Lotus designs electric city car

British magazine Automotive Engineer recently asked Lotus to come up with designs to show how far city car design can go, and this is the result.

The Hethel-based company managed to come up with an extremely compact, all-electric city car that measures 2600mm in length, 1600mm in width and 1700mm in height, while having a wheelbase of 2000mm. This puts it on par with the smart ForTwo, and is smaller than the Toyota iQ.

The car will be powered by a 49hp electric engine, 13hp will come from the lithium-ion battery pack which is located under the floor and can be recharged in less than three and a half hours using a standard household 13A plug. At full charge, the car is capable of a range of 50km and a top speed of 105km/h.

Despite the compact size, Lotus says that the car is capable of carrying four people, although the rear passengers will find it a bit of a squeeze. Alternatively, the rear seats can be folded to provide luggage space. Sliding side doors will provide entry, a la the Peugeot 1007.

The mini car would use an aluminium space frame in the floor while according to Russell Carr, head of Lotus Design, the body would be pressed aluminium or composite materials, depending on the sales volume.

Lotus points out that the design for the mini car was completed in approximately two weeks instead of the typical concept phase that lasts between three and six months, meaning that the project is a more of a rough sketch than anything else. And just to prevent any sort of rumours, the magazine says that vehicle wasn't designed as a Lotus city car but as a concept that could be developed for a third-party automaker.