Lotus Engineering: Cleaner, Lighter, Faster & Stronger Cars By 2020

With track cars going as light as possible with their revolutionary carbon fiber parts and components, Lotus engineering, one of the legendary names in great sports cars have decided to start using the Lightweight Concept in a innovative yet economical way into their cars.

For only a three per cent increase in production costs, Lotus claims it can achieve an astonishing 38 per cent weight reduction. That’s enough for a 23 per cent improvement in fuel economy while retaining all key interior and exterior dimensions. The process was completed by stripping out and noting every component in a Toyota Venza – a US-only MPV – to pinpoint where lighter, stronger materials, or fewer components, could be used.

Steel is replaced by aluminum, magnesium and composites to cut the unpainted body from 382kg to 221kg. The doors and tailgate also use strong but light metals to weigh 41 per cent less. Lighter suspension and brakes can be fitted, while intelligent driver and passenger control modules mean there is no traditional instrument cluster. Windows will be fixed in place to allow thinner glass.

Lotus Exige Car Photo

Flyweight Tech Coming Soon Into These

Dr Robert Hentschel, director of Lotus Engineering, explained: “Lighter vehicles are cleaner and more efficient. We believe this approach will be common in the industry for future vehicle design.”

The idea is nothing new for Lotus, which makes a priority of low kerbweight. This is mainly to aid handling, but emissions are boosted, too. With the same concept slowly creeping into every car makers’ high end exec ranges already, it’s only a matter of time that the technology starts getting used as a standard and we can expect a move in that direction especially with the green movement catching on pretty fast.

Lotus expects to use this technology and design to be incorporated into road legal cars they put into production by 2017 and by 2020 onto every car they roll out.