Lotus Engineering has just announced the next step in its efforts to develop greener automotive technology. The British engineering consultancy will be creating a new research engine that will be aimed at helping to optimize engine designs for new generation bio-alcohol fuels. The OMNIVORE (as in eats everything) will be a single cylinder research engine used to test combustion with a variety of fuels. The project is being sponsored by the Department of Environment in the UK and Northern Ireland. Lotus is also collaborating with Queen's University in Belfast and expects to have the new engine running by January 2009. Jaguar Cars will also consult with Lotus on the project.

Single cylinder engines are frequently used to test different engine design features before building a larger multi-cylinder versions. The OMNIVORE will be a two-stroke engine with direct injection and a variable compression ratio. This will allow Lotus engineers find the best engine characteristics for different fuel types. The Lotus press release is after the jump.

[Source: Lotus]

click to enlarge

For the past two decades, Lotus has been working on active noise cancellation technology to make cars quieter. While that may have been a good thing on internal combustion cars, the spread of hybrid and electric cars has made advocates for the blind concerned. Electrically driven cars tend to be almost silent at lower speeds meaning that visually impaired pedestrians who rely more on audio inputs to know what is going around them have a problem. Lotus is now taking its technology and turning it around on a Toyota Prius demonstrator. Instead of using internal speakers to generate opposite sound waves to cancel noise, Lotus is mounting speakers externally with a controller tied to the accelerator pedal. The system generates simulated engine sounds that will allow people in the vicinity hear the car approach. Lotus is working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association to develop the system. The press release is after the jump. You can also view videos of the demonstrator at the Lotus web-site.


[Source: Lotus]

The Malaysian government has given the green light to national car maker Proton to begin "in-depth validation and testing" of electric cars. The announcement came after the Cabinet Committee on Inflation received a briefing on the role e-cars can have in reducing the consumption of petrol and diesel. Prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who seemed to be completely behind the idea, expressed hope that commercialization of the project could begin in a years time. As part of the announcement, the politician went for a ride in an electric Lotus Elise converted and supplied by Dutch company, Electric Cars Europe (ECE). Interestingly, Detroit Electric was named, along with PRO Dis-T, as one of the companies that Proton would be working with to "fine-tune" the car. In a somewhat convoluted web of alliances, Detroit Electric is a joint venture between Chinese firm, Youngman Automotive Group and ZAP! which is headed by Albert Lam, formerly of Lotus, which is owned by Proton. Youngman currently rebadges the Proton GEN2 as the Europestar RCR for the Chinese market. Also, Electric Cars Europe, as we recently informed you, has plans to bring ZAP/Detroit Electric vehicles, including the famous Alias, to the European market. It wasn't stated which model Proton would be initially using for the project but the ECE website shows the Savvy (pictured above) as one of the models it has targeted for production in 2009. We await further announcements to make the room stop spinning.

[Source: The New Straits Times / PaulTan.org]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lotus Evora

Lotus reportedly has something interesting up its corporate sleeves for an upcoming sports car project. Although nothing official has been announced, some media outlets are predicting that Lotus will offer a hybrid drivetrain on its next vehicle. The words of Lotus' head man Mike Kimberley support this notion when he says that the automaker wants to offer "guilt-free, high performance motoring." Like the recently released Evora, the upcoming sports car, which could be an Esprit revival, will likely use a Toyota-sourced V6 engine. In that case, it wouldn't be a stretch to consider that Lotus would also get Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology as well.

Considering the fact that Lotus is already hard at work on fuel-saving technology, if this rumor turns out to be true, it would fit right into the British company's new green image. Remember too that Lotus supplies much of the Tesla Roadster's underpinnings, so the marque surely has gained some EV knowledge along the way.

[Source: Autocar]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lotus Evora

Way back in Febuary of 2006, Lotus seemingly looked past its sports car roots by introducing the "Aluminium Performance Crossover ", or APX concept, which was powered by a supercharged 3.0L DOHC V6. Although the crossover had room for seven people, it weighed just 3,454 pounds -- very light for a vehicle of its size and capabilities. At least Lotus hadn't lost its "add lightness" mantra. And, it appears that it never actually lost sight of its sports car history either, as the Versatile Vehicle Architecture originally introduced over two years ago is now the basis for its brand new Evora.

The Evora appears about as far from the APX concept as one could get, proving that its aluminum-heavy platform is just as versatile as Lotus claims. While we are happy to see Lotus continue its tradition of lightweight performance cars, we can all still hold out hope that an electric vehicle based off the APX concept could see the light of day at some point, as Lotus plans to sell just 2,000 Evoras per year, a small portion of the total VVA-based vehicles the small British manufacturer says it can produce. In the accompanying press release, Lotus says that its still spearheading research into hybrids and full electric vehicles.

