As a part of this debut, Lotus is launching The Lotus Principle , the corporate’s new design manifesto that may type the muse for all future Lotus automobiles, encapsulated by means of three core ideas – Digital, Pure and Analogue (DNA):
- Digital, which represents the immersive, clever, and intuitive expertise.
- Pure, brings to life emotional, related, human-centric design.
- Analogue, which is the model’s steady development of efficiency engineering.
By seamlessly mixing collectively these core design ideas with the newest design improvements from Lotus, in addition to cutting-edge applied sciences, Lotus is ready to simplify and improve how a automotive ought to really feel and carry out. Principle 1 harmoniously suits across the driver and is ready to adapt primarily based on their wants – delivering the last word driver expertise.
Ben Payne, Vice President of Design, Lotus Group mentioned:
“With Principle 1, we’ve constructed on the whole lot Lotus has achieved to date in its 76-year historical past to push the boundaries for what it means to drive a efficiency automobile. We wish to display that you simply don’t have to compromise – with each digital and analog capabilities working harmoniously sooner or later automotive. In doing this, we’re capable of deliver drivers the absolute best immersive driving expertise with uncooked emotion, performance and connectivity, on the core.”
Principle 1 reaffirms the corporate’s Vision80 dedication – a metamorphosis into a world efficiency know-how model. The improvements introduced right this moment are anticipated to be carried out into future Lotus automobiles within the coming years.
The last word immersive and intuitive driver system with LOTUSWEAR™
Lotus has developed its personal proprietary driver system referred to as LOTUSWEAR™, which is an immersive system that goals to ship a customized expertise to each occupant within the automotive, designed to evoke a way of uncooked emotion and pure pleasure – and additional join them to the street.
This options an adaptive smooth and light-weight robotic textile materials, seamlessly enabling the automotive to speak with the motive force and passengers and supply a extra intuitive and cozy in-car expertise. It goals to do that by means of inflatable pods on the seating and steering wheel that may react in real-time to supply extra assist, grip, and delicate prompts by way of personalised haptic suggestions. As an example:
- Pulses on the left and proper sides of the wheel will point out when the motive force ought to make a flip
- There are 5 drive modes: Vary, Tour, Sport, Particular person and Observe, delivering consolation and enhancing the motive force expertise & dynamic capability, in addition to continuously adapting to the motive force’s surrounding setting. This goals to optimize effectivity, efficiency, and luxury in any setting.
This part has been created in collaboration with MotorSkins, a startup that focuses on textile-based wearable robotics for every-day use. Principle 1 demonstrates the primary time it’s getting used within the automotive {industry}.
As well as, LOTUSWEAR™ options 3D printed lattice construction headrests made in partnership with international 3D printing know-how firm Carbon, to supply all occupants within the automotive most consolation, whereas lowering the load, bettering materials effectivity, and optimizing aerodynamics.
To make sure each occupant can get pleasure from a very immersive and distinctive audio expertise, a part of the headrest is a binaural audio system, which has been designed in collaboration with KEF. It presents particular person bespoke soundscapes for every of the occupants, which can be additional enhanced by the subwoofer speaker situated behind the motive force seat. Occupants within the automotive can:
- Improve ‘pace’ sounds to ship a way of thrill, exhilaration, and enjoyable.
- Profit from noise canceling talents to enhance focus and improve the listening expertise.
- Degree-up leisure by offering impeccable and immersive sound to raise the audio expertise additional.
It makes use of binaural audio know-how to do that, enabling channel separation of the sound arriving at every ear – delivering a full-bodied audio expertise that feels just like the occupant is sitting in the course of a recording studio.
A part of the proprietary driving system is the LOTUSWEAR™ Expertise Line – a useful know-how band operating inside and out of doors of the automotive, appearing as a communication machine. It consists of:
- Built-in OLED know-how to show a number of features of the automobile standing to the motive force and occupants, in addition to different street customers and pedestrians e.g. detecting the presence of an object or individual near the automobile.
