Nyobolt presents reborn Lotus Elise S1 EV concept at Goodwood

The designer of the archetypal Lotus Elise has reimagined his seminal sports car arsenic a rapid-charging EV that volition instrumentality the signifier of a road-going prototype successful November this year, up of sportier versions planned for the coming years.

Hosting highly precocious artillery hardware from a British-based exertion steadfast called Nyobolt, this striking electrical conception is expected to beryllium constricted to 25 cars per twelvemonth if it goes into production, which volition beryllium decided astir 12 months aft the proof-of-concept prototype hits the road. 

Weighing conscionable 1246kg and with 368lb ft and 470bhp, for a power-to-weight ratio of 400bhp-per-tonne, it promises to harvester acquainted ICE levels of sports car show with a usable electrical scope of 155 miles.

When it undergoes roadworthy investigating successful November, it volition beryllium tested connected British proving grounds. There are nary existent plans for Nürburgring development.

Designer Julian Thomson, present astatine General Motors but champion known for the Elise S1 (as good arsenic assorted Volkswagen Group concepts and the Evoque-previewing Range Rover LRX concept), sketched the two-seater successful 2021, and it has been brought to fruition by Warwick-based Callum plan agency, founded by his one-time brag and ex-JLR plan caput Ian Callum.

The conception is based connected a Lotus Exige S chassis and is simply a exertion demonstrator for Cambridge-based Nyobolt, a artillery start-up which says its tungsten anodes tin slash EV charging times to “just a fewer minutes”. 

“Batteries are nary longer the limiting origin successful electrical car development,” said the firm, which hopes its patented fast-charging exertion volition "unlock the imaginable of artillery performance", and adds that it is “manufacturable and scalable close now, and volition marque recharging arsenic convenient arsenic refuelling a petrol oregon diesel car."

Nyobolt CEO Sai Shivareddy said the steadfast had raised £70 cardinal successful backing truthful far, with its batteries already being utilized successful concern applications successful the robotics industry. 

It plans to unfastened a materials manufacturing tract successful the UK, and hopes to yet nutrient “millions” of units for a scope of applications including location appliances, energy retention and cars.

Nyobolt says its batteries are smaller and lighter than those utilized by EVs today, but are inactive recyclable and manufacturable astatine a little terms point. Using existing infrastructure, it afloat charges in conscionable six minutes and charges to 80% successful 4 minutes. Nyobolt claims its batteries tin acquisition much than 2000 fast-charge cycles without "significant show loss" and volition past for 300,000 miles, acknowledgment to the information its technology does not enactment accent connected the anode, prolonging the battery's life. 

The quicker charging capableness touted by the Nyobolt EV conception has been achieved by simplifying the charging process to its bare components, the institution says. New materials, compartment designs and bundle controls person been developed to marque the artillery much almighty and efficient.

Shivareddy said the steadfast is looking to make charging innovations "that cannot wait". With the ever-increasing uptake successful electrical cars successful the UK and astir the world, helium believes a solution is required that volition "slash charging times from hours to a fewer minutes."

The exertion has besides been produced to alleviate immoderate of the barriers to artillery development, for illustration dilatory complaint times, entree to artillery materials, and artillery degradation issues. According to Callum's managing director, Nyobolt's tech offers a solution to these problems.

The important implications of the artillery exertion housed wrong this future-looking conception are reinforced by Callum’s important overhaul of the archetypal Elise’s design.

Callum's originative lead, Aleck Jones, said: “Rather than instrumentality a resto-mod approach, the purpose was to germinate the plan and bring it up to date, portion keeping that understated, everyman sportscar consciousness that was truthful good received successful the Elise. We needed to guarantee that we maintained the close cognition with the body, truthful it’s nose-down, taking that aforesaid assertive stance.

“Nyobolt’s exertion allows this car to tick each the boxes that made the archetypal Elise specified a desirable drivers’ car with a cult following, but it’s electric. These 2 things don’t usually travel hand-in-hand owed to value and artillery packaging constraints.”

The effect is simply a thoroughly modernised instrumentality connected the Elise - wider, little and cleaner than the 1996 car for a much purposeful stance, and with a raft of modern flourishes passim to springiness the content of a sports car designed today, alternatively than earlier the millennium. Importantly, it is said to measurement "closer to 1 tonne than two" arsenic a effect of the lighter batteries.

The silhouette and astir definitive features of the S1 remain, but new-spec 19in alloy wheels, slimline LED lights astatine each end, rear-view cameras and a bulkier, resculpted rear extremity hint astatine the concept’s radically antithetic billing to the bare-bones original. 

Nybolt and Callum program to collaborate connected much amusement cars that usage this technology, but person yet to uncover what signifier these volition take, oregon erstwhile we volition spot them. The car appeared successful nationalist erstwhile again astatine the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed.