Report: Lotus range-extended city car coming in 2013

In spectacular fashion, Lotus unveiled six vehicles at the Paris Motor Show. The reveals included the Elite, Espirit, Elise, Eterne hybrid, Elan and one that escaped our cameras: the City Car concept. According to CAR Magazine, Lotus has approved the range-extended City Car and will wheel out a production version near the end of 2013. The automaker will apparently produce three distinct City Car models; one for the Asian market, one for Europe and, at some later point, a sportier version.

The City Car concept is not your typical urban runabout. It employs a plug-in hybrid powertrain packed with a 1.2-liter three-cylinder range extender engine. Lotus claims an electric-only range of 37 miles before that gas-powered range extender swings into action delivering at least 165 miles more. The automaker states that the vehicle's CO2 emissions are under 60 grams per kilometer wile 0-60 miles per hour comes in at less than ten seconds. The City Car is certainly not as flashy as some of Lotus' other offerings, but it's definitely one of the greenest vehicles that the automaker has ever displayed.

[Source: CAR Magazine]