- Lotus’ 360-degree autonomous driving sensor suite. The absolutely embedded L4 {hardware} functionality consists of 4 deployable LiDARs, six HD cameras, and a mixture of long- and short-range millimeter radars, plus ultrasonic radars, delivering 360° (5x) notion protection. This ensures driver confidence by scanning for obstacles at a radius of as much as 200m across the automotive, in each path, even in low gentle or inclement climate.
- The LOTUSWEAR™ know-how line is constructed on the high-performance NVIDIA DRIVE compute platform – enabling redundant and numerous real-time sensor processing at trillions of operations per second for better security and enhancing the automobile’s capabilities by means of superior digitalization and adaptive parameters for optimum driving dynamics.
- The LOTUSWEAR™ Expertise Line is a homage to the purely useful becoming a member of “band” on the Lotus Esprit. It’s also an evolution of the road of know-how that Eletre and Emeya have inside their inside architectures. By grouping the know-how all in a singular line all through the automobile, Lotus goals to maintain the design as minimal and harmonious as attainable – a progressive expression of its know-how DNA.
A brand new benchmark for consumer expertise
Principle 1 seamlessly integrates projections, screens, and haptics, with Lotus’ new design manifesto to create a borderless consumer expertise and supply the motive force with info shortly and simply by means of:
- Analogue interactive parts and notifications by way of the adaptive inflatable smooth textile materials by MotorSkins.
- A digital system that makes use of clever environmental gentle, LED and laser-light parts, and reflections on the windscreen to speak info with the motive force, resembling impediment detection, braking, turns and extra.
- Two laser lights on the dashboard wings to point left and proper turns, working in concord with the haptic inflation supplies on the seats.
- Further RGB LEDs on the suspension modules, that are seen from the inside and have inexperienced or pink alerts, relying on the necessity for braking or acceleration.
- Clear, useful, 2D graphics to show the principle knowledge on the steering wheel, ERMDs, and heads-up show. This has been designed with simplicity on the core, utilizing the minimal quantities of fonts and graphic parts.
- Immersive 3D graphics, the place a grid of factors evolve into traces that change size, colour, and path in response to automobile pace, braking, turning, and drive modes – a homage to the Arte Programmata motion from the 60s.
These key options allow the motive force to boost their use of peripheral imaginative and prescient, that means they don’t have to take their eyes off the street. In doing this, Lotus designed a fluid and intuitive expertise for the drivers, to allow them to focus extra on driving, minimizing distractions and additional enhancing security.
A holistic design method, with minimal materiality and true innovation
With present automobiles product of a median of 100 A-surface supplies, as a concrete motion to a extra sustainable future and round economic system, Lotus began from scratch to construct a automotive with as few supplies as attainable.
Consequently, the ‘Problem of 10’ was created, and it’s Lotus’ intention and ambition to push the automotive {industry} ahead, demonstrating the corporate’s north star for future materials innovation.
Principle 1 has been designed with solely ten principal A-surface supplies with efficiency, sturdiness, light-weight, recycled, and recyclable properties. This consists of using cellulose-based glass fiber, recycled chopped carbon fiber, titanium, recycled glazing, recycled polyester, recycled rubber, elastomeric Polyurethane, clear polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyurethane, and recycled aluminum.
The Problem of 10 demonstrates Lotus’ dedication to pure minimalism, which is a nod again to Lotus’ simplicity of building and light-weight ideas of the corporate’s heritage autos.
This philosophy can also be demonstrated within the LOTUSWEAR™ driver system with the smooth robotic materials in collaboration with MotorSkins and 3D printed lattice construction headrests in partnership with Carbon.
As well as, Lotus has tapped into international electronics producer Kyocera SLD Laser, Inc., a Kyocera group firm, to ship industry-leading laser lights in each the inside and exterior, with a purpose to ship a secure, highly effective, and superior lighting system, while drastically lowering part measurement and weight. This consists of ‘Subsequent Era’ laser wire DRL features, that are lower than a millimeter in diameter, and principal and dipped-beam features that are delivered by means of lenses of 7x35mm.
With these ideas as the muse of Lotus design DNA, the corporate’s intent is to boost the efficiency of its automobiles in keeping with racing ideas, which Lotus was famend for. Its purpose can also be to make efficiency automobiles extra accessible by simplifying the design and know-how, making it as straightforward as attainable for anybody to make use of.
