The Lotus Ethos is a fully plug-in hybrid concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

 that was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show

2010 Paris Motor Show

The 2010 Paris Motor Show took place from 2 October to 17 October 2010, in Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles.For 2010, the theme of the special exhibition was "The Incredible Collection 2: automobile manufacturers collections and museums."- Production cars :...

 as the "Lotus CityCar". The vehicle was developed by Lotus Engineering, a separate division from Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...

. The CityCar has a lithium battery

Lithium battery

Lithium batteries are disposable batteries that have lithium metal or lithium compounds as an anode. Depending on the design and chemical compounds used, lithium cells can produce voltages from 1.5 V to about 3.7 V, over twice the voltage of an ordinary zinc–carbon battery or alkaline battery...

 pack with an all-electric range

All-electric range

All-electric range is the driving range of a vehicle using only power from its electric battery pack to traverse a given driving cycle. In the case of a battery electric vehicle, it means the total range per charge. For a plug-in hybrid , it means the range of the vehicle in charge-depleting mode...

 of 60 kilometres (37.3 mi), and after the battery is depleted the 1.2-liter gasoline engine kicks in to help with charging, allowing the car to run more than 500 kilometres (310.7 mi). The concept car is designed for flex-fuel operation on ethanol

Ethanol fuel

Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...

, or methanol

Methanol fuel

Methanol is an alternative fuel for internal combustion and other engines, either in combination with gasoline or directly . It is used in racing cars and in China...

 as well as regular gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

.

Specifications

The Ethos concept is an urban electric car

Electric car

An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...

 with a 14.8-kWh lithium battery

Lithium battery

Lithium batteries are disposable batteries that have lithium metal or lithium compounds as an anode. Depending on the design and chemical compounds used, lithium cells can produce voltages from 1.5 V to about 3.7 V, over twice the voltage of an ordinary zinc–carbon battery or alkaline battery...

 pack that delivers a range of up to 37 miles (59.5 km) in electric-only mode

All-electric range

All-electric range is the driving range of a vehicle using only power from its electric battery pack to traverse a given driving cycle. In the case of a battery electric vehicle, it means the total range per charge. For a plug-in hybrid , it means the range of the vehicle in charge-depleting mode...

. The internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...

 is a flex-fuel-capable 47 hp

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

, 1.2 liter three-cylinder gasoline engine that acts as a generator charging the battery pack up to 310 miles (498.9 km) miles. The concept car weighs less than 1400 kg and Lotus claims it will reach 62 miles per hour (27.7 m/s) from rest in 9 seconds. Top speed is 170 kilometres per hour (105.6 mph), with a charge-sustaining top speed of 120 kilometres per hour (74.6 mph) and the drivetrain has CO2 emissions rating below of 60 g/km on the ECE-R101 test.

Naming and production plans

In 2011 Lotus named the concept the Lotus Ethos. It is based on the EMAS

Proton EMAS

Proton EMAS is a family of concept cars designed by Italdesign Giugiaro and developed by Proton. The EMAS debuted at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show as a plug-in hybrid vehicle....

 from its parent company Proton and is likely to be assembled in Malaysia alongside the EMAS for an estimated cost in the UK of "£30,000 plus".

External links

• Ethos City Car at Lotus Cars
  Lotus Cars
  Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
  
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