Lotus unveils design study for active-aero 2030 endurance car
British sportscar maker Lotus has unveiled a design study for an electric endurance racer of the year 2030 that incorporates active aerodynamics inspired by a jet fighter
The E-R9 has been designed by Lotus Engineering, the consultancy division of the company, to mark its 40th anniversary by showcasing innovations in aerodynamics and electric powertrains.
Aerodynamic panels that can morph in shape on the command of the driver or automatically via performance sensor inputs would deliver minimum drag on the straights and maximum downforce in the corners.
This would result in the E-R9, which incorporates an aircraft-style canopy over the cockpit, being "partly driven like a car and partly flown like a jet fighter", according to Lotus.
Lotus chief aerodynamicist Richard Hill, who has led the design of the E-R9 along with vehicle architect Louis Kerr, said: "What we've tried to do is to push the boundaries of where we are technically today and extrapolate into the future.
"The Lotus E-R9 incorporates technologies which we fully expect to develop and be practical.
"Lotus has an amazing history of developing unique solutions, and we've done it many times in motorsport and with our road cars."
Kerr added: "Battery energy density and power density are developing significantly year on year.
"Before 2030, we'll have mixed-cell chemistry batteries that give the best of both worlds, as well as the ability to 'hot-swap' batteries during pitstops."
The E-R9 has been designed around the architecture of the Evija all-electric hypercar, which was unveiled in 2019 and is due to go into production this year.
It would incorporate a development of the 2000bhp powertrain from the Evija that incorporates a motor for each wheel, allowing for torque vectoring to aid cornering.
The name of the car and its livery in the first images unveiled on Tuesday pay homage to Lotus's rich racing heritage.
E-R stands for 'endurance racer' and the 9 is a tribute to the MkIX, the car with which Lotus made its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1955.
The black-and-gold colour scheme reflects the John Player Special livery in which Lotus claimed the 1972 and 1978 Formula 1 world championship titles with Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti respectively.
The presentation of the E-R9 design study follows an announcement last month from Group Lotus and Renault's Alpine brand that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to co-operate in a number of areas, including motorsport.
The two companies are collaborating to explore motorsport opportunities as well as "to leverage Alpine's motorsport platform from F1 to endurance". This includes an evaluation of a team entry for Formula E.
Alpine is entering F1 this year after the rebranding of the Renault team, while the French Signatech squad will represent the brand in the top class of the World Endurance Championship with the Gibson-powered ORECA LMP1 design that formerly raced as the Rebellion R-13.
The tie-up will also include a joint feasibility study for an electric sportscar for the road.
Le Mans-winning Champion outfit returns to racing at Pikes Peak
British Superbike Championship's only female team owner on women in racing
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands
The female all-rounder who arrived "too early"
From Formula 3 to truck racing, Dakar and EuroNASCAR via a winning stint in the DTM, there's not much Ellen Lohr hasn't seen in a stellar racing career that highlights the merit in being a generalist. But she believes her career came too early...