The ULSAS study focused on rear suspensions because while both front and rear have equal potential impact on vehicle handling and performance, rear suspensions have greater impact on occupant and luggage space. Also, most front suspensions on cars worldwide are of the McPherson strut design, whereas automakers use a variety of rear-suspension types.

The ULSAS project comprised two phases. First, Lotus engineers carried out a comprehensive benchmark study in which they assessed a variety of vehicles from North America, Europe, and Asia. The engineers tested vehicles on roads and tracks in the U.S. and UK and conducted evaluations, detailed design reviews, and weight, cost, and manufacturing studies. Benchmarked vehicles represented five standard classes of automobiles, based on size, from small B-class through C-, D-, and luxury E-class, as well as U.S. PNGV (Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles) prototypes.

The design phase consisted of five types of steel suspension systems being designed across a range of vehicle sizes; each met or exceeded mass, cost, and performance targets. The objective was to reduce the mass of a new steel design by at least 20% vs. benchmarked conventional steel suspensions without a cost penalty, and to match the mass of a benchmarked aluminum system with a steel suspension while demonstrating a cost saving of at least 20%.

While Lotus focused on mass reductions, the firm used computer dynamic simulations of vehicle behavior to specify and evaluate a range of elasto-kinematic performance characteristics. This allowed Lotus to not only study the motion of rigid links, but also to consider implications of the vibration-absorbing rubber bushings used in many suspension joints to deflect elastically under load. Said Nick Sampson, Chief Engineer for Chassis Design at Lotus, "While much of the technology applied in the ULSAS could not be considered groundbreaking by itself, the application of the technology and the mindset for using it and advanced steels effectively are key messages from the study."