I swear when I first saw the Lotus E-R9, I said to Carl (Automoblog’s man in Detroit), “Someone at Lotus has been playing too much Gran Turismo.” I seriously thought Lotus was making one of those digital-only concept cars that you could “drive” in the PlayStation game.

But no, the Lotus E-R9 is serious. Or at least a serious look at what a near-future EV-powered Le Mans racer could be. According to Lotus, the E-R9 is a design study for a pure electric racer that could be on the starting grid of racing circuits worldwide for the 2030 season.

Only a Matter of Time

The world’s automakers are grokking to the fact that EVs are going to happen. The available science shows the ICE-powered car will have to be phased out and replaced with, well, something. And right now, EVs are our best bet. More so than most carmakers, Lotus understands that the best way to prove a concept is to race it, which leads to the E-R9.
Part Car, Part Fighter Jet

The fact it’s fueled by electrons is only the start of the high-tech sorcery involved in the E-R9. Get this: According to Richard Hill, chief aerodynamicist for Lotus, the E-R9 is “partly driven like a car and partly flown like a fighter jet.” No, he’s not kidding.

The active aero package includes “morphing” body panels and aerodynamic control surfaces that bend, deflect, and twist to aid the Lotus E-R9 in all sorts of interesting ways. On top of that,...