Lotus Ethos

The Lotus Ethos is a plug-in hybrid concept car that was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show as the Lotus CityCar and renamed the Ethos in 2011. It was developed by Lotus Engineering, a division separate from Lotus Cars. A 14.8 kilowatt-hour lithium battery gives an electric-only range of about 60 kilometres, after which a flex-fuel capable 1.2 litre three-cylinder petrol engine of 47 horsepower runs as a generator and extends the range beyond 500 kilometres; the concept was designed to run on ethanol, methanol or petrol. Lotus claimed a weight under 1,400 kilograms, 0 to 100 km/h in nine seconds and a top speed of 170 km/h. It was based on the Proton EMAS and was to be assembled in Malaysia, but it never entered production.