This past summer, Lotus announced an ambitious plan to launch four new electric vehicles by 2026. That’s quite an undertaking for the small brand, but the first of the quartet is already set to arrive sometime next year – the Lotus Type 132 SUV. A new teaser image and video provide us our first peek at the new model, which highlights its active grille shutters for improved cooling and “enhanced frontal aerodynamics.”
Details remain scarce, though Lotus has promised that the SUV will hit 60 miles per hour (96 kilometres per hour) in around three seconds. Battery sizes will range from 92 to 120 kilowatt-hours, which the company says will use the most “advanced 800-bolt high-speed EV charging system.” This could see the Type 132’s battery recharge from empty to 80 percent in about 20 minutes. The new model will ride on one of the company’s new platforms called the Lotus Premium architecture.
The teaser image and video reveal a hexagon-shaped lower grille that sits above a prominent carbon-fibre front splitter. Each hexagon is divided into six triangular shutters that appear to open and close, likely to cool the car’s battery and motors. The teasers provide a sliver of the car’s styling, though it looks nothing like any other Lotus model available right now. This will be the brand’s first SUV, so its styling could be quite a surprise.
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The Type 132 will lead the company’s charge into the EV future. A four-door coupe will arrive in 2023, followed by an even larger SUV in 2024, destined to sit above the Type 132 in the Louts lineup. The company will then take a year to finalise its all-new, all-electric sports car for 2026, which will complete the company’s all-electric lineup. Lotus is putting serious money behind its electric effort, building a new headquarters in China called Lotus Technology and a new factory on the same grounds.
Gallery: Lotus electric car teasers
Source: Lotus