Lotus’ wild 200mph ‘Theory 1’ EV signals return to form for the brand
Lotus has unveiled a new EV concept which it calls “Theory 1,” a lightweight(-ish) electric sportscar concept inspired by the Lotus Esprit with nearly 1,000hp and capable of speeds up to 200mph.
Here at Electrek, we see and report on a lot of wild EV concepts. These concepts are often accompanied by long treatises on how the design incorporates various “core principles,” unnecessary branding of things that will never make it to production, and buzzwords aplenty.
In a way, the Theory 1 is no different. My eyes glazed over at the 2,000+ words in Lotus’ press release before reaching the table of technical specs.
And yet, there is still something here, because this is Lotus – a company with an incredibly significant motorsport heritage… and a significant electric car heritage too.
Lotus is the company that provided the lightweight “gliders” on which the original Tesla Roadster, the car that started the modern electric vehicle era, was built.
And lately, Lotus has gotten into electric cars on its own, with the $2million Evija hypercar and the consumer-focused Eletre SUV and Emeya Hyper-GT.
But you’ll notice – one of those things is not like the others. Despite being a company famous for its focus on small cars, owing to founder Colin Chapman’s theory to “simplify, then add lightness,” the Eletre and Emeya are both over 5,500lbs, more than twice the weight of the original Tesla Roadster.
And so, Lotus’ new Theory 1 – packed full of probably-unrealistic concept features, but also clearly going downmarket from the Evija’s eyewatering $2million pricetag – could signal somewhat of a return to form for the wayward small-car maker.
That’s because its curb weight is listed at a much more reasonable 1600kg, or 3,527lbs. This is still hefty compared to the absolute lightest vehicles on the road right now, but it’s on the lower end of most powerful sportscars available today (including lighter than the Evija), quite low compared to other EVs, and significantly less than some ridiculous gas-powered chonkers.
It’s also a lot more than the original Lotus Esprit which the Theory 1 takes inspiration from, which began at around 2,000lbs. But later versions of the same vehicle weighed as much as around 3,000lbs, not too far off from the Theory 1.
In that relatively small package, Lotus claims it has fit some great performance specs.
Its 986hp powertrain is capable of sprinting 0-100km/h (62mph) in less than 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of 320km/h (198mph).
Energy comes from a 70kWh battery with a 250 mile range. This is a little smaller than some of the larger batteries we’ve seen around (the Eletre has a 112kWh battery, for example), but that’s the benefit of having a light, low-slung vehicle.
But specs don’t tell everything about how a vehicle feels to drive. And Lotus is promising to bring exceptional driving dynamics to this vehicle, through methods like including the motor and battery as stressed members and mounting the rear wing directly to the suspension assembly.
It also wants to use steer-by-wire, a technology which has been thought about for a long time but only recently has made its way into production vehicles, like the Lexus RZ and Cybertruck.
But perhaps the most striking part of the driver experience on the Theory 1 is its 3-seat design, seating the driver in the center of the vehicle, similar to the famed McLaren F1.
The car’s light weight comes from extensive use of advanced materials like carbon fiber and titanium, which are sure to boost the price of this vehicle if they make it to production. In that previously-mentioned 2,000 words, there’s plenty of talk about 3D printing and recycled materials as well.
But Lotus says that it wants to reduce the amount of “A-surface materials” – those you can touch – down to 10 or fewer, compared to the 100-or-so in most cars.
“There’s been this period of maximalism, and people having to do one-upmanship and go above, above, above. And I think we’ve reached that point where it plateaus in stylistic terms, and also in the demonstration of tech. We’re not in a crazy numbers race with this car.”
-Lotus design VP Ben Payne, as quoted by Wired
So the original Lotus philosophy of “simplify, then add lightness” is certainly present in this concept, signaling a return to form for the brand after a few years of wandering in the desert.
Finally, while we are just talking about a concept here, we’ve certainly seen plenty of EV concepts make their way into production in some way or another. Even particularly wild ones like the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept ended up being made into the BMW i8 sportscar.
So we might even see this Theory 1 show up on the road at some point. But, even if we don’t, at least it shows that Lotus is back to thinking about smaller cars (as they should have been all along…), and we’ll hopefully get a real EV sportscar out of them in a few years.
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After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.
Electrek’s Take
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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