Lotus teases Type 132 electric SUV with active aero
The short video doesn't give us much, and leaves us with a lot of questions.
Way back in the mists of time, the automotive press had a lot of laughs at Lotus ' expense when then-CEO Dany Bahar talked about the British company -- which has primarily been known for producing focused, lightweight drivers' cars -- coming out with an expanded range of super upmarket luxury vehicles, including an SUV. Bahar was fired in 2012, but Lotus is coming back around to the SUV thing -- with a catch.
That catch is that it will be electric. Lotus is calling it the "Type 132" (at least for now), and it released a 15-second teaser video on Monday that shows off some of its active aerodynamic features and, you know, a woman breathing with yellow text superimposed over her face. Is it an especially informative or revealing teaser? Nope. Do the active vents look rad as hell? Yep.
This Type 132 is part of the wave of planned new electric Lotus models that are meant to carry the brand into a brave new all-electric future. The utterly stunning Evija electric hypercar was our first peek into this, while the not-electric Emira showcases Lotus' last days of internal combustion.
Will an electric SUV be a betrayal of company founder Colin Chapman's famous mantra of "simplify, then add lightness," or will Lotus find a way to take two things that very much go against that and make them fit the brand's identity? We don't know, but we're excited to find out.
