Lotus releases teaser image of next all-electric sports car

As part of its plans to move to full electric vehicle production, iconic sports car manufacturer Lotus has revealed the first teaser image of a new full electric (BEV) sports car, codenamed the Type 135. This will be their second full BEV following the electric supercar Evija (pronounced eh-VIE’-ya).

The yet-to-be-named electric sports car will be the successor to the likes of previous Lotus sports cars such as the Elise, Elan or Esprit  – as in somewhat more affordable than the Evija which is to be released early this year.

(An Evija can be yours for a mere $A3 million price-tag … although if your name isn’t already down for one, you may have missed the boat as only 130 are to be made).

The release date for the Type 135 is set around 2026. And, when named, is more than likely to have one starting with an ‘E’.

Research and development of the sports car will happen at both the new Lotus Technology facility in Wuhan, China as well as at its Lotus Advanced Technology Centre (LATC) in the UK.

The batteries are being jointly developed by Lotus and UK business Britishvolt under a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two companies. Battery production will be in the UK and is expected to grow to a capacity of over 30kW by 2030.

Lotus has previously announced its intentions to build three other all-electric vehicles in the move to building electric-only cars:

• Late 2022: European E segment (large luxury) SUV – codenamed the Type 132;
• 2023: European E-segment four-door coupe dubbed the Type 133;
• 2025: European D-segment (large car) SUV – currently codenamed the Type 134.

Lotus (through Geely) has previously announced that these new EVs will be built on a common platform using 92-120kWh batteries with an 800-volt high-speed EV charging system. Vehicles developed on this platform are intended to be capable of 0-100km/h acceleration in under three seconds.

By the way: for those not keeping up with the currently fast-changing landscape of automotive manufacturer ownership: Lotus is now owned by Chinese auto manufacturer Geely – which also owns Volvo, Polestar, London EV Company and others – as well as building vehicles, including EVs, under the Geely brand itself.