Published: Aug 04, 2011

Report: Lotus Ethos City Car Coming in 2013

Lotus is planning a new rival for the Aston Martin Cygnet.

Last year's Paris Auto Show saw the arrival of Lotus' City Car Concept. Now we are hearing that Lotus' has confirmed production to build their new Ethos city car for 2013. Lotus CEO Dany Bahar recently told Car: "Our city car has been confirmed and will be launched in October 2013. We are doing this together with Proton." Dubbed the 'Cygnet Killer' (in reference to Aston Martin's newest city car), the Ethos is the latest prestige-badged city car to hit the market.

Report: Lotus Ethos City Car Coming in 2013

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The Ethos will feature either a hybrid or fully electric powertrain. The all-electric system is still rumored, while there could even be a small, super-efficient gasoline engine. The hybrid system will combine a 53kW electric motor with a 1.2-liter 3-cylinder gasoline engine serving as a range-extender. Performance for the Lotus' City Car Concept was estimated at 0-62mph in 9 seconds while being able to hit a top speed of 106mph. Those are pretty good numbers for a specialized city car, and if the Ethos hits anywhere near those numbers you can expect models to be flying off the shelves.

Lotus plans to sell between 1,500 and 1,800 Ethos units a year. No pricing or availability information has been released at this time, however we expect the Ethos to launch in 2013.

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Report: Lotus Ethos City Car Coming in 2013

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