What you see here is the Lotus E-R9 Next-Gen EV Endurance Racer. It is not a flying car, if that’s what deriving from the post title. The E-R9 is an electric race car planned for 2030, but it has an aerodynamic that Lotus Cars’ Chief Aerodynamicist, Richard Hill, described as “partly driven like a car and partly flown like a fighter jet.”
E-R9 also has morphing body panels (unlike Team Fordzilla P1 which entire car morphs), plus vertically mounted aerodynamic control surfaces to assist with high-speed cornering. Lotus is referring this radical aerodynamic development as “active aero package.”
Rocking a striking black and gold paint job which is a nod to the brand’s pioneering motorsport heritage, this electric endurance racer features a fighter jet-style canopy centrally mounted in a delta-wing upper body. Here’s how the morphing body panels work:
“Located across the delta-wing profile, this adaptability – where active surfaces can change their shape and attitude to the air flow either at the press of a button by the driver or automatically according to performance sensor inputs – would deliver minimum drag on the straights and maximum downforce in the corners. Vertical control surfaces at the rear would generate aerodynamic forces to help the car change direction, without the limitations of grip at the tyre contact patch. The result is a racer that’s partly driven like a car and partly flown like a fighter jet.”
The Lotus E-R9 EV Endurance Racer is powered by a further-developed electric drivetrain with torque-vectoring found on the Lotus Evija. Each wheel will be driven independently by an electric motor and the drive system will be fully adjustable by the driver while on the move.
Images: Lotus Cars.
