Rendering artists are lucky not to have to select a name for their creations. If, with each design they made, they had also to guess the name a future production vehicle would receive, Theottle would have a hard time with the Lotus Type 133. If the Type 132 was named Eletre and that was not quite original, the electric four-door coupe the British brand will soon introduce could be called Eletri, Eletro, or Eletru, as we joked a while ago. If the name may be dull, Theottle made sure the hypothetical appearance would be not.
To create the Type 133 – we’ll call it that way while we can – the rendering artist applied the Eletre styling over the Lexus BEV Sport Concept. Theottle did not take it as it was. The rendering artist extended the wheelbase and its rear overhang to give the Lotus the right proportions. Checking the final results, we can say it was a good call.
Like the Eletre, the Type 133 will be built over the Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA). The first vehicle to use it was the ZEEKR 001, but it also underpins the Lotus Eletre. In the SUV, that means it counts on a 100-kWh battery pack that delivers an estimated WLTP range of 600 kilometers (373 miles). A four-door sedan would do much better for the simple fact that it is lighter and more aerodynamic.
Another plus for the Type 133 is that its body style is a bit closer to what Colin Chapman conceived Lotus to be: a sports car manufacturer. It does not have the goal of funding an F1 team anymore, but it still has to make money selling vehicles. Geely has a good record of making that happen with all the brands it has purchased to date.
The Type 133 will have its world premiere in 2023. One year later, Lotus will give the Eletre a smaller brother with a more compact SUV, the Type 134. In 2025, we will finally see the company’s electric sports car, the Type 135. We will not need to wait for long to see if Theottle got the 133 right or not.
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