Latest news with #Lotus
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
What's in a fob? The surprising complexity of designing car keys
The key fob for Bentley vehicles is likened to a business card for the luxury car brand. With 905 horsepower and a 0-100kmh sprint time under three seconds, the Lotus Eletre is more powerful than a Lamborghini Huracan and faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera. The US $230,000 (S$296,000) sport utility vehicle (SUV) is also the foundation of Lotus' plan to electrify its line-up. So, designing the right key fob for it was… well, key. It is an interesting subject – the fob. The way a consumer first interacts with a car is also one of the least relevant details of the driving experience. Yet, it serves as a handshake: A good design will communicate brand values, even status. A lot more thought goes into creating a fob than drivers may realise. 'We didn't want an over-featured key that becomes a big, bulky thing,' says Mr Mat Hill, head of interior design at Lotus. BMW's oversized 'display key' from 2015 was a cautionary tale: A US$670 option with so many functions that it required a touchscreen, the gadget was discontinued in 2022 because of low consumer interest. 'It's not about technology for technology's sake,' Mr Hill says. 'It's about, 'Does it actually make my life better?' ' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore Residents in South West District get help to improve employability, find career opportunities Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Singapore UOB awarded $17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Asia Lightning strikes kill 33 people in eastern India For the Eletre, designers spent six months developing a smooth ceramic fob that resembles a guitar pick, also the shape of the Lotus logo. The grey device has one button, which locks and unlocks the vehicle. They nicknamed it 'the pebble'. It is ingeniously simple, handsome and – crucially, at less than 7.6cm across – small. 'If you've got a nice suit on, it doesn't spoil the line when it's in your pocket,' Mr Hill says. That less-is-more sensibility is a rarity in the automotive world. Fobs can now start a car as you approach; unlock the front door (and rear, separately, if you want); open the boot to varying heights; adjust the temperature; tell you if the windows are up; and give you the battery life and fuel range. With the rise of push-button ignitions, fobs are also functionally the keys too. Things have come a long way since Cadillac introduced a radio-based keyless entry for the Allante in the 1980s. A modern fob generally consists of an electronic circuit board, a battery and a switch pack that receives signals from sensors. Sometimes, a metal emergency key is hidden inside. The key fob of the BMW 750Li xDrive (2015) came with a display. PHOTO: BMW The design can speak volumes. Porsche 911 fobs evoke the silhouette of the cars themselves. So do the soft lines of the Mercedes-Benz smart keys that unlock E-classes. Volvo's rectangular fobs recall the brand's historically brick-shaped fleet. And at Audi, Ford, Subaru and Toyota, they have merged into a softly rounded coffin-like shape. Still, others denote serious status, such as the ovoid disks from Bentley. The company spent two years and €1.5 million (S$2.37 million) developing the Continental GT's fob to feel like the interior of the car. The key has a knurling pattern along its edges, just like the interior controls, and shiny chrome accents. 'We see the key fob like a business card for Bentley,' says Mr Darren Day, head of interior design. The brand's 'B' badging went on the top of the key because that is how people see it when it is left on a table or a bar. 'It's that first impression,' he adds. A key that does not match the excellence of the vehicle works against it. In 2025 , when Cadillac premiered its Rolls-Royce competitor, the US$360,000 Celestiq, it included the same plastic fob found across the General Motors line-up, albeit in a leather sheath with stitches like a baseball mitt. Compared with the slinky lines of the hatchback itself, it was woefully incongruous. Conversely, while the credit card-like 'keys' for Rivian Automotive's R1T and Tesla's Cybertruck may repel Luddites, they match the high-tech feel of those electric vehicles. They also signal an inflection point. 'In the future, the key fob will be obsolete,' says Ms Rebecca Lindland, managing director of automotive at Allison Worldwide, a marketing consulting firm. Hyundai put fingerprint sensors in its SUVs as far back as 2019, while Ford is developing facial recognition. Ms Lindland operates her Alfa Romeo Stelvio almost exclusively via the smartphone app. 'The whole ecosystem needs to feel like an extension of my phone,' she says. A low battery does not faze her the way losing an actual key does. It is always easier, quicker and cheaper to charge a dead mobile phone than to order a new fob. 'At least with the app, there's a support system,' Ms Lindland says. In fact, Lotus' Mr Hill says half of Eletre buyers do not even care how cool the pebble looks. 'Early adopters are heavy users of the app,' he says. 'A key can be a nuisance.' His father-in-law, however, still wants to feel something in his pocket when he leaves the car. 'It's that bit of cognitive recognition,' Mr Hill says. And the pebble holds one clear advantage over his phone: With its tough ceramic shell, it will fare better if he drops it. Bloomberg
Auto Car
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Car
Lotus "must remain" in UK, says design chief
Close Lotus's design operations 'must remain' in the UK, its creative chief has told Autocar, following recent reports that the brand could end production at its historic Hethel factory. Two weeks ago, sources told Autocar and several business publications that Lotus owner Geely had made the order to prepare the plant in Norfolk for closure, threatening 1300 jobs. Lotus rebuffed the reports, issuing a statement that said 'there are no plans to close the factory'. The current generation of Lotus sports cars was designed at Hethel, but upcoming models are being worked on at a new studio in Warwickshire.
