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I fail to understand that comment as I think it looks utterly fantastic.

Looks a bit, er, boxy.

It is the first 2+2 EV that I can think of, so interesting even just from that point of view. Why not more of that type though. My ideal car is not a huge 4 door, nor a limited 2 seater. As I keep saying, I want an electric Evora. Lotus could obviously do it. But will they? In my lifetime that is. 😀

Er, I see no mention of Aston Martin on that PistonHeads page.

Somewhat worrying if it really is intended to compete with the Aston Martin DBX. Seems highly unlikely to me, but why would a magazine like Autocar make that comparison?

I completely agree, but it wouldn't be the first time motor manufacturers (mainly British, it has to be said) have had delusions of grandeur in this respect.

I agree. However I'm disappointed they've fallen into the 'Tesla trap' of a big central tablet type screen. IMO it's a fad and offers no advantage, with several disadvantages over more traditional instrumentation. But at least it does have a proper display where it should be, in front of the driver so I could live with an iPad stuck in the middle. Price will be critical. Are they continuing with their former mantra of affordable performance, or trying to cash in on the EV revolution and jump into the supercar league? Not saying a Lotus isn't a super car, but they don't currently butt heads with e.g. Ferrari, Lambo etc. As good? Yes, or even better in my opinion, but price-wise they've not been comparable. They've been inching up over the years though and may see this as their opportunity to jump start their entry into the big league of silly prices and low volume. Just what the world doesn't need. The price of the 132 will be the first sign of their intentions. I hope they won't disappoint.

And it's electric, so I guess it's not the car for you. You must be on the wrong forum. 😁

Damn, too late to edit my previous post. I was obviously thinking of the 133 when I made the comment about 4 door coupe. However I'm keen to know more about all these future EV models.

Yeah, I sure could do with losing a few pounds. 😀

Not a lot of love for the 134 it would appear. Does anyone have any idea of what it might be like? All I've heard is "4 door coupe", but that's hardly definitive. ????

I am fully aware of the different characteristics, but torque is torque and if you think that a large powerful ICE car in first gear will not leap forward if you step on the throttle, you've not driven a powerful (high torque at low rpm) ICE car. That video is of a Taycan which is a very powerful car, probably actually faster overall than e.g. a top spec Panamera. Stamp on the Panamera's throttle in first gear though, when it will have similar or even more torque at the wheels than a Taycan and I guarantee it will lunge forward extremely rapidly - and uncontrollably if the driver thinks their foot is actually on the brake. You could rightfully claim that EVs are deceptive as they are so controllable that a driver is not always aware of the full performance available, but that's just down to the competence of the driver and our driving test/licence makes no distinction between e.g. a Fiat 500 and a Veyron (or Tesla Model S Plaid). If you can afford the insurance, you can drive anything without necessarily being competent to do so. EVs can be seen as very 'cuddly' and easy to drive, when in fact that same driver would not even consider driving a roaring noisy monster ICE powered car that made the same amount of power/torque. We've all seen examples of incompetence and there have been pictures/videos floating around the 'Net for years, of cars being inadvertently parked on top of other parked cars due to the driver putting their foot on the wrong pedal. It even happened a few years ago in the car park where my wife works. They were not EVs, or even fast/powerful. No-one remarked on their ICE being in some way uncontrollable. Just down to driver error. Now any similar event involving an EV is simply a critical trope to make EVs look bad. This is not an EV thing. It's driving a very powerful car thing. In any case, this is not the place to be arguing against EVs as these threads are about Lotus' EV future. They've made the decision. If anyone is so dead set against EVs, I'd suggest Lotus is not in your future.

I have to say I don't see the Esprit at all in the 135 design sketch. A couple of similar angles maybe, but apart from that the Esprit was a flat surfaced wedge whereas that 135 sketch is all flowing curves, as KusaKusa mentions above. Far more reminiscent of the Emira in my opinion and that is more reminiscent of the Evora than any other Lotus. Again though, just my opinion.

