Type 135

[AK70]

On 23/02/2023 at 08:39, AK70 said:

the E Cayman then in 2024.. So well ahead of the Type 135. I hope Lotus will push forward the 135, before the 133 and 134. As Tesla started a price war, no one needs another SUV or Limo in that segment...

so they have listen to me?.... Thank you Lotus! 😉

My next sport car will be electric. Really looking forward how they solve the range and Lotus feel question on this thing.

[iddqd]

I think there's also room in the market for a mild hybrid Emira. Assuming it doesn't cost an extra $45k over the base model, like what happened with the e-ray corvette.

[JimH]

23 hours ago, AK70 said:

so they have listen to me?.... Thank you Lotus! 😉

My next sport car will be electric. Really looking forward how they solve the range and Lotus feel question on this thing.

I believe that the Type 135 has a dependency on the new factory unit being built at Hethel first.....

[iddqd]

According to this interview autocar did with Mike Johnstone, Type 135 won't be out until 2027, and will target MSRP of 75k GBP. They are also allegedly considering an AWD version, although there isn't a very strong quote to support this.

[C8RKH]

26 minutes ago, iddqd said:

Type 135 won't be out until 2027, and will target MSRP of 75k GBP

After the debacle of the Emira and pricing, I would take that with a pinch of salt, some vinegar, and some HP sauce! Absolutely no way will even the base edition of that car be £75k in what will be 4 years time (it will be late, for sure).

Based on the Emira, it will be a £90k base price, rising to well over £120k.

Very happy to be proven wrong, but when you look at the empirical evidence of how Lotus 2.0 has performed, you'd be a nutter top believe anything they say re future models and dates, pricing, and specs.

[JimH]

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/lotus/357211/lotus-type-135-ps75000-electric-sports-car-due-2025

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/lotus-will-unveil-its-ev-sports-car-2025-dont-expect-it-be-called-elise

[C8RKH]

So will it be 2025, or 2027? We seem to have three different publications, 2 different dates. I'll stick on 27 as I seem to recall the release date being dependent on a new factory/assembly hall being built for it in Hethel.

[iddqd]

The way I'm interpreting it is prototype to be unveiled in 2025; mass production in 2027.

[C8RKH]

I agree production will be 2027 at the earliest. By 2029 they'll have sorted out the bugs so could be a good time to buy.

Edited February 2 by Bravo73

[Barrykearley]

Looks like the i4 will be canned then 🤣

[AK70]

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/small-sports-car-sc-01

The "Lotus" is allready here? 😉

[Bibs]

[exeterjeep]

Sounds as if there will be more options than I had expected.

[KusaKusa]

Project LEVA from its initial announcement always had the capability for a 2+2 sports car and larger 2 seater. But platform capability is much different from exploring or commiting to a model, so it's good to hear about development on specific models. Sounds like a 2+2 model is actually underway.

[KusaKusa]

New short article by CAR on Type 135. No new information but it reiterates the 75k GBP starting price and Emira sized positioning.

It also comes with a neat render. It's probably the closest render to actuality so far since it actually takes the design from the shaded reveal of Types 132-135 years ago (headlights, a bit of hood, sides). But it probably won't be super close in the end because it doesn't harken back to the Esprit wedge shape like the sketch shown with the Britishvolt announcement.

[darkSol]

I hate the Corvette C8 angular side in the render.

I'm also the worst photochopper ever but just keep the Emira sides... and where's the targa roof!?

 

[KusaKusa]

Despite the seemingly unrelated article title, there's a line in the article that rumors a delay for Type 135:

"Insiders at Hethel have also said that development of the Type 135—the company’s first electric sportscar—has also been delayed."

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a60605756/lotus-needs-another-new-boss/

[JimH]

The planning permission for the new assembly, logistics and staff buildings at Hethel hasn't been approved yet (submitted last summer....) 

[KusaKusa]

With deliveries not expected until 2027 at earliest, I wouldn't necessarily say manufacturing areas not being completed yet is a bad sign (not sure about the delayed permissions though).  I doubt Lotus is even close to starting full manufacturing engineering for the car.

[JimH]

Assuming an Emira production crossover (or there's no need for the new buildings to house a second production line) with Type 135 I would imagine that the new buildings (currently a greenfield site adjacent to the test track and behind the Hethel Engineering Centre) are probably on the critical path for a production start date and would take at least a year or two to construct once permission (applied for last Summer) is eventually granted.... The Emira production line in the new(est) Chapman building was in place for development and testing around a year before production-ready customer cars started being delivered in any sort of volumes.....

[KusaKusa]

A thread is already posted on this article but wanted to post it here too to make this thread comprehensive:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/electric-lotus-elise-not-possible-current-battery-technology

[darkSol]

Well this looks promising... 500 Wh/kg @ 66.4 kwh battery (LEVA specs) = 132.8 kg. / 292 lbs. 

Double that for that 470hp motor, transfer case, invertor and wiring and THAT WOULD NOT BE TOO BAD. (265 kg / 585 lbs.)

Samsung’s 20-year-life EV battery runs 600 miles on 9-minute charge (interestingengineering.com)

For reference... stock 111R 2ZZ-GE is about 253 lbs. C64 about 76 lbs... that's 329 for 190hp...

 

 

Edited August 1 by darkSol

[C8RKH]

Isn't this just the usual Autocar let's make a story out of nothing and put one thing and another thing together to make three things BS?

All I really took from this is that Lotus will not commit to a date for launch and deliveries of the Type 135, and has neither confirmed nor denied anything re weights, power etc, other than to say the packaging is going to be really tough to deliver with todays battery tech etc?

[JimH]

And factor in that Emira production (for the UK and probably for much of Europe, at least, too) will have to cease by 2030 if our new government reverse the EV only extension from 2035....

[DarrylV8]

I bet the product development team at Hethel weren’t too happy with BP quote either having spent best part of half a decade on the Type 135