Man seeks invariance only in the midst of change. —Hoh Smith: Tin Horn
The electrification of the global automotive industry has pressed the accelerator button.
According to the statistics of authoritative institutions, the global sales of new energy vehicles in 2021 will be 6.75 million, an increase of 108% year-on-year, and it is expected to reach 10 million in 2022. The huge market potential has led to explosive growth in various categories of automobiles, whether it is cars, SUVs or MPV models, electrification products are emerging in an endless stream, but in many market segments, pure electric supercars are few.
Among the internationally renowned sports car brands, Porsche took the lead in testing the waters of electrification, launching the plug-in and hybrid supercar 918 Spyder in 2013, but in the end only 918 units were produced. It wasn't until September 2019 that Porsche launched the Taycan, a pure electric sports car. In the same year, Ferrari introduced the first plug-in hybrid model, the SF90 Stradale, which also began its electrification in a conservative form of plug-in hybrid.
Also in 2019, Lotus, one of the world's three largest sports car manufacturers, released the first pure electric top supercar Evija, with 2,000 horsepower and excellent aerodynamic design that directly refreshed industry awareness. Later, in 2021, the emira, its last fuel sports car, was launched, decisively and crisply, showing the attitude that should be a pioneer of sports car brands for the transformation of electrification. In addition, the Type 132, its first pure electric SUV, which will be unveiled worldwide on March 29, 2022, is also another major change in the transformation process. Transitioning from fuel to electric, from supercar to SUV, Lotus's avant-garde attitude and rebellious personality are evident.
| Lotus ushered in the era of full electrification
Determined Lotus doesn't seem to care too much about the "baggage" of the past 74 years of history, and the British sports car brand that once pulled F1 racing directly into the aerodynamic era with the revolutionary ground effect racing type 79 is more radical in its embrace of the era of electrification. From the pure power production supercar Evija, to the fuel song Emira, and then to the upcoming global debut of the Type 132, Lotus is moving towards the field of electrification without hesitation.
In 2018, Lotus unveiled the "VISION 80" brand revival plan, announcing a full shift to electrification, planning to launch four pure electric smart models by 2026: in 2022, it launched the E-Class SUV code-named Type 132; in 2023, it launched the E-Class four-door coupe code-named Type 133; in 2025, it launched the D-class "Pure Electric Intelligent New Species" code-named Type 134; and in 2026, it launched a pure electric trot.
In 2021, Lotus established Lotus Technology in China, as one of the core of the Group's "Sino-British Dual Engine" strategy, it will focus on the innovation of life vehicles in the fields of intelligent driving, intelligent manufacturing and intelligent interaction, integrate Chinese, English and German R&D and design institutions, and use global supply chain resources to carry out channel layout in the world.
Back to the product level, I have to talk about Evija again. As Lotus's first pure electric supercar, the Evija is not only a breathing Lotus, but also a master of Lotus's aerodynamic philosophy. Evija took inspiration from the Type 79 racing car and incorporated Lotus's first-of-its-kind porous design concept. While creating a breathtaking shape, its industry-leading aerodynamic design further reduces ineffective wind resistance. When airflow passes through the underbody, roof and hull itself, and then through the graceful Venturi Tunnel and the huge wind hole at the rear, it provides upforce of 1.8 tons beyond its own weight and gives the Evija extreme dynamic limits on the move.
Gavan Kershaw, Chief Testing Specialist at Lotus, once said in an interview: "The driving experience at Evija was amazing. It has the acceleration experience of an F1 circuit, the enclosed cockpit makes it look like a Le Mans Group C car, torque and power are responsive instantly, and using the most advanced electronic control system, you may even feel as if it all violates the laws of physics. ”
For Lotus, however, the Evija is not just a pure electric sports car, but also a prototype for mass production of future electrification products. Its first pure electric SUV Type 132 will be unveiled on March 29, from the previously released pilot video, Type 132 will be equipped with active down intake grille, diamond-shaped net, lifting lidar and a large number of carbon fiber kits, the rim design presents a blade-like shape, using a front wing LED headlight group, with a rear-breathing through taillight group, creating a breath-like feeling, bringing better aerodynamic design and combat visual effects. I have to say that there are a lot of Evija shadows in this.
