May 11, 2024 | Updated: 11:35 AM EDT
May 11, 2017 06:20 PM EDT
Recently, a tuning shop called OnPoint Dyno has built electric Lotus Evora using components from a Tesla Model S and a Chevrolet Volt. As a result, a car known as Blue Lightning; quick as it is green.
According to Clean Technica, this isn't the first time a Lotus has gone electric. The Tesla Roadster was based on the Lotus Elise, and do is the Detroit Electric SP: 01. However, the Blue Lightning shows what individual builders can do with the right knowledge and parts.
To share some enlightenment, the car uses the drive unit from a Tesla Model S and a Chevrolet Volt battery pack. It makes about 450 horsepower, 50 horsepower more than the most powerful production Evora. Due to its electric-powered ability, all of the power is available from zero rpm, making for brutal acceleration. Stocky Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires help put all of that power to the pavement without spinning.
The Blue Lightning is rear-wheel drive, the Chevy Volt battery pack is mounted in the middle of the case where the stock version's Toyota-sourced 3.5-liter V6 usually resides. The Blue Lightning also sports regenerative braking, controlled using a paddle on the steering column which is similar to some General Motors electric cars. Regenerative braking is robust enough that the driver doesn't actually have to use the brake pedal most of the time.
According to GM Authority, the Blue Lightning was made primarily for track use, and OnPoint reckons it can run for three or four laps on the maximum attack before needing to recharge. The car builder OnPoint feels that will be adequate for the time-attack events it plans to run the car in. OnPoint is aiming for a range of 124 miles per charge; the car is built for DC fast charging that can charge the most battery to 80 percent capacity in just 30 minutes.
OnPoint plans to build a cover for the battery pack and drive unit, both for aesthetic reasons and to mask the noise produced by the motor. The Blue Lightning also currently lacks power steering, and there is a hole where the shifter is supposed to be.
