Lotus has confirmed plans to build a production version of the City Car concept with partner firm Proton. The Lotus City Car concept was the sixth member of the Lotus Everything launchpad, and had been assumed to
be a technical showcase rather than a serious production car. The Lotus City Car is an crisply designed supermini with a fresh profile and rear-wheel drive.
In an interview with Automotive World, Lotus CEO Dany Bahar admits that the Lotus City Car was developed in tandem with its Malaysian owners Proton. Although a business case has yet to be settled, the will is clearly there to launch a Lotus supermini, as well as the five new sports cars unveiled in Paris.
The City Car is a three-door four-seater that comes with strong lines, sporty details, a wide track and a low ride height and includes interesting features such as a glass roof.
The vehicle is powered by a series hybrid drivetrain that consists of a 47 hp 1.2-liter, three-cylinder engine, which acts as a range extender and an electric motor that generates 54 kW (73 hp) of continuous power. The internal combustion engine can also run on ethanol or methanol. The system also includes a 14.8 kWh battery and a single-speed transmission. The vehicle, which weighs less than 1,400 kg can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 9 seconds and offers a top speed of 105 mph (170 km/h). It offers an electric-only range of 37 miles (60 km), with the total range standing at 310 miles (500 km). The vehicle releases CO2 emissions of 60 grams per km for the ECE-R101 test cycle.
Despite wearing a Lotus badge (in Europe at least), the City Car will be extensively developed by Proton. This is a bit of a bummer, but Lotus is focused on building several new sports cars such as the Elan , Esprit , and Elite . No word on pricing, but the City Car will arrive in the UK in October 2013.
The City Car concept is a perfect, real-life example of how the two companies - Lotus and Proton - can work together on an operational basis,' said Bahar. In it they reveal that the Lotus City Car has been co-developed by the two companies. Interview with group managing director of Proton Holdings Berhad, Dato' Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, and the chief executive of Group Lotus, Dany Bahar.
Lotus City Specs:
Layout 3-pintu, 4-seater, rear-wheel drive
Drivetrain Seri drivetrain hibrida
Range extender mesin 35 kW, 1,2 liter, mesin 3 silinder
Mesin bahan bakar Flex-bahan bakar (metanol, etanol dan bensin)
Baterai Kapasitas 14,8 kWh
Power / Torsi puncak 162 kW (54 kW kontinu) / 240 Nm
0-50 km / jam 4,5 detik
0-100 km / jam 9,0 detik
Top speed 170 km / h
Range 500 km
EV jangkauan 60 km
Emisi CO2 60 g / km pada-R101 siklus PADU
Berat Kurang dari 1.400 kg
Transmisi kecepatan transmisi Single
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