For a supercar brand with a 74-year history, full electrification obviously requires great courage, which comes not only from Lotus's technical accumulation in the field of aerodynamics and lightweighting, but also from technological innovation in the field of electrification.
In order to achieve ultra-high-end product positioning, Lotus launched an independently developed EPA edge evolution architecture, which applies track-level electric drive intelligent driving to daily driving scenarios according to development needs, and can support the development of C+ class, D class, E class and higher level models. EPA's high-voltage system adopts the industry's top 800V three-power system, which can be equipped with 92-120kWh of power. Products built on this architecture can easily achieve zero hundred acceleration in less than 3 seconds.
In addition, as the global intelligent technology company of Lotus Group, Lotus Technology put aside the conventional technology path and proposed the concept of "track-level intelligent driving", which is committed to ensuring that drivers are away from risks through active redundancy of software and hardware performance, so that more drivers can feel a very fun intelligent driving experience.
| What has changed is the form of the drive, and what has not changed is the track gene
Although Lotus's development trajectory has pressed the "line break" button, Lotus still adheres to his "soul" in the era of electrification. This "soul" comes from more than 70 years of deep cultivation in the field of aerodynamics and lightweight, and also from the soul creator of Lotus- Colin Chapman.
Like many young people today, Chapman was extremely obsessed with cars, especially motorsport. In 1948, the 20-year-old Chapman used an electric drill and junior sheet metal skills to convert a 1928 Austin Model 7 into Lotus's first Mark 1, in the backyard of the home of Heizer Williams, who was still his girlfriend at the time.
The enthusiasm for racing and the experience of serving in the Royal Air Force laid the foundation for Chapman's subsequent racing path, chapman was an outlier in the pursuit of large-displacement F1, and his Lotus car chose aerodynamic design as a winning trick on the field without its own engine.
In the Type 79, a ground efficiency car that swept F1 in 1978, Lotus found a revolutionary technique to boost the downforce of the car with the Venturi effect and thus improve handling.
The secret weapon of the Type 79 is to install a side skirt on the bottom of the side box of the car, which is sealed between the bottom of the body and the road, and the air duct formed inside will make the air flow flow faster, creating negative pressure at the bottom of the car, so that the entire body is firmly attached to the track, bringing amazing downforce and cornering speed. This allows Lotus's cars to lead other cars by an absolute advantage with the stability that air brings.
Since then, every Lotus product has an additional set of "breathing" systems, and Lotus has become a major legend in the industry, from the low wind resistance brought by the original Mark 8 streamline model design to "adapt to the wind", to the first F1 wing car Type 49 and the ground efficiency car Type 79 that swept F1, to Evija's "Becoming the Wind", Lotus has continuously advanced in the field of aerodynamics, and has long engraved aerodynamics into the brand DNA. This can almost be called Lotus's car-making philosophy, which is also the basis for The transformation into electrification of Lotus.
Conclusion: In the Chinese automotive market, electric vehicles are about to reach a tipping point of explosive growth. China's new energy vehicle market has shifted from policy promotion to non-policy definition of the automobile market, and new energy vehicles at this time have been recognized by more and more consumers under the "cultivation" of many "new forces" brands.
It can be seen that lotus's transformation to electrification and intelligence is the trend of the times, but the resolute attitude of transformation can be said to be few and far between similar brands, which is both a huge opportunity and a difficult challenge. Just as Colin Chapman "found another way" to find the technical secrets of aerodynamics and lightweighting, breaking the limitations of the era of single pursuit of greater power, in today's competitive electrification market, Lotus has found an exclusive weapon to break the existing rules, insist on self-improvement in change and find a breakthrough, and this breakthrough is Type 132.
The Type 132, which will be unveiled worldwide on March 29, is Lotus's first pure electric SUV and the first outside of Lotus's sports car lineup. As the iconic model of Lotus electrification, type 132 sets classic and trendy, both classic aerodynamic design, but also Lotus's unique EPA architecture and "track-level intelligent driving" concept blessing, it can be said that "with the golden key" came into being, but I believe that Lotus focusing on improving driving pleasure is far more than these "magic tricks", maybe there are more surprises waiting for us, let's wait and see!