Iconic British racing car name Lotus is back with an electric vengeance, conforming rumours that its first production car in more than 10 years will be a fully electric sports machine.
And not just any electric sportscar: Lotus’ first production car since 2008 will be a rebirth of its signature line in the form of a hypercar, to be known as the Type 130.
Now in advanced stages of development (which now forms the flagship sports brand for Chinese carmaker Geely), although formal specs and pricing for the Type 130 are not yet available.
Unofficially, projections of a $US3 million price tag ($A4.2 million) are expected.
The bodywork of the Type 130 – of which Lotus have only released one, artistic rendering – first and foremost looks to aerodynamics, in a bid to complete with similar releases from high-end sports names such as the Pininfarina Battista hypercar that was announced last month.
“Type 130 will be the most dynamically accomplished Lotus in our history. It marks a turning point for our brand and is a showcase of what we are capable of and what is to come from Lotus,” said Lotus CEO Phil Popham in a statement.
As Lotus’ first all-electric offering, it is following a strong line of ground-breaking firsts for the automotive world from Lotus, which was the first carmaker to produce a monocoque design with the Type 14 Elite in 1957, the first fully-stressed F1 design in the Type 25 in 1963, and the first carbon fibre F1 in the Type 88 in 1977.
It must not be forgotten either, that Lotus bodies were used for Tesla’s own very first electric drivetrain, the original Roadster.
The Type 130 is expected to be released by the end of 2019, and although Lotus has not announced a limit on production, with a price tag like that, it is sure to be self-limiting.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.