This is the new Lotus E-R9, an official design study from the British carmaker for a pure electric endurance race car for the 2030 racing season.

The dramatic concept was developed by Richard Hill, Lotus’ Chief Aerodynamicist, and his team, as well as Louis Kerr, principal platform engineer on the Lotus Evija electric hypercar.

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The new Lotus E-R9 comes with a fighter jet-style canopy mounted in a ‘delta-wing’ upper body and features many aerodynamic innovations, including what Lotus calls ‘morphing’ body panels and vertically mounted control surfaces.

The ‘morphing’ body panels are located across the delta-wing profile of the concept and can change their shape and attitude to the airflow either at the push of a button or automatically via performance sensor inputs. The idea here is these panels can deliver minimum drag down the straights and maximum downforce in the corners.

The vertical control surfaces at the rear of the Lotus E-R9 are there to help it change direction, “without the limitations of grip at the tire contact patch” according to the carmaker. The result is an endurance racer “that’s partly driven like a car and partly flown like a fighter jet”.

R stands for Endurance Racer, while the number 9 pays tribute to the company’s racing past, and more specifically to the Lotus Mark IX, which was the company’s first race car to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955.

Under its computer-generated skin, the Lotus E-R9 features an advanced electric drivetrain that powers each wheel independently and features torque vectoring. “Battery energy density and power density are developing significantly year on year,” said Louis Kerr. “Before 2030, we’ll have mixed cell chemistry batteries that give the best of both worlds, as well as the ability to ‘hot-swap’ batteries during pitstops.”

“The Lotus E-R9 incorporates technologies which we fully expect to develop and be practical,” added Richard Hill. “Lotus has an amazing history of developing unique solutions, and we’ve done it many times in motorsport and with our road cars.”

Note: These illustrations are official design renders from Lotus Cars

Lotus Imagines What A Futuristic Electric Le Mans Racer Would Look Like In 2030
Lotus Imagines What A Futuristic Electric Le Mans Racer Would Look Like In 2030
Lotus Imagines What A Futuristic Electric Le Mans Racer Would Look Like In 2030
Lotus Imagines What A Futuristic Electric Le Mans Racer Would Look Like In 2030
Lotus Imagines What A Futuristic Electric Le Mans Racer Would Look Like In 2030
Lotus Imagines What A Futuristic Electric Le Mans Racer Would Look Like In 2030
Lotus Imagines What A Futuristic Electric Le Mans Racer Would Look Like In 2030
Lotus Imagines What A Futuristic Electric Le Mans Racer Would Look Like In 2030