Woah! It’s the 986bhp Lotus Theory 1 concept

This is the Lotus Theory 1, a pure concept that’s aiming to draw together a few of Lotus’ historically core values before we forget that Lotus does other stuff than tech-tilted, luxury electric SUVs.

But it’s also a projection of what those values might be in a world that’s electric and digital-heavy. Which is a weird niche to navigate when you consider what most of us would consider to be ‘Lotus values’, because words like lightweight, simple, innovative, and analogue aren’t usually associated with electric cars.

Trouble is, if you’re being cynical, it could look like a bit of a relevance-grab to take our mind off the big electric things in the current Lotus roster. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a look. The issue seems to be that most are pretty sanguine about the need to produce cars that actually sell globally (and we’re talking China and North America), which means - at the moment - electric and SUV-ish.

But the Eletre and Emeya, good as they are, are Chinese platforms, built in China (Wuhan, to be precise) and released in China before Europe. To drive, they’re pretty damn good, but they’re also big, heavy, luxury and electric. Precious little in there to point at and say ‘now that’s Lotus’.

The next car will be a mid-sized electric SUV - think Porsche Macan-sized - so the Theory 1 is a kind of reminder that people at Lotus are still thinking about what it actually means to be a Lotus, past just wearing the badge. 

Unfortunately, there does appear to be a lot of fluff to wade through before you get to the actual car. But it’s worth it; context is everything. When you first read up on the Theory 1, it feels like there’s a lot of earnest conceptualising going on; enough to make it sound all a bit like a marketing presentation. There’s Lotus’ overarching commitment to the ‘Vision80’ plan to transform itself into a ‘global performance technology brand’, which then devolves into the Theory 1 launching ‘The Lotus Theory’ design manifesto for all forthcoming Lotus cars.

In turn, that’s broken down into ‘DNA’ or Digital, Natural, Analogue. Digital, to represent ‘immersive and intuitive experience’, Analogue for ‘emotional, human-centric design’, and Analogue, to stand for the company’s ‘continuous advancement of performance engineering’. Gah. It’s enough to make you want to go and bolt an LS2 V8 into an Exige and just do burnouts.

So, some numbers. Single-speed transmission, all-wheel drive and an almighty 986bhp (1,000PS, if you hadn’t guessed). Weight below 1,600kg, inclusive of a 70kWh battery for 250 miles of range. 0-62mph in less than 2.5 seconds, top speed of 199mph. The Theory 1 is fast. In theory.

But it isn’t just all smoke ’n’ mirrors. Although it’s obviously not a production car, when you spend time with the people behind it and the actual car, it really does start to make sense. And it doesn’t feel like concept nonsense. For a start, it’s not a ridiculous silhouette, just a neat mid-engined-looking type thing. Bits of Lamborghini in the double-pointed nose, with some Ford GT90 vibes in that heavy rear clamshell. Complex, Evija-ish wheels over AP Racing calipers. There’s a clean, sharp nose, sidepods behind the front wheels and a deep waisted side, all feeding a big, double-hooped rear diffuser and active rear wing, itself sat over exposed rear suspension.

There’s loads of glass and clear polycarbonate, all leading your eye somewhere different, from the wingspan of the floating dash seen through the shin-height windscreen base, to the front of the car where you can see past the headlight into the front brake ducts. It’s a fun thing to pore over.

And there’s lots of tech and neat thinking that’s just not that obvious. Before we get to the interior stuff, it’s worth mentioning a few of the outside bits. The underfloor is contoured, incorporating NACA ducts for cooling, and massage air through the car to the diffuser. The battery and motor assemblies are a single stressed member, removing the need for a rear subframe, and that rear wing attaches direct, so there are fewer squishy bits between it and real-time effect.

And there are fewer actual elements. Where a normal car’s structure might include up to 100 different materials, the Theory 1 has ten. Easier to make, easier to recycle, less complex in general. So the tub is recycled, lightweight, chopped carbonfibre; the stuff that looks like a rag-rolled paint effect. The body is made from cellulose-based glassfibre - essentially made from plants and again, light - the rubber is recycled, as is the aluminium, polycarbonate, polyester… even the glass is second-life stuff. And it’s light in context. For an electric car of this size and performance, a target weight of under 1,600kg isn’t bad at all.

But the jewellery is also top-notch: the headlights and DRLs are laser-based from a Californian company called Kyocera SLD Laser, Inc, making them super-slim, endlessly malleable and very small. And it’s got all the usual ADAS, but with the hardware smoothed into the actual structure. So there’s pop-out LiDAR in the middle of the nose - keeping the lines clean until the tech needs deploying - another three deployable LiDARs, six high-def cameras, a combination of long- and short-range millimetre radars (plus ultrasonics), all integrated into glassed-in stakes in the doors and the black panel on the rear of the car. Apparently it’s Level 4 autonomy capable, but without big pods on the roof and loads of sticky-out sensors.

So the outside is more nuanced than you thought, but then it starts to get even more intriguing on the inside, because that’s where the theatre of the concept starts to get some momentum.

The doors are reverse-opening scissors, so they pop up and back (good for tight parking spaces), with a supporting spar behind. That reveals a three-seater interior with a central driving position and two saddlebagged passengers. Seats are fixed to the tub with pads for your fleshy bits, the yoke-style wheel and pedal box moving to accommodate the driver.

The ‘dash’ - if you can call it that - is a pair of structural carbon spars that spear across the forward view, but after that, it actually feels quite stark. Especially with the enormous glasshouse. It certainly doesn’t feel particularly laden with tech - there’s just a small screen between the grips of the yoke, with lovely tactile switches behind. Some are gear selectors, others configurable, the bigger pair some sort of gearshift paddle.

It’s more elegant than a massive screen and a tonne of unused information. So the rear-view mirror interior monitors are transparent and thrown out at the end of the dash spars, and there are little lights reflected in the windscreen that change colour when you need to brake and accelerate; like a real-time track trainer.

There’s a big head-up display, and something called ‘Lotuswear’ delivered by a company called MotorSkins. Sounds weird, but it’s a series of bladders in the seats and yoke that are robotic. So they pulse and move to give you different bits of info,  like when to turn left or right from the nav, for instance. And they do different things in the modes, so Range, Tour, Sport and Individual would all do different things, from tightening the seat to widening the grip. And yes, it does basically work, although the sensation of nav information via bumcheek or sweep to the kidneys takes a little getting used to.

There’s also a KEF stereo built into the 3D-printed, rubbery weave textile headrests - and a sub behind the driver’s seat - and a myriad of other little assets that you don’t see at first. It really does feel like it’s got some old-school Lotusness built-in, framed through future tech. None of these things are groundbreaking in isolation, but the Theory 1 does kind of focus down on what a ‘real’ Lotus might look like in the face of technology that’s sprinting away from what the brand has dealt with before.

And it’s not as fanciful as it might seem. You won’t see a Theory 1 on the road, but you’ll see some of this stuff in production, no doubt.