Versatile architecture supports multiple layouts, wheelbase lengths, battery sizes and configurations
Hethel, UK – Just weeks after Lotus confirmed it will be launching a new family of EV performance cars, it has given a world premiere to the innovative new lightweight chassis technology that will underpin the electric sports car in the range.
The new structure has been developed through Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture), announced last October by Lotus. Project LEVA is a research program that’s accelerating the development of all-new lightweight structures for next-generation battery electric vehicles.
Today Lotus can reveal it’s this structure developed through Project LEVA which will be integrated into the company’s new architecture for electric sports cars. Thanks to the innovation of Lotus and the Project LEVA partners, the rear structure is 37% lighter than it is on the Lotus Emira V6. It means Lotus now has the ‘blueprint’ for the next generation of electric sports cars, for future Lotus products, and for the Lotus Engineering consultancy to commercialize.
The Project LEVA lightweight chassis technology is being shown at the Low Carbon Vehicle event staged by Cenex, the UK’s Low Carbon and Fuel Cells Centre of Excellence, at Millbrook Proving Ground, Bedfordshire, UK, on 22/23 September.
A new animation from Lotus reveals how the technology will form part of the new electric sports car chassis, illustrating the versatile nature of this all-new Lotus-developed vehicle architecture. It is fully adaptable to provide a platform for a range of EVs with variable layouts, wheelbase lengths, battery sizes, and configurations.
As the animation shows, all three layouts feature a common lightweight die-cast rear sub-frame with multiple interchangeable components. This is the Project LEVA innovation, and it means a single-vehicle architecture can accommodate two different types of battery configurations:
| VEHICLE LAYOUT | WHEELBASE | BATTERY SIZE / CONFIGURATION | MAXIMUM BATTERY POWER | EDU LAYOUT / MAX POWER |
| Two-seater | Minimum of 2,470mm | 8-module / chest | 66.4kWh | Single / 350kW |
| Two-seater | More than 2,650mm | 12-module / chest | 99.6kWh | Twin / 650kW |
| 2+2 | More than 2,650mm | 8-module / slab | 66.4kWh | Single / 350 kW or Twin / 650kW |
- ‘Chest’ layout, where the modules are stacked vertically behind the two seats. A chest layout is a ‘mid-mounted power pack’, ideal for sports car/hypercar vehicle types where a low overall ride height and low center of gravity are required, and as seen on the Lotus Evija pure-electric hypercar.
- ‘Slab’ layout, where the modules are integrated horizontally under the cabin. This is most suitable for vehicles where a higher ride height and a taller overall profile is required. It is often referred to as a ‘skateboard power pack’ layout.
The innovative new subframe features cylindrical battery cells for high energy density, with the option of a single or twin electronic drive unit (EDU) to support. Cold cure, spot bonding, and advanced weld processes mean reduced environmental impact during assembly.
This unique degree of flexibility and modularity in wheelbase and propulsion solutions will be the genesis for a wide variety of electric vehicle applications. These could be for the eagerly anticipated Lotus electric sports car – scheduled for launch in 2026 – as well as for third-party clients through Lotus Engineering.
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Funding for the project came in part from the Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator program (ARMD). Awarded by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the program is delivered on behalf of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) by Cenex.
Richard Moore, Executive Director, Engineering, Lotus Cars, commented: “Project LEVA and the electric sports car architecture are perfect illustrations of the innovation which continues to be at the heart of everything Lotus does. Today’s EVs are heavy in comparison to their ICE equivalents, so the ARMD funding has helped Lotus to innovate earlier in the product cycle and develop a new vehicle architecture that targets lightweight and performance density from conception. Rather than developing a single vehicle, it means Lotus now has the ‘blueprint’ for the next generation of electric sports cars, for future Lotus products and for the Lotus Engineering consultancy to commercialize.”
Project LEVA has been led by engineer Richard Rackham, Head of Vehicle Concepts, Lotus. Richard is best known for his revolutionary work on the development of the extruded aluminum Lotus Elise architecture 25 years ago. Richard commented: “Project LEVA is as revolutionary now as the Elise architecture was in 1996. In true Lotus spirit, significant weight savings have been achieved throughout, with a focus on ultimate performance, efficiency, and safety being engineered into the structure from the outset – for example, by utilizing the vehicle structure as the battery enclosure, having an integrated EDU, eliminating bolt-on subframes and optimizing the multi-link suspension components.”
On Project LEVA, Lotus has collaborated with supply chain partner Sarginsons Industries and leading academics from Brunel University London to harness the full light-weighting potential of the vehicle architecture.
