision 80" ten-year brand revival plan, and proposed the "China-UK dual engine" strategy, to electrify the intelligent and firm transformation.
The establishment of Lotus Technologies is an important step in the brand's rejuvenation strategy. In August 2021, Lotus Technology Co., Ltd. was established, headquartered in Wuhan, it will integrate China, the United Kingdom, Germany R & D and design institutions and global resources, for the global market to create ultra-high-end pure electric intelligent vehicles.
According to the division of labor, the models of Lotus's new four major platforms, the sports car platform, the pure electric supercar platform and the pure electric sports car platform are developed and produced by Lotus UK, and the research and development and production of daily use of daily life vehicles fall to Lotus Technology.
In the next five years, Lotus Technology will launch three pure electric intelligent models: the E-class pure electric intelligent SUV codenamed Type 132 in 2022, the E-class pure electric intelligent four-door coupe codenamed Type 133 in 2023, and the pure electric intelligent new species codenamed Type 134 in 2025.
The three models will form the Lotus Group's five-year global portfolio of pure electric products, along with lotus uk's Evijaya and the 2026 all-electric sports car code-named Type 135.
Intelligent driving is another point of strength for Lotus, which hopes to "drive intelligently at the track level and cut into the intelligent driving track". Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng said: "Within ten years, with the assistance of Lotus intelligent driving, as long as you can get a driver's license, you can win the F1 championship. ”
On March 29 this year, the Lotus Type 132 is about to usher in its world premiere. This model has a special significance for Lotus, it is the second pure electric model of Lotus after the Evija, and the first SUV model after Lotus 131 sports cars.
The Type 132 is positioned as an ultra-high-end pure electric smart SUV, and Feng Qingfeng believes that there is no benchmark product in this market, and this is the opportunity of Lotus. It will lead Lotus into a new world.
Of course, Type 132 is still Lotus, the sense of handling, aerodynamics, etc. will not be less, and lotus brand mission is in line with the Lotus brand mission: We are first, last and always for the drivers.
The track gene is injected with electric and intelligent fresh blood, and the product is further iteratively upgraded. Sports cars plus SUVs, the product camp is further expanded. The Children of the Wind embark on the road to brand rejuvenation and are redefining Lotus.
How a 74-year-old sports car brand can reinvent itself in the new age of the car is an exciting thing in itself. After all, the sports car brand that can keep running is the real strong.
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