Lotus shows sports car future with wild Esprit-inspired three-seater

Payne said the design and engineering teams worked together closely to “balance creating something that was aesthetically pleasing and functionally correct”.

The car is in effect split into two sections, with a heavily sculpted lower tub in exposed carbonfi bre topped by a white body that merges into a large glass dome roof.

Engineer Phil Hall said: “Really, there’s a singleseater race car structure underneath, in terms of the structure, suspension and aerodynamics, but with a nice dress on top to make it more approachable as an everyday road car proposition.”

The front end features a diffuser and drag-reducing air deflectors, which are designed to create an air curtain to reduce wake. That works in conjunction with a sculpted underside that directs air into the cooling system before being directed to reduce drag and optimise the downforce of the adjustable rear wing.

Despite the emphasis on aerodynamics, style was an important consideration. Exterior design lead Amar Vaya called it “an expression of art and engineering”. He added: “We are putting a functional object on the road, but we wanted to keep the artistic element alive.”

Notably, the Theory 1 has been designed so that much of the running gear is visible, either through the minimal bodywork or via a large recycled-glass greenhouse. Payne said that was done “so you can look through and see both the mechanical and the design aspects”.

The Theory 1’s minimal bodywork was also a nod to former Lotus boss Colin Chapman’s lightweight ethos. Vaya said: “There are a lot of ways you can interpret lightness. It’s not just reducing mass. Chapman once said ‘there’s nothing lighter than a hole’ and you can see that philosophy here.”

The lower and upper sections of the body are split by a prominent line that nods to the seam on the Esprit S1, but in this case it features an OLED strip that can be used to communicate with other road users.

Lotus Theory 1 engineering and performance

The 986bhp powertrain features a 690bhp rear electric motor as the main drive unit, with a 296bhp electric motor on the front axle. Placing the smaller motor at the front meant “you don’t need a big, bluff front end,” said Hall.

The 70kWh battery pack is built around the rear motor, giving the car a similar weight balance to that of rear-engined supercars and allowing it to sit low to the road.

The rear motor and battery assembly are used as a stressed member, with the rear suspension and wing attached directly to it – aping an F1 design trend started by the 1966 Lotus 43.

“There’s a great historical link and it enables us to make the package really small,” said Hall. The Theory 1 is claimed to weigh less than 1600kg, which would make it nearly 300kg lighter than the Evija.

Much of the other running gear of the car comes from proven partners: AP Racing, which worked with Lotus’s F1 team on the 49, provides the six-piston caliper brakes, while the car sits on Pirelli P Zero Elect tyres.

The wheels are 20in front and 21in rear. There is steer-by-wire technology and doublewishbone suspension at both ends of the car.

Lotus Theory 1 interior design 

The Theory 1 adopts a similar three-seat layout to that of the McLaren F1, with the driver positioned forward and centrally, and the two passengers slightly behind on either side.

In a bid to improve sustainability, Lotus designers aimed to use only 10 ‘A-surface’ (visible) materials, compared with around 100 in an average car.

One key element of that was leaving much of the interior bare to showcase the recycled chopped carbonfibre tub, and the seats are sculpted directly into that. In another nod to Lotus’s F1 heritage, the key functional components both inside and outside the car are coloured gold.

There is only minimal padding for the seats. Ben Payne said: “We looked at pressure maps of how people sit in our current cars to define the minimum requirements and ensure they had sufficient support.”

Because the driver’s seat is fixed, the steering wheel and pedals automatically retract and extend to fit the driver. The minimalist interior goes without an infotainment screen or traditional display. There is a small screen on the steering wheel, and the speedometer sits under the lip of the windscreen, within the driver’s eyeline.

The car also uses new technology to minimise functions. OLED lights can signal when to turn, while a system called Lotuswear, developed with start-up Motorskins, features small inflatable pads in the seat and steering wheel that can offer haptic feedback prompts.

For example, instead of a warning light when a car is in a driver’s blindspot, the system could replicate a tap on the driver’s shoulder. The focus was on maximising visibility and making the interior feel open.

Payne noted that the low windscreen and raised wheel arches give the driver a clear sight of where the wheels are located, known in Lotus as the ‘Becker point’ in a nod to long-time vehicle engineering director Roger Becker. 

Hall said the low, central driving position is good for dynamics, “because it puts you at the centre of the yaw for the vehicle, so you’re fully in contact with the front and back of the car”.

He added: “We’re doing this to explore the brand, but there’s also going to be a real market need at some point. This is a theory, so we have to be mindful of those customer experiences. Space and time are luxuries these days. We’re not saying this is a luxury experience; it’s a different message, but those are elements people hold dear.”

What's next for Lotus?

While the Theory 1 is officially a concept, many of its ideas are likely to feature in the Elise-replacing Type 135 sports car due in 2026, which is being developed at Lotus’s Hethel site. But questions remain over that programme, with doubts about the future of the Norfolk facility.