The Lotus Ethos is a fully
plug-in hybrid concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
that was unveiled at the
2010 Paris Motor Show as the "Lotus CityCar". The vehicle was developed by
Lotus Engineering
Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and Auto racing, racing cars noted for their light weight and fine Automobile handling, handling characteristics.
Lotus was pre ...
, a separate division from
Lotus Cars.
The CityCar has a
lithium battery pack with an
all-electric range of , and after the battery is depleted the 1.2-liter petrol engine kicks in to help with charging, allowing the car to run more than .
[ The concept car is designed for ]flex-fuel
A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (colloquially called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or ...
operation on ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
, or methanol as well as regular petrol
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...
.
Specifications
The Ethos concept is an urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
electric car with a 14.8 kWh lithium battery pack that delivers a range of up to in electric-only mode. The internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal c ...
is a flex-fuel-capable 47 hp, 1.2-liter three-cylinder petrol engine that acts as a generator charging the battery pack up to . The concept car weighs less than 1400 kg, and Lotus claims it will reach from rest in 9 seconds.[
]
Naming and production plans
In 2011 Lotus named the concept the Lotus Ethos. It is based on the EMAS from its parent company Proton and is likely to be assembled in Malaysia alongside the EMAS for an estimated cost in the UK of "£30,000 plus".
See also
*Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in th ...
*Proton EMAS
Proton EMAS is a range of concept cars designed by Italdesign Giugiaro and developed by Proton (automobile), Proton. It debuted at the Geneva Motor Show, 2010 Geneva Motor Show as a Hybrid electric vehicle, hybrid vehicle.
"EMAS" is an acronym fo ...
References
External links
Ethos City Car
at Lotus Cars site
{{Lotus
Ethos
Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
Concept cars
Plug-in hybrid vehicles
Cars introduced in 2010