I don't really think this is a problem at all. It's all just down to the mapping of the accelerator pedal and power to the motor. An EV will NOT inappropriately shoot away at the merest touch of the pedal, any more than any fast ICE powered car will. The difference is that the response of the EV's motor to pedal input is WAY more accurate, consistent and controllable, at all speeds, than an ICE can ever be. This difference is even more apparent in motorcycles where the direction of the vehicle is affected (even controlled) by the twistgrip (I'm careful to not use the term throttle). An electric motorcycle provides a level of control, a feeling of connection between twistgrip and rear wheel and hence direction when manoeuvring at low speed that previously has only been the stuff of dreams. Outright performance, with that unrelenting acceleration is great fun, but that almost infinitely fine grained controllability is what sets EVs apart from their ICE brethren. No matter how many times I have tried to explain this to people, I am always aware that it's not really sinking in. Then later they come back to me, after they have actually driven/ridden an EV (car or bike) and admit they didn't get it, but now they do. The EV driving experience is simply superior. Don't get bogged down in some misguided belief that there has to be a load of mechanical clatter and the (often unpleasant to others) roar of hot gasses exiting a pipe. You just need to get your head around the fact that those do NOT add to the experience. For me the thrill of driving is being able to move oneself and vehicle at the maximum rate with clinical precision. Every bend is an opportunity to practice observation, prediction and taking the correct line, sometimes at the highest speed (that is safe and acceptable in those circumstances). None of this is improved by making loads of noise, both inside and outside a car. It really isn't - unless you're more concerned with shouting to others "hey, look at me". If what you want is to DRIVE, then electric power is the superior choice.

My thinking on this is that despite the Polestar and Zeekr possibly being based on the same Geely platform as the upcoming Lotus 132, there's no reason for the remotest similarity in actual looks. The basic sizes will likely be similar, but the shape of the body panels would be unique for each manufacturer. Take the Ioniq 5 compared to the Kia EV6. Same platform, but even different wheelbase and totally different look - inside and out. So I think the 132 will be uniquely Lotus, even if sharing the same platform as those other Geely brands.

Something else occurs to me. Will the new SUV have any towing capability? I'm fully aware of what towing does to range, but that's not insurmountable. What is however is if the manufacturer does not 'homologate' its towing credentials. For example, Jaguar's I-Pace is rated to tow only 750 kgs, despite the F-Pace being a lot more than that. So the I-Pace is legally limited to a relatively small towing capacity. Tesla's Model X has significantly greater capacity, but the Model S is not rated at all, so cannot tow. There was none of this nonsense in the past. Just put a towbar on what you wanted. But nowadays it's a different matter and the question remains - what will be Lotus' views on towing.

There is also the fact that touch screens are mostly unsuitable for in-car use and largely unusable while bouncing along the road - particularly in the UK. Physical buttons are far easier to use and most importantly, don't require taking eyes off the road in order to operate. I can accept things like the infotainment display being touch screen, but controls like Volume and other commonly used controls should be operable by touch alone, which ironically 'touch screens' are not. The ideal user interface is a mix of direct physical control and touch sensitivity. A measure of the quality of the design is the ratio of each and just how they blend these 2 interfaces. In my opinion, Jaguar got it almost perfect with the I-Pace which I consider has a superb interior (exterior not too shabby either 😀). I hope Lotus don't disappoint.

I wouldn't be too worried about any steering wheel currently being used in testing. It would not be surprising if at this stage of development they are simply using whatever is readily available. Also helps to disguise the design in case of leaked photos. Not that anyone would be interested of course. 😉

I had thought that screen was just a display used in testing. I'm not a lover of big central screens like that, but I can accept them as long as there is a decent dash display IN FRONT OF THE DRIVER. Are you listening Tesla? I really hope Lotus don't try and copy Tesla as so many other manufacturers seem to be doing. Only copy the competition when it is actually better and in this case, it most certainly is not. Whatever Lotus put in the middle of the dash, it MUST have the important information displayed in front of the driver. Lacking that (as per some Tesla models) would absolutely be a deal breaker for me.

Damn. Missed it. 🙄

Just to get this thread rolling. Current thinking is that the 134 (available in 2024) will be the smaller SUV, possibly considered a 'Crossover'. News and thoughts - here's the place to air them.

Yup, that's how patterns work 😄 I just asked Bibs and he's kindly added a 134 section.

So with 132 in 2022 and 134 in 2024 - is there a pattern here? 😀

That is the first I have seen of the 'Elite' as shown in the video above and it is THE car I would have - as an EV. It actually incorporates everything I want, just ditch the ICE. Sadly, being a 4 door, the 133 probably misses the mark for me. Still, wait and see eh?

Indeed. I am watching everything >131 with great interest.