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By Ben Pulman
18 March 2008 08:30
When the car starts up you get the typical direct injection gruffness. And quite a bit of noise too, as this prototype has no sound deadening whatsoever. That, combined with the smaller, lighter 1.5-litre engine makes the Low CO2 car fairly nippy. It feels more than on par with our long-term 168bhp Golf GT.
Charging around Lotus’s test track, four-up, it never feels slow. This is thanks in part to the mild hybrid system. The supercapacitors offer up an extra 74lb ft over short bursts to aid acceleration. The system isn’t designed to provide electric only running, but offer a boost in performance, and accommodate the stop/start function in traffic jams. Equipped with the mild hybrid system the 1.5-litre engine achieves 149 g/km CO2. Without it it’s 161.
The stop/start electronics are set up to be as aggressive as possible. In a BMW equipped with Efficient Dynamics technology the engine starts once you depress the clutch about 10 percent. Not in the Lotus. Fully depress the clutch, select a gear, and only when you’re literally at biting point does the engine restart. It takes a leap of faith to do, but the system shows how far you can go if you’re really serious about helping Mother Nature.
Unfortunately Lotus and Continental missed their original 145g/km target, but are still hoping to get the car down to 140 g/km. Continental’s latest low rolling resistance tyres will be the next step, and then other technologies like tyre pressure monitors and gearshift indicators will hopefully reduce the emissions further. And as the system is petrol, there’s no need to worry about diesel’s NOx emissions.
It’s easy to be blasé about the Low CO2 car, especially when a BMW 118i emits only 140g/km. But the Lotus offers so much more performance, and compared to with 174g/km Golf GT, betters it in every on-paper figure. Price-wise the two should be roughly equivalent. All Lotus and Continental need now is a buyer for the technology. Vauxhall?
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Lotus Low CO2 car: first ride
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Gregg218 says
Interesting effort
Though I agree this engine would suit a tastier application in an updated Elise it is important to demonstrate and explore further the idea of the smaller capacity engines producing adequate horsepower. Once the idea of 100 BHP per litre was something to shout about but now it is routine. We need to make 150-200 BHP the norm for the good of consumption and the performance we have come to expect from the modern automobile.
19 March 2008 13:40
brianf says
104g/km Prius looks very impressive now 4years after launch
Why don't Lotus try a twin cylinder with one third less of everything. 33% less power & torque.Say 1.0lt Twin, 106bhp & 118 lb ft. Then with some clever weight saving get the power to weight to equal a 1.6 Astra. It might then approach Co2 levels under 130g/km.
18 March 2008 22:39
Quadcamboy says
Lotus Low CO2 car
Sounds good to me, or it will in an Elise. With a 3 cylinder the fictional losses are more tha 25% les than a 4 banger so that would be a belter in a lightweight sports car particularily with the variable vane turbo.
18 March 2008 12:25
Fopster says
What's the big deal?
Sorry Lotus, but fail to see why this is such a big deal. The headline figure is no great shakes versus what is already out there in production (Beemer...). More work required. A lot more.
18 March 2008 09:55
JPOnstwedder says
Progress
As you say, it is amazing how easily 15-20% improvements can be had. BMW shows that, too: a new 525i petrol comes in at 178 g/km whereas a simple Ford Mondeo or S-Max with the 2.5 turbo is over 240...Good engineering means efficient use of fuel -- and more fun...
18 March 2008 09:16
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