[Source: Lotus via Autoblog]

Updated with new gallery

While it could be argued that Lotus already builds the greenest sportscars on the planet, the British automaker seems keenly aware that the world's gas-burning ways are quickly being swept under the carpet. What started with the dual-fuel capable Lotus Exige 265E - which got a bit more power out of ethanol - moved on to the tri-fuel capable Exige 270E. The 270E rumbled with a bit more power from either ethanol or methanol. Now, the classically-British automaker is dabbling in solar power, among other green trickery on its upcoming Eco Elise. Specifically, a few roof-mounted solar cells will help efficiency by keeping the electrics charged up while some innovative and lightweight components have been added to the already lightweight chassis structure.

Interesting tidbits include a new hand-painted water-based finish which "saves energy and reduces emissions of solvents from the paint shop." The hardtop and rear spoiler have been made from a hemp composite, as have various interior pieces like the seats and some fabrics. The fabric used on the seats themselves is a certified eco-friendly wool and the carpets are sewn from sisal. Overall weight has been reduced by over seventy pounds. If you happen to be in London later this month, the car will be debuted at the Motor Show. There are plenty more eco-facts floating in the press release, which we've pasted after the break. Enjoy!


[Source: Lotus]

A consortium of Dutch companies under the banner of Electric Cars Europe have decided a little collaboration is in order to help speed up the implementation of electric cars in the Netherlands. With a vision of seeing 26 per cent of Dutch cars powered by electrons by 2025, the consortium's plan has several parts, the first of which involves some conversion of several Lotus Elise vehicles to an electric drivetrain by partner company, Innosys Engineering. Isn't it a little strange how Lotus has become the "go to" company when you want to build, or even just convert, an electric sports car these days? But I digress.

The next order of business is to take €100 million already invested and metamorphose a couple hundred Volkswagen Golfs from liquid fuel to solid state. All of these vehicles, as well as some future models, are to be monitored by energy company, Essent, as part of large-scale testing of their "Mobile Smart Grid." This is a "smart" distribution system that will make the move to electric personal transportation more feasible by tracking how much power you need and when you need it. It can also bill you for what you use regardless of where you plug in.

To read about a somewhat surprising twist to their next phase as well as test your working knowledge of Dutch and watch some electric Lotus Elise action, hit the jump. As an extra bonus we've also tagged on an extra video from Innosys Engineering that shows off what they've accomplished to the syncopated rhythms of a funky soundtrack.

* Added another video showing more of the orange Elise on the track

Click above for hi-res gallery of the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel

British sportscar-maker and engineering firm Lotus may be known for its lightweight vehicles, but in the industry it still packs a punch as a heavyweight. It's that weight which Lotus is throwing behind methanol as the most viable alternative fuel.

Towards that end, at this year's Geneva motor show Lotus unveiled the flex-fuel 270E prototype based on the lightweight Exige sportscar. The vehicle is designed to run on gasoline, ethanol or methanol, but it's the latter which the company feels is the most viable for the near future. Like bio-ethanol, methanol can be made from natural materials, or can be made from hydrogen combined with CO₂ pulled out of the thin air, which allows for zero-emissions operation. The most convenient aspect, however, is that most car engines on the road today could be converted to run on methanol.

[Source: Automotive News Europe - subs. req'd]

Lotus Engineering is continuing to move aggressively into the realm of greener transportation. This week two different consortia of which Lotus is a part were awarded development contracts by the UK Government Technology Strategy Board. The first of the two projects is the Zero Emission London Taxi that we reported on last month. The government money will be used to help with the commercialization of fleets of fuel cell powered taxis in London by 2012.

The other project, dubbed Limo-Green, involves developing a hybrid drive Jaguar sedan. The description of this car is fairly vague, mentioning an advanced drive motor, small battery pack and an auxiliary power unit for sustained cruising. It sounds like it might be an extended range electric vehicle but with a relatively small battery for only minimal EV-only range. Lotus is developing the APU as a small engine with high thermal efficiency and power output. This could be an interesting project to watch. The Lotus press release is after the jump.

Usually, when Lotus appears on the pages of AutoblogGreen, the story has to do with the engineering work that the storied British company does, either for itself or for other automakers -- including one of our personal faves, Tesla Motors. In fact, Lotus' battle cry since its inception has been to "add lightness" to all of its vehicles, which not only improves performance but also adds a distinct shade of green in the process. Now we learn that Lotus has more subtle greenery up its sleeves. The U.K. company will be collecting all of the scrap leather which goes unused after the creation of its various sportscars. The scraps will be sent away to another U.K. factory which produces leather work gloves. Sure, this little nugget of knowledge isn't nearly as cool as a new electric sportscar or anything, but, as we're sure you'd agree, every little bit counts.