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
Snatch theft suspect arrested within 24 hours in Kota Bharu
KOTA BHARU: Police arrested a man suspected of involvement in a snatch theft at the Lotus's Lembah Sireh parking area less than a day after the crime occurred. The incident took place at 7.28 pm on Sunday when a woman had her handbag stolen by a man on a red Yamaha Ego Gear motorcycle. District police chief ACP Mohd Rosdi Daud confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect was apprehended around 9 am the following day. Several items, including the motorcycle used in the crime, were seized during the operation. The victim suffered losses amounting to RM220, and the case is being investigated under Section 392 of the Penal Code. Further investigations revealed that the suspect was connected to five other snatch theft cases reported in Kota Bharu. A urine test conducted on the suspect returned negative for drugs. He will be brought to the Kota Bharu Magistrate's Court for a remand application. - Bernama
The Herald
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Herald
Rare homologation specials to rev up 43rd Cars in the Park
The easiest way to understand the term 'Homologation Special' is to realise that these cars were built by manufacturers with racing or rallying as a primary consideration. To race one of these special models, a manufacturer had to build a certain number of similar cars for sale to the public, so that they could be homologated by the controlling bodies of motorsport. The reasoning was that, without such requirements, there would be nothing to stop a manufacturer from building a one-off special and then advertising its success as representative of the standard, road-going model. So homologation specials were normally built for general sale — but in very limited numbers — making them more desirable and collectable than their standard counterparts. One of the first homologation specials was the Mk 1 Ford Lotus Cortina, built in England from 1963 to 1966. Inspired by Lotus chief Colin Chapman, it used a near-standard Cortina body fitted with a twin-cam Lotus version of the Ford 1,500cc engine. Special widened wheels, lowered suspension, lightweight doors and bonnet, trademark green side flashes, and a black-finished radiator grille completed the package. The Lotus Cortina was never officially available in South Africa, but two of these highly desirable cars were brought in by Ford South Africa to race in the National Saloon Car Championship. The Lotus Cortinas you'll see at Zwartkops on August 3 were mostly sold in what is today Zimbabwe and later brought across the border in the 1970s and 1980s.
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Rare homologation specials to rev up 43rd Cars in the Park
The easiest way to understand the term 'Homologation Special' is to realise that these cars were built by manufacturers with racing or rallying as a primary consideration. To race one of these special models, a manufacturer had to build a certain number of similar cars for sale to the public, so that they could be homologated by the controlling bodies of motorsport. The reasoning was that, without such requirements, there would be nothing to stop a manufacturer from building a one-off special and then advertising its success as representative of the standard, road-going model. So homologation specials were normally built for general sale — but in very limited numbers — making them more desirable and collectable than their standard counterparts. One of the first homologation specials was the Mk 1 Ford Lotus Cortina, built in England from 1963 to 1966. Inspired by Lotus chief Colin Chapman, it used a near-standard Cortina body fitted with a twin-cam Lotus version of the Ford 1,500cc engine. Special widened wheels, lowered suspension, lightweight doors and bonnet, trademark green side flashes, and a black-finished radiator grille completed the package. The Lotus Cortina was never officially available in South Africa, but two of these highly desirable cars were brought in by Ford South Africa to race in the National Saloon Car Championship. The Lotus Cortinas you'll see at Zwartkops on August 3 were mostly sold in what is today Zimbabwe and later brought across the border in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1968 legendary South African tuner Basil Green built one of the fastest Cortinas ever produced when he launched his home-grown homologation special: the Perana V6, based on the Mk II Cortina. It used a standard 100kW version of the Ford Zephyr engine and was identified by a black stripe running sideways across the nose. The most famous of Green's creations was the Capri Perana V8, introduced in 1971. Capable of 230km/h (at a time when the standard Capri 1600 GT barely managed 160km/h) just over 500 were made, and very few original examples survive today. They can be recognised by their black stripes, widened Rostyle wheels and Perana badging. The Capri Peranas enjoyed huge success on South African roads and racetracks. Unsurprisingly, General Motors responded in 1973 with an even wilder car: the Chevrolet Can Am. Racer and tuner Basil van Rooyen masterminded this beast, which used a 5.0 l Camaro Z28 V8 engine in a Firenza coupé body. It could accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in an unprecedented 5.5 seconds. Just 100 road-going examples were built to meet homologation rules, making the Can Am one of the most sought-after collectables in South Africa today. As with the Perana, many clones have been built. Original Can Ams are distinguished by an aluminium rear wing, 13-inch Personal alloy wheels, and a white paint finish with black striping. Rallying success was very much on Toyota's agenda when it introduced the Corolla TRD in the early 1980s. Based on the standard rear-wheel-drive Corolla coupé, this was an in-house Toyota product. Many examples were produced at the company's Prospecton plant outside Durban to satisfy homologation requirements. In 1983 Alfa Romeo South Africa developed the GTV6 3.0, a homologation special that now enjoys worldwide status as one of the most collectable Alfa Romeos of all. A year later, Ford South Africa followed suit with the Sierra XR8. A total of 250 road-going examples of this 5.0 l monster were built and homologated for local motorsport. Drivers Serge Damseaux and John Gibb campaigned a Presto Parcels-liveried XR8 against the likes of Nico Bianco and Abel D'Oliveira in the Alfa GTV6 3.0. Fast-forward to the 1990s, and two of the most famous South African homologation specials slugged it out on the racetrack and the road: the BMW 325iS Shadowline and the Opel Kadett 16V Superboss. Mike Briggs claimed the Group N championship in a Superboss at the start of that decade, while the 325iS Shadowline took the title in 1993. The cult followings these two cars generated for their respective brands are still very much alive today. Car spotters will know the BMW 325iS by its BBS alloy wheels and distinctive bow-shaped rear wing. The Superboss is identified by its black five-spoke alloy wheels and bold 16V badges on the flanks and tailgate.
