An Electric Lotus for the U.S.

Zap — that wild and crazy “we’ll put electric engines into anything” company out in California — announced today that it would be teaming with Lotus’ — yes, that Lotus — to put a plug-in electric powerplant into the new light-weight Lotus APX crossover shown above.

The vehicle will be called the Zap-X Crossover Electric Car and will replace the gasoline V-6 engine with a series of in-hub electric motors powering all four wheels, which the company says will equal 644 hp. That’s a lot of horsepower and because it will be fitted into a vehicle designed for mass production, it won’t be as fly-by-night in the fit and finish department as the Tesla Motors roadster. The engine bay will be filled with a battery pack that will provide a 350 mile range and a quick 10 minute recharge, probably using a special kit, not a standard outlet, although we'll have to wait until later in the week to get a look in person.

ZAP will debut the concept at the National Automotive Dealers Association meeting this week in Las Vegas. ZAP is looking to sell a finished product in the U.S. and we bet that if it looks like the APX and gets 644 hp, it’ll probably sell OK. More photos of Lotus’ concept below.

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