Lotus To Develop Omnivore Research Engine

Lotus to develop OMNIVORE

Research Engine

Lotus conduct research study into engine efficiency when

utilising sustainable second and third generation bio fuels

Lotus Engineering, the world renowned automotive consultancy division of

Lotus announces a collaboration with Queen's University Belfast and Jaguar

Cars Ltd to develop an engine which maximises fuel efficiency when running

on renewable fuels. The OMNIVORE concept will employ novel engine

architecture to achieve a high thermal efficiency when fuelled on any alcohols

or gasoline.

The project is sponsored by Defra (Department for the Environment and Rural

Affairs) and the DOE NI (Department of the Environment Northern Ireland)

through the Renewable Materials LINK Programme. Lotus Engineering is

currently undertaking a design study and the build of a single cylinder

research engine for completion in January 2009. Vehicle modelling will

validate the reduction in vehicle CO2 emissions. Queen's University of

Belfast's School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering will be adding its

world leading expertise in engine simulation, with Jaguar Cars Ltd a

consultative partner at all stages of development.

This engine design is expected to significantly increase fuel efficiency for

sustainable bio alcohol fuels. The architecture features an innovative variable

compression ratio system and uses a two-stroke operating cycle with direct

fuel injection. The OMNIVORE engine will be ideally suited to flex-fuel

operation with a higher degree of optimisation than is possible with existing

architectures.

Mike Kimberley, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus Plc said: "The

automotive industry is now focusing on its environmental obligations to reduce

CO2 emissions and improve efficiencies and we are seeing the high

technology capabilities of Lotus Engineering being in strong demand. Not only

does our brand value of 'performance through light weight' fit perfectly with the

necessary direction of the industry to produce lighter, more efficient vehicles,

we are also working on all aspects of future fuels, investigating alternative

powertrains to accommodate alcohol fuels as they enter the market."

Kimberley continues: "Alcohols possess superior combustion characteristics to

gasoline which allow greater optimisation. Taking full advantage of the

benefits of sustainable bio alcohols will ensure a greater percentage of vehicle

miles will be travelled using renewable fuels. We are delighted with the

investment from DEFRA which will assist this partnership in taking forward

research development and the demonstration of this environmentally

conscious transport solution."

The OMNIVORE programme complements the recently unveiled Lotus Exige

270E Tri-fuel as part of Lotus' research to understand the complex combustion

process involved in running on mixtures of alcohol fuels and gasoline, which

will be important for a successful transition from today's fuels to the

sustainable, synthetic fuels of the future.

Geraint Castleton-White, Head of Powertrain at Lotus Engineering said: "The

requirement to operate on gasoline in today's flex-fuel engines limits their

thermal efficiency when operating on alcohol fuels. However, the physical and

chemical properties of alcohols, when compared to gasoline, provide the

potential for higher thermal efficiency operation to be achieved. This singlecylinder

research engine will investigate a highly thermal efficient combustion

system that optimises engine performance to fully exploit the properties of

both gasoline and alcohol fuels and maximise efficiency."