Lotus Evora 414e Hybrid

[MarkR]

It appears that Lotus has benefited more than financially from their relationship with Tesla. Their hybrid prototype looks a lot like the Tesla Roadster, but has an all-electric range of just 30 miles and has a three cylinder engine that runs on either gas or alcohol once the electricity is gone. It is said to go 0-60 in four seconds and have a top speed of 130mph. My guess is that Lotus has been taking a lot of notes as they've worked with Tesla on the Roadster. Their 414e is kind of a small Chevy Volt on steroids. Sorry . . . no word on price. Evora 414E Hybrid | Lotus Cars

 

[TEG]

Sorry - somewhat old news.
Lotus Evora ( 2+2)
Electric Infinities

 

[ggr]

The simulated gearshifts and engine sounds seem ridiculous to me. "fully familiar" -- I'd rather learn to drive the Tesla way, in the 5 minutes it takes.

 

[dpeilow]

Yeah this has been around a while. They rolled out the same cutaway at Goodwood this weekend. No chance of it going on sale.

 

[Alan]

They have been track testing it in the last couple of weeks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQYDq7eJ07Q&feature=player_embedded

With 100 more HP and 2.5X the torque of the Roadster it must be great fun to drive. I feel sorry for the rear tires

 

[MarkR]

The Lotus website sounds like they are serious about bringing the 414e to market. One of the weirder features is their "HALOsonic Sound Technology with Vision" - essentially a camera that spots pedestrians and then uses external sound synthesis to warn people on the streets, internal sound synthesis to advise the driver of pedestrians, road noise cancellation so you don't hear road sounds, and "engine order cancellation" (so you don't hear the engine?). I wish they didn't call it HALosonic. The synthesized voice might be a bit creepy.