Enhancing dynamic efficiency, dealing with, and pace
Principle 1 extends Lotus’ experience in engineering to deliver drivers an electrical automotive that performs exceptionally and unlocks driver confidence by making the expertise as enjoyable and interesting as attainable.
This consists of superior energetic and passive aerodynamic strategies together with cooling, energetic rear spoiler, and passive rear underbody. All of this, together with the low middle of gravity, enhances stability and will increase the lightness of the automobile.
Principle 1 seamlessly integrates superior aero and cooling methods, that are designed to work in concord and improve effectivity. This consists of:
- The nostril cone on the automobile has a diffuser and drag-reducing air deflectors, with an air curtain that minimizes the automotive’s wake. This has been impressed by Lotus’ racing heritage.
- A contoured underfloor that directs air by means of low-drag NACA ducts into the cooling system and shops making a blown air foil, lowering separation, in addition to enabling extra highly effective power.
- Aspect pods within the automobile which have been meticulously designed to isolate turbulent wake from the connected airflow, guiding it in direction of the rear.
As well as, impressed by the revolutionary Lotus 49 Components 1 automotive, Principle 1 has been designed to make use of its motor and battery meeting as a careworn member to take the forces instantly from the suspension – lowering complexity and weight, without having for a subframe.
The rear wing has additionally been mounted on to the motor and suspension meeting to make sure the downforce acts instantly on the suspension mounts, during to the tires – lowering losses and frontal elevate. The rear suspension system additionally contains a pull rod design, which delivers a extra compact package deal and decrease middle of gravity.
The last word superior dynamic structure, delivering a state-of-the-art and seamless expertise
Lotus has developed a proprietary sports activities automotive door system that allows all occupants with straightforward ‘step-in’ entry to the automotive with its reverse opening and wrap-over design. With this, Lotus has achieved the smallest footprint it will possibly with the doorways opened, permitting for sensible use of doorways even in slender areas. As an example, if a automotive is parked in a decent automotive park with a 2.4-meter house, the motive force will nonetheless be capable to get out and in of the automobile with ease. This has beforehand been a problem with related high-performance sports activities automobiles.
Moreover, Principle 1 is a three-seater sports activities automotive that has a central driving place, with a passenger on either side, nestled behind the motive force. Impressed by motorsports, the motive force’s seat in the course of the automotive supplies the motive force with the absolute best visibility of the street forward, in addition to easy accessibility to all controls.
The within of the automobile construction has additionally been formed across the human physique, with the seating built-in into the construction. Lotus has designed the automotive, to answer the occupant’s physique. As an example, the steering wheel and pedals all transfer in direction of the motive force.
The automotive additionally options steer-by-wire, which permits precision and management at each flip and the flexibility to regulate steering ratios, pace and really feel. That is designed to ship precision and the smoothest experience, additional enhancing driver confidence, and connecting them to the street.
The top driving expertise, powered by the Lotus DNA
Principle 1 options bespoke Pirelli tires belonging to the P Zero household, Pirelli’s Extremely Excessive-Efficiency (UHP) vary. These have been developed particularly to boost the automobile’s efficiency, with specific consideration to limiting the environmental impression, and embody Elect-Pirelli’s most superior set of applied sciences developed to emphasise the traits of electrical automobiles.
Pirelli Elect tires have a construction and supplies that assist the load and the excessive torque typical of autos with electrical powertrains, offering longer sturdiness, much less tire put on, and optimizing battery vary. These tires are current right this moment within the firm’s electrical autos, together with its hyper-SUV, Eletre; hyper-GT, Emeya; and hypercar Evija.
The automotive additionally particulars the newest superior efficiency braking methods from AP Racing, who Lotus has had a long-standing relationship with. It goes all the way in which again to the 1967 Lotus 49 and AP Racing right this moment supplies the brake methods in Lotus’ present product lineup together with Evija, Eletre and Emeya. Principle 1 contains a tremendous light-weight, excessive efficiency carbon ceramic braking system, with a near-net Monoblock aluminum solid physique with uneven design – lowering materials the place pointless.
Above content material © 2024 Lotus Automobiles, reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee
