Lotus launches green research division

As Porsche seeks to escalate its legal battle with the Mayor of London over plans to charge the most polluting vehicles £25 to enter the congestion zone, its sports car rival Lotus appears to be taking a rather less hostile approach to the green motoring trend.

The company last week announced that its consultancy division, Lotus Engineering, has launched a new R&D group dedicated solely to electric and hybrid vehicles.

Mike Kimberley, chief executive of Group Lotus plc, said that the formal launch of the new team underlined the company's commitment to green transport, adding that company expected to see substantial growth in the amount of work it undertakes with other car firms to develop "ecological technologies" over the next five years.

The announcement was made at the unveiling of the results of new research undertaken by Lotus Engineering and Powertrain engine technology division of German automotive parts giant Continental.

The "Low CO2" research project integrated a raft of green engine technologies such as exhaust manifold design, centrally-mounted injectors, cam profile switching for lift and timing, a high pressure fuel pump and a mild hybrid drive, with a three-cylinder 1.5-litre gasoline engine.

The new engine was then demonstrated in an Opel Astra and delivered a 15 per cent reduction in emissions compared to a 1.8 litre four cylinder engine version of the same vehicle.

Lotus Engineering said the demonstration vehicle delivered emissions similar to the "most frugal" Band B cars, while attaining performance levels akin to leading Band C cars with larger engines.

"Through intelligent integration of a range of proven and newly available technologies, we have delivered a car [with] superb power and torque figures [that] crucially has a lower impact on the environment," said Kimberley, adding that because it was based on a combination of existing technologies there was no reason the engine design could not be immediately implemented in next generation models.

Meanwhile, Porsche has stepped up its legal battle with London Mayor Ken Livingstone over planned changes to the congestion charge designed to discourage motorists from driving high emission vehicles. The car firm has released results of an ICM poll it commissioned that showed the the majority of Londoners are opposed to the changes and has written to the Mayor calling on him to comply with British Polling Council rules and release more details relating to his Ipsos-Mori poll last year, which revealed widespread support for the idea.