What happens when a pioneering sports car marque enters the brave new world of EVs? A lot. And at speed.

Ever seen the Lotus logo, and wondered what the four letters ‘ACBC’ in it stand for?

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars, is the answer.

And from the day he started engineering fibreglass kit cars in some old stables in north London in 1948 to the day he died in 1982, every car that bore this logo echoed his single ethos: “Simplify, then add lightness.”

Or, alternatively: “Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.”

In other words, for almost 80 years, Lotus cars have been feather light, fantastically agile and freakishly quick.

Which makes the brand’s foray into EVs – noted for their speed but also immense weight – something of a U-turn.

Even more so when you consider that one of these new EVs is a sedan and the other is an SUV.

There is still the Emira, for the Lotus purist.

The Emira is your classic two-door, mid-engined supercar-lite, powered by either a 3.5-litre V6 (the same engine that started life in the Toyota Aurion) or a new 2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder. Eager and gutsy in both forms.

And it’s true – the all-important performance figures for the new Eletre SUV and Emeya sedan would make the likes of a Lamborghini blush.

The entry-level Eletre produces 450 kW of power and gets up and goes from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, while in top-of-the-line Eletre R form, these figures are 675 kW and 2.9 seconds.

The Emeya mirrors the same power outputs, but enjoys an ever-so-slightly faster 0-100 km/h time of 4.1 seconds for the Emeya and Emeya S, and 2.7 seconds for the Emeya R.

But both are all-wheel drive and have five seats and a useable boot.

The Eletre also tips the scales at 2490 kg and the Emeya only 10 kg less (2480 kg).

These are all things you’d think would set ACB Chapman spinning in his grave. Even if the speed made him smile.

At the Australian launch event on the Central Coast last week, Lotus Cars Australia CEO Lee Knappett explained the market move.

“It’s a lot to do with what society, and the market, is demanding,” he told Region.

“As much as the niche sports cars are fun and exciting and we all love them dearly, there is a cap to how many people out there can justify them.”

Lee admits “there have been a few plans” in the past to reinvent Lotus into a mainstream global competitor – particularly one at the 2010 Paris Motor Show “that was very ambitious and not well considered” when the brand’s previous owner announced plans for six new cars within six years.

Now, however, armed with a $2 billion investment from the Chinese conglomerate Geely, he says Lotus Cars falls under a “far more realistic” strategy called ‘Vision 80’, which aims to sell 150,000 cars per annum by the time the company turns 80 in 2028.

And so far, so good. In 2018, the year this vision was announced, Lotus sold 101,500 cars.

“We saw this when we first went from our very raw, very niche sports cars of Elise and Exige into Emira – we doubled volume overnight and 85 per cent of the market were net new to the brand,” Lee explains.

Lee affirms the Emira will remain in production “as long as it makes commercial sense”, even amidst plans for a new all-electric sports car around 2027/2028.

“That will hopefully be a supplement to the product line up, so by 27/28, we’ll have five cars.”

But will the bolder step of an SUV and four-door sedan pay off? If the likes of the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus and Ferrari Purosangue – all SUVs that have proven very successful for their brands – are anything to go by, it looks that way.

“I think Lotus is in a nice place in that it can still appeal to those in the half-a-million-dollar SUVs, but … for a fraction of the cost,” Lee says.

The Eletre models range from $189,990 to $279,990 (plus on-road costs), and the Emeya ranges from $189,990 to $259,990. That’s Porsche money for Lambo performance.

“I think as long as Lotus is doing an SUV that feels the way it’s supposed to feel, we are still being true to those original values of Colin Chapman,” Lee adds.

“It’s important we hang onto what Lotus stands for … we need to honour it, and that’s why we’re trying to pull everything back to that core value of ‘for the driver’ and make sure a Lotus feels like a Lotus when you’re driving. I think these products embody those characteristics.”

Visit Lotus Cars Australia for more information.

Original Article published by James Coleman on Riotact.