Wild new Lotus Theory 1 sports car will debut tonight

Lotus has previewed its all-new Theory 1 concept ahead of its unveiling tonight.

Plenty of mystery still surrounds the 2024 Lotus Theory 1 which has been widely tipped to be a futuristic reimagining of a mid-engine sports car for the electric age as opposed to a production model.

Thought to herald an evolution of the firm’s latest design language first introduced on the Evija hypercar and subsequently applied to the Eletre SUV and Emeya sedan, the Theory 1 could provide valuable clues to what the British firm is plotting for the Elise successor due in 2027.

Lotus has already confirmed the next Elise will replace the current Emira, switch to an all-electric powertrain and will cost around £75,000 ($A145,000) when it lands – a significant bump in price over the previous model.

Developed under the Type 135 codename, the next Elise will be built at the car-maker’s Hethel plant in Norfolk and will be based on a bespoke platform, not related to any other architecture in the Geely Group.

Unusually, the Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture) structure will position the batteries stacked in the middle of the car, rather than under the floor, yielding a lower driving position while replicating a mid-engine weight-distribution.

Power will be provided by single and twin-motor powertrains varying from 350-650kW.

Both rear- and all-wheel drive will be offered, with the next-gen Elise also coming with advanced aero derived from the Evija.

As far as batteries go, even the smallest 66.4kWh battery will deliver a range of more than 500km while the biggest 99.6kWh powerpack could see the dainty Lotus EV travel more than 700km on a full charge.

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