Lotus is set to continue its legacy of producing lightweight, high-performance sports cars with the development of an electric successor to the iconic Elise. The new model, codenamed Type 135, will be built around the dedicated Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture) structure that was set to also underpin a new Alpine sports car before the two companies ended their collaboration. The Type 135 will be designed and engineered in Hethel, Norfolk, ensuring that it can build on the lineage of the fabled sports cars that have been produced there, such as the Lotus Elise.
The E-Sports platform, which incorporates LEVA, will give the Type 135 a mid-engined-style layout, most likely with the battery pack stacked in the middle of the car. This will allow the Porsche 718 Boxster rival to sit lower and ensure weight distribution is more in keeping with its remit. The E-Sports architecture will host single- and twin-motor powertrains ranging in output from 469bhp to 872bhp. This means the entry-level sports car will pack nearly double the power of even the most powerful iteration of the Elise, and more powerful versions could fill the gap left by the more track-focused Exige.
The LEVA unit will be mated to a bulkhead and front end completely unrelated to those used by the Emira, but managing director Matt Windle is keen for Lotus’s trademark dynamic agility to be carried over to the new models. “It’s our DNA: dynamics, aerodynamics, lightweighting – that’s what we do on all our products,” Windle told Autocar at the LEVA’s unveiling. “We still want these to be Lotus products. They are going to have a different propulsion system but that system comes with benefits as well: instant torque, easier cooling and better packaging, so the first sports car [the Type 135] will have a lot of storage and packaging benefits as well.”
The E-Sports platform will accommodate rear- and four-wheel-drive powertrains from the off, although the conceptual applications previewed so far by Lotus all use a rear-mounted drive system. Windle told Autocar that Lotus does not “want to close off the possibility” of offering a similar torque-vectoring set-up to that found in the top-rung Evija, which will continue to serve as the brand’s halo model in the coming years in both a marketing and engineering sense. As a result, some of the Evija’s defining features will make their way into more mainstream Lotus sports cars.
The Type 135 will be a small contributor to Lotus’s sales volume, but it will be a vital model for the brand. “It’s a car that needs to be at the bullseye of the brand, which signifies exactly what Lotus stands for in an electric age,” said commercial chief Mike Johnstone. “That’s in no way to diminish the Eletre, [Type] 133 and [Type] 134,” he continued, referring to the firm’s new electric SUV and upcoming saloon and crossover. “They are very much Lotus models, but the most pure essence of Lotus will be the Type 135.”
The E-Sports architecture has yet to be revealed in its entirety but is said to be 37% lighter than the equivalent structure used by the combustion-engined Emira sports car. It has been designed from the ground up to compensate for the added weight of an electric powertrain and with a view to replicating the typical dynamic traits of previous Lotus models. The batteries can either be stacked vertically behind the seats or arranged under the floor in longer-wheelbase cars with rear seats.
Lotus sports cars won’t sacrifice day-to-day usability in their pursuit of dynamic superiority. The smallest battery fitted to this platform will be a 66.4kWh unit, which could feasibly offer a range of around 300 miles in a lightweight, low-slung two-seater. The larger, 99.6kWh battery – also available in ‘slab’ or ‘chest’ format – could bump up the range to nearer 450 miles. The architecture will also be equipped with 800V charging hardware to make it compatible with the fastest chargers on the market.
Lotus UK “should not be a single-model producer” and will build a line-up of distinct sporting models “in multiple segments in the market range”. Not every retired model will necessarily be replaced, but the capacity for the platform to accommodate a rear-driven four-seater with a wheelbase of 2650mm paves the way for an electric successor to the Evora, too. The Type 135 remains the main priority at Hethel currently, so no details have emerged about any potential larger sports cars, but a post-2026 launch date for such a model – following the Type 135’s arrival – could enable it to serve as the EV replacement for the Emira, and thus provide a dual focus on dynamism and refinement.
In conclusion, Lotus is set to continue its legacy of producing lightweight, high-performance sports cars with the development of an electric successor to the iconic Elise. The new model will be built around the dedicated Project LEVA structure and will give the Type 135 a mid-engined-style layout. The E-Sports platform will accommodate rear- and four-wheel-drive powertrains ranging in output from 469bhp to 872bhp. The smallest battery fitted to this platform will be a 66.4kWh unit, which could feasibly offer a range of around 300 miles in a lightweight, low-slung two-seater. Lotus UK “should not be a single-model producer” and will build a line-up of distinct sporting models “in multiple segments in the market range”.