Photo: IP Australia/Lotus
When Colin Chapman created Lotus, he wanted to race. His passenger cars were meant to fund racing and provide customers with driving fun. This is the reason behind the company’s motto: “Simplify, then add lightness.” As patent images reveal, the future Lotus Type 132 does not follow that one bit.
They were filed on the IP Australia on March 3, 2022, and registered on March 7. Thanks to our friends at Motor1.com, we are now aware of them. As we already knew, they present an electric SUV, two elements that go against everything Chapman preached about.
With the current cell tech, BEVs (battery electric vehicles) are heavy by definition. They need to carry battery packs that weigh around half a metric ton (1,102 pounds) in their smallest packages. There’s no way to make them lighter, and the Type 132 shows bits of its battery pack in its bottom view. That was not even necessary: we already knew it would be an electric car.
The 800V architecture, probably based on the SEA platform created by Geely, will give this Porsche Cayenne competitor battery packs ranging from 92 kWh to up to 120 kWh. Lotus said it would be able to go from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in under 3 seconds. It will be presented in 2022, as recent teasers have already revealed.
After the Type 132, Lotus will present the Type 133 in 2023. It will be a four-door coupe. In 2024, the company will offer a smaller SUV dubbed the Type 134. One year later, fans will get an electric sports car, the Type 135.
For Lotus fans that love the Elise and the Lotus Seven, seeing a massive SUV with the company’s badge must also look insane. How good will it manage to be on track? That very question shows it will probably only be seen in one in press presentations, where Lotus will try to prove it is still fun to drive. Those eventually buying the Type 132 could not care less about that. Ironically, they are the very people that will ensure Lotus lives.
What you may debate is if it makes sense to keep the brand afloat if it does not stand for what it was conceived to offer anymore. Dany Bahar was bashed when he tried to do that by providing new products that did not respect Lotus’ heritage. Apparently, Geely will not face that because people will realize there is no other way left. It even placed a LiDAR on top of the windscreen, showing this Lotus may eventually be autonomous one day.
While some fans will prefer that Lotus died faithful to what Chapman wanted it to be, that was never an option for the company. If it fails, it will be due to wrong decisions made to keep it alive. Creating the Type 132 will not be among them: it will probably sell well, even if the new buyers have never even heard about F1 or the man who created the brand.
With the current cell tech, BEVs (battery electric vehicles) are heavy by definition. They need to carry battery packs that weigh around half a metric ton (1,102 pounds) in their smallest packages. There’s no way to make them lighter, and the Type 132 shows bits of its battery pack in its bottom view. That was not even necessary: we already knew it would be an electric car.
The 800V architecture, probably based on the SEA platform created by Geely, will give this Porsche Cayenne competitor battery packs ranging from 92 kWh to up to 120 kWh. Lotus said it would be able to go from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in under 3 seconds. It will be presented in 2022, as recent teasers have already revealed.
After the Type 132, Lotus will present the Type 133 in 2023. It will be a four-door coupe. In 2024, the company will offer a smaller SUV dubbed the Type 134. One year later, fans will get an electric sports car, the Type 135.
For Lotus fans that love the Elise and the Lotus Seven, seeing a massive SUV with the company’s badge must also look insane. How good will it manage to be on track? That very question shows it will probably only be seen in one in press presentations, where Lotus will try to prove it is still fun to drive. Those eventually buying the Type 132 could not care less about that. Ironically, they are the very people that will ensure Lotus lives.
What you may debate is if it makes sense to keep the brand afloat if it does not stand for what it was conceived to offer anymore. Dany Bahar was bashed when he tried to do that by providing new products that did not respect Lotus’ heritage. Apparently, Geely will not face that because people will realize there is no other way left. It even placed a LiDAR on top of the windscreen, showing this Lotus may eventually be autonomous one day.
While some fans will prefer that Lotus died faithful to what Chapman wanted it to be, that was never an option for the company. If it fails, it will be due to wrong decisions made to keep it alive. Creating the Type 132 will not be among them: it will probably sell well, even if the new buyers have never even heard about F1 or the man who created the brand.
Google News