The Lotus Theory 1 Is The Wedge We've Been Waiting For

Lotus, as far as we know, is still committed to its goal of only introducing fully electric cars from now on. In theory, once the wonderful Emira goes off sale, that’s it. Its EVs so far, though, haven’t exactly been very… Lotus-ish. There’s the unobtainium Evija hypercar, and the Eletre and Emeya – good cars by all accounts, but a far cry from the brand’s sports car DNA. We know it wants to introduce EV sports cars in the future, though, and this is the first sniff at what they might look like: the Lotus Theory 1.

Wedgy, isn’t it? The first words that came to mind when we saw it were ‘cyberpunk Esprit’. It’s been designed around the principle of ‘Challenge of 10’ – that is, using no more than 10 different main materials in its construction, many of which are recycled. Most new cars, according to Lotus, use ten times that.

Its pointy shape isn’t just for show, either. The nose, underbody and side pods have all been designed with the express purpose of minimising its airflow disruption, and include elements like a blown airfoil, and underbody contours that feed air straight into the cooling system.

Its motor and battery housing are stressed members – much like the engine in a racing car, or an Aston Martin Valkyrie – meaning they absorb suspension forces, and the active rear wing is also included as part of this assembly so its downforce effect acts immediately on the rear suspension.

On the subject of its powertrain, Lotus has provided some target specs of the Theory 1. It’s said to be using a 70kWh battery, feeding a 986bhp motor that powers all four wheels. Hypothetically, it’s capable of 0-62mph in under 2.5 seconds, a 199mph top speed, and a 250-mile range. The entire weight is targeted below an impressive-for-an-EV 1600kg.

Things might be even wilder on the inside. For a start, it has a central driving position flanked by two passenger seats, a la McLaren F1 and GMA T50. More unusual than that, though, is the ‘Lotuswear’ textile material on the seats and steering wheel. This is a robotised fabric that uses inflatable pods to provide feedback or, presumably, a lovely relaxing massage.

Elsewhere, it has binaural speakers embedded in the headrests, like a really posh version of the thing you used to get in Mazda MX-5s, which are also said to enhance the ‘speed’ sounds piped in by the car.

Lotus Group’s vice president of design, Ben Payne, said: “With Theory 1, we’ve built on everything Lotus has achieved so far in its 76-year history, to push the boundaries for what it means to drive a performance vehicle. We want to demonstrate that you don’t need to compromise – with both digital and analogue capabilities working harmoniously in the future car.”

The Theory 1 is very much just a concept car, and whether something resembling it makes production remains to be seen. We know Lotus wants to introduce an EV sports car by the end of the decade, but everything so far points to it being something a little less powerful than this and closer to the petrol Emira in performance terms. It could look a bit like the Theory 1, though, and we might see some of its other features trickle down to Lotus’ production cars in the coming years.