[Source: Autocar (print edition) via Winding Road]

As fun as it would be, we can't be at every green car show on the planet. One of the current events we're sad to be missing is the Eden Project's Sexy Green Car Show in the UK. Thankfully, there are plenty of photos and videos streaming our way to make us feel like we're part of the action.

Over on Smart Planet, Adam Vaughan has posted a series of photos and a video report from the show. He snapped pics of the Morgan LifeCar (above, more available here) and the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel, among others. His three-minute video covers the Axon, Saab Biohybrid, Lotus Tri-Fuel and Ford Econetic. If Smart Planet's coverage isn't enough for you, check out this BBC video or, if you're lucky enough to be near Cornwall before the month is up, go visit the Sexy Green Car Show for yourself.

[Source: Smart Planet, BBC, h/t to Adam]

The philosophy of Lotus founder Colin Chapman was always to make his cars as light as possible. He is reported to have said at various times "to add speed, add lightness" and "simplicate, than add lightness." Over the years, Lotus cars have often been among the lightest of their kind and innovations in weight reduction continue to this day. The work that Lotus has done in developing low mass vehicle structures for cars like the Lotus Elise and the Tesla Roadster is set to expand with the acquisition of Holden Lightweight Structures Limited. Worcester, UK-based Holden has been assembling the aluminum chassis for the Elise and other Lotus models and will now be renamed Lotus Lightweight Structures as it becomes part of Group Louts plc. As mass reduction becomes increasingly important to reducing fuel consumption and emissions in the coming years, Lotus is hoping the acquisition helps them better serve its engineering client base. The Hethel-based company can provide its design expertise as well as manufacturing capabiity. The Lotus press release is after the jump.

Ecotricity founder Dale Vince is a guy with a dilemma we here at AutoblogGreen can empathize with. He's very environmentally aware yet he really likes fast cars. His solution? Build an electric sports car. Luckily, he's got wads of cash (and previous connections with Lotus) to make this sort of dream come true and, according to a post on his zerocarbonista blog, construction is already under way.

An Exige, judging by the rendition on his blog (picture above), is probably the donor chassis for this project and is currently lying in pieces in Norfolk, presumably at the Lotus shop there. No word on whether the new hybrid and electric car group within Lotus Engineering is involved with the undertaking but it seems rather likely. Of course we are familiar with another existing electric sports car with some Lotus DNA that Vince could have put his name on a list for but the required waiting time is probably too long for a guy so committed to green he only drove about 3,000 miles last year. Of course, if those miles were traveled in the Mercedes which appears with him in his explanatory video (after the jump) than that would be like 100,000 Prius miles.

Click the Exige for a high-res gallery

The World's Sexiest Greenest Car Show is back; bigger, better and sexier than ever... so says the home page of The Co-Operated Insurance Sexy Green Car Show. Like last year, the Sexy Green Car Show promises to show off some of the best green car concepts to a captive British audience. Chief among these vehicles will be the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel. Initially shown at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, the Exige 270E is capable of running on gasoline, ethanol or methanol. A sophisticated computer system can detect what type of fuel the vehicle has been fed and can adjust necessary engine parameters to use that fuel. In the process, Lotus was able to tune the engine to extract a bit more power, 270 horses to be exact.

In addition to the car itself, Lotus is reportedly working on a new method of creating methanol which involves the extraction of waste carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A chemical reaction with hydrogen produces both methanol and water. If a clean source for the production of methanol were indeed possible, flex-fuel vehicles could add it to their stable of power sources.


[Source: Just-Auto]

Click above for a gallery of the Evisol Thorr.

If a company set out to develop an electric sportscar, the Lotus 7 (or one of its various replicas) would be a good place to start. Considering that the main ethos of the vehicle is light weight, relatively heavy components like the battery aren't going to kill performance. Using a Siemens AC motor which is capable of a heady 272 horsepower and weighing in at 1,664 pounds, we don't think that the acceleration will suffer too much. The battery is made up of 196 Kokam lithium polymer cells and has a capacity of 29 kWh. Find all of the specifications here.

The Thorr electric car is created by Evisol, which also offers electric drive parts and batteries separate from any vehicles. In a flattering twist, you'll find all of our AutoblogGreen posts under the Automotive News section of Thorr's website, meaning that some sort of cray paradox is likely to take place when this particular posting appears on their website. Watch the video pasted after the break.