Lotus has revealed its first teaser trailer – ‘Breathe’ – for its first-ever electric SUV, the Type 132, ahead of its launch next year.
The 15-second trailer offers a close-up look at the codenamed T132’s “unique and innovative active grille shutter”, which serves as both a cooling agent and, more significantly, optimized aerodynamics.
That’s pretty much all the details Lotus has confirmed about its first-ever SUV, though when the Type 132 launches in 2022, it is expected to go up against the Audi e-tron and Tesla’s Model Y.
The Type 132’s launch next year is just the start of a new electrified range for the Hethel, UK carmaker, with an electric four-door coupe (the Type 133), a mid-sized E-SUV (Type 134) and an all-new electric sports car (Type 135) scheduled to land in 2023, 2025 and 2026 respectively.
While Lotus has confirmed its new sports cars will be built atop its new Project LEVA – Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture – platform, the Type 132 SUV is expected to showcase Lotus’ new Premium architecture, designed specifically for its “passenger vehicles”. ‘Premium’ supports a wheelbase between 2,889mm and 3,100mm, and is compatible for batteries sized between 92 kWh and 120 kWh.
Lotus has previously confirmed this platform will be compatible with “the industry’s most advanced 800-volt high-speed EV charging system”, and has suggested that products built on top of the Premium architecture could hit 100 km/h from standstill in under three seconds. While it’s unlikely the T132 will hit those times, bear in mind the Porsche Taycan also uses an 800 v charging system, and since 1948, Lotus has hardly been shy about its performance capabilities…
Range is another mystery at the moment, though speculation online suggests a ballpark figure of around 650 km could be doable.
As well as its historical significance, Lotus’ first SUV will also exhibit the brand’s new design language, having no doubt drawn inspiration from the recently released Emira sports car and Evija hypercar. In short, expect tapered headlamps!
