The stunning Lotus Theory 1 concept car does away with buttons and relies on robotic bladders instead
Out with annoying visual reminders and in with prodding from inflatable textiles
· TechRadarNews By Leon Poultney published 21 September 2024
Lotus has unveiled its latest concept car, which hints at what we can expect from the company's high-performance future – including a pared-back interior that relies on robotic textiles instead of physical buttons.
As with many concept cars, there’s a lot of hypothetical thinking here, with much of the technology and performance figures providing a suggestion of what could come, rather than a true statement of intent.
Theoretically, a rather modest 70kW battery would send power to all four wheels, producing 968bhp and a 0-62mph sprint time of under 2.5 seconds. It all sounds very 'modern hyper EV' to us, but it is the tech inside the vehicle that is the most interesting.
Both designers and engineers have stripped everything back, which (much to the derision of pure Lotus fans) is not something the company has chosen to do with its current production cars, such as the large Eletre SUV and the Emeya four-door GT.
Peel back the reverse opening wrap-over doors of Theory 1 and you’ll find swathes of recycled carbon fibre, with the driver’s seat positioned dead centre and two small seats for flanking passengers, very much in the Gordon Murray vein of sports car design.
Adorning these seats, as well as the yoke-style steering wheel, is what the company calls LotusWear, which consists of a soft, adaptive textile that covers key sections and touch points.
Working alongside MotorSkins, which developed the technology to create dynamic clothing that can provide on-the-fly compression, thermoregulation and haptic feedback for athletes, Lotus has seen fit to use it as an innovative human machine interface.
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