2013 Lotus City Car planned
According to British reports, Lotus will be introducing a super mini car by 2013. The car will be based on the Lotus City Car Concept we first saw at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.
Using an Italdesign Giugiaro platform incorporating a range-extending hybrid system, the Lotus City Car will certainly be the most fuel-efficient and smallest Lotus to ever hit the market.
Power will come from an electric motor outputting around 45kW which will be backed up by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. It will use a single-speed gearbox as well to provide optimum fuel efficiency.
Lotus boss, Dany Bahar, recently told Car Magazine in the UK,
"Our city car has been confirmed and will be launched in October 2013. We are doing this together with Proton and another OEM [original equipment manufacturer]. We will build three versions: one for the Asian market, one for Europe and a sportier one."
Reports say the little Lotus will stick to Lotus trends and offer reasonably sporty performance. Acceleration from 0-100km/h is expected to take around 9.0 seconds whilst a top speed will be around 170km/h - not bad for a super mini.
Another element to the Lotus City Car that also hints at the sporty pedigree is the fact that it will be rear-wheel drive, unlike its main rival, the Toyota iQ-based Aston Martin Cygnet which is front-wheel drive.
It doesn't really matter how sporty this car will be though, the main focus will be the style, its fuel efficiency and the fact that it provides the Lotus showroom with a green car.
Total range will be around 500km using the range-extender and around 50km using just the battery pack.
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