Evora plugging into electric future?

Could the Evora be going electric? A leaked Lotus presentation has revealed that the company is attempting to sell the model’s underpinnings to other manufacturers, while presenting them as the perfect platform for an electric car.

Based on the success of the Elise chassis – which Lotus sold to Vauxhall to make the VX220 and, more recently, to Tesla to form the basis of that firm’s groundbreaking electric Roadster – it’s a shrewd move by the British company.

The Evora is made largely from aluminium extrusions which can be cut to length – an ideal attribute for packaging the bulky batteries in an electric car.

Lotus has two proposals for an electric layout. The first replaces the rear occasional seats with a large battery stack. This compromises practicality but gives mid-engined handling characteristics and roughly a 230-mile range.

Another suggestion is to keep the 2+2 layout and shoehorn the batteries under the seats, creating more room but stifling the maximum range.

As yet, no one has committed to using the Evora’s architecture – but based on the rave reviews the coupé has received, it can’t be long before somebody does.