Lotus teases first mainstream EV | FOS Future Lab | GRR
Lotus has unveiled the shape of things to come: Type 135, the Norfolk firm’s first mainstream electric sportscar. As a British designed, engineered and built enthusiast car – the “electric Elise” – this is the machine out to uphold traditional Lotus values in an electric world, and from the design sketch it looks like it’s off to a flying start.
Type 135 is a two-door coupe with pleasing proportions and a familiar mid-engined profile. It will be based on what Lotus says is a revolutionary new lightweight vehicle architecture and is due out in 2026.
With made-in-China Lotus models to launch before it – including the much-vaunted electric SUV, Type 132, due to be unveiled in coming months – Lotus is keen to play up the sportscar’s Britishness; see the Union flag motif in the sketch. The car’s lithium-ion batteries will even be British-made, sourced from the Government-backed new gigafactory that Britishvolt is building in Northumberland.
There are no new tech details of the so-far unnamed sportscar so we assume what Lotus has said about it before still stands. So expect a wheelbase of 2,470mm, battery capacity of 66kWh and a single rear motor providing 469PS (350kW). That’s the two-seat entry model at least; there will be other versions of it including a 2+2.
All will be based on a modular new Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture (LEVA) which Lotus has said is as revolutionary in its construction as was the first Lotus Elise of 1996.
LEVA is a “plug ‘n play” system that allows for different wheelbases, battery sizes and one or two motors up to a maximum power output of 872PS (650kW). A version of it will also provide the basis of the electric replacement for the Alpine A110 that Lotus and the French firm are jointly developing.
Confirming the tie-up with Britishvolt this week, Lotus says priorities for the development of a new battery cell package for the sportscar will be fast-charging, optimised energy density and weight reduction. Lotus is developing its own motors.
Britishvolt’s new gigafactory is being built on the site of the former Blyth Power Station in what is being hailed as a major boost for Northumberland. The project hit the headlines earlier in January thanks to assertions that the factory will create 3,000 direct highly-skilled jobs and another 5,000-plus in the associated supply chains. It is expected to turn out its first batteries by early in 2024.
Lotus managing director Matt Windle told us: “Lotus is delighted to be collaborating with Britishvolt to develop new battery cell technology. These are the first exciting steps on the journey towards an all-new electric sportscar from Lotus.
“In the coming months we will be unveiling the Type 132, an all-new and all-electric Lotus SUV and we’ve confirmed three more EVs are on the way.”
And before all that? Just the small matter of getting the Lotus Emira, its last petrol-powered sportscar, out into the world and into owners’ hands, expected for later this year along with first deliveries of the Evija electric hypercar.
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