2027 Lotus Elise EV faces delays due to heavy battery tech

Lotus is considering pressing pause on the development of its next-generation 2027 Lotus Elise until smaller, lighter batteries become available.

Being developed under the Type 135 codename, the next Lotus Elise was due to be revealed in the next couple of years before hitting dealerships in 2027.

However, a report from Britain’s Autocar suggests those plans are now in jeopardy.

According to Lotus Group design boss, Ben Payne, if the sports car-maker goes ahead and produces a battery-powered roadster, it wouldn’t live up to the ultra-lightweight legacy started by the original Elise.

“The Elise is the go-to touchpoint for Lotus,” said Payne.

“The technology right now does not really allow you to recreate that product in a convincing way.”

Among the designer’s criticism of current technology is not only the weight but the compromises of having to package large batteries underfloor, which provides for un-sports-car-like proportions.

Payne didn’t specifically reference them, but the Lotus Eletre SUV and Emeya sedan are both significantly heavier and larger than a car you might expect from the British brand.

But the design chief said work behind the scenes was well underway to use EV hardware that replicates the driving characteristics of the combustion-engined Elise.

“It’s fun to drive, super-engaging, very connected – just an utterly appealing driver’s product,” he said.

Helping keep weight low, regardless of the battery, the Type 135 gets a rear subframe structure that’s 37 per cent lighter than the one used in the Lotus Emira.

Instead of mounting batteries between the axles, the next Elise will stack its batteries mid-ship to replicate the old car’s mid-engine weight distribution.

Payne said the arrival of more energy-dense solid-state batteries could be the answer Lotus is looking for as they offer significant weight savings.

“[Solid-state batteries’] physical size shrinking, and inevitably the mass coming down, allows you to go back to the core values,” he said.

“For a brand like Lotus, being able to reduce everything to the minimum and then shrink-wrap the car around it, is the core philosophy of [founder Colin] Chapman.”

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