24 September/October 2023 | E-Mobility Engineering but that created a vision of what we wanted to achieve before going into 3D CAD development where we could start identifying some of the design constraints,” says Aleck Jones, creative lead at CALLUM. “These included settling on a wheelbase and a track width. We knew we wanted the EV to be wider than the Elise, which was great because it gave us a lot of extra space for design and packaging. And we wanted the cabin to retain the shape of the Elise, with the same glasshouse as the [Lotus] Exige.” Thomson’s principal desire to modernise the iconic sportscar and give it more presence has resulted in the Nyobolt EV being 100 mm wider and 150 mm longer than the original Elise, making Nyobolt’s car about 3.8 m long and 1.8 m wide. “That wider stance rolls back into the body and into the thicker, more muscular haunches at the back, giving it more of an hourglass shape,” Jones adds. “We’ve also raised the waistline of the car somewhat, to reduce the size of the glasshouse and emphasise the new proportions. And one of the main focuses was to get the surfacing right – one thing you’ll see is a highlight that rolls down the side of the car and into the rear arch. “None of these design enhancements would have been possible though without the compact size and nature of the Nyobolt battery, which allowed us to package it into where the engine bay had been [the original Elise had a rear midengined layout], letting us design the EV freely without any packaging hindrances.” Design-wise, it has retained the nosedown stance of the original Elise, but now comes with 19 in wheels, rather than the wheels in the original, which were 15 in at the front and 16 in at the rear. That is a reflection of the modern trend towards larger wheels and cars. “We also wanted to update the lamps to make them more interesting,” Jones continues. “The front ones are designed with a nod to the Elise’s lensless lamps, which also allowed us to open up the design with an aperture behind them to allow more airflow into the car for cooling subsystems like the battery cold plates without needing to make the front grill or side apertures larger. “At the rear, the lamps create essentially a beam of light that intersects with the body, and they also form ducts that allow greater dissipation of the heat from the battery pack bay. Creating these lamp signatures can add multiple zeroes to the cost of a project though, because the lamps are very complicated and developing them is expensive, but it was worth it for getting a unique look and additional modernised features. “For instance, where the standard Elise had indicators, the Nyobolt EV has singular Modifications from the original Lotus Elise design include an increased track width, revamped lighting, and apertures for cooling airflow (Author’s image) A proprietary anode material combined with other chemical and design choices in pouch-type cells enable Nyobolt’s high power density and longevity at the system level (Author’s image)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4