Lotus Eco Elise
July 13, 2008 by Admin
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Lotus has announced that it will reveal the Eco Elise concept in the Greener Driving Pavilion at the 2008 London Motor Show from 23 July until 3 August 2008. The Lotus Eco Elise is an environment friendly sports car based on the Elise S but weights at 32 kg (70.5 lbs) less than the standard Elise S which directly reduces the fuel consumption.
The body panels and spoiler, the lightweight Lotus seats are made from sustainable hemp technical fabrics where the hemp has exceptional material properties that make for a very strong fiber. Apart from that, hemp requires low energy to manufacture and absorbs CO2 whilst growing as a plant. Meanwhile, the carpets in the Lotus Eco Elise are made from sisal, another renewable crop as it is a tough, abrasion resistant material.
In partnership with Du Pont, Lotus paint Facility has developed a totally water-based paint system for the primer, color coat and lacquer and in return Lotus is able to reduce energy consumption due to the low cure temperature this paint requires. The paint also could reduce solvents emissions.
The Eco Elise also comes with solar panels embedded in the roof of the hemp hard top which deliver power to the electrical systems.
Lotus designed software has been developed to assist drivers to maximize the fuel efficiency of the engine while a green shift display is installed into the instrument panel to ensure gear shifts are at the optimum to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.
The weight reduction of the Lotus Eco Elise could be achieved with the use of lightweight stereo and speaker system from Alpine saving 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) and special lightweight wheels which contribute to 15.8 kg (34.8 lbs) weight saving.
[...] Source: RevMods [...]