Lotus Type 133 EV sedan to share Eletre powertrain; Porsche Taycan rival to be unveiled later this year

Lotus will be unveiling its next all-electric model, a fastback sedan model currently codenamed Type 133 within this year, reports Autocar, which is part of its four-model EV rollout that will take place by 2026.

Now in its later stages of development, the Type 133 – coming after the brand’s first SUV, the all-electric Eletre – will be approximately five metres long, and will rival the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT as a high-performance electric four-door model, according to the magazine. The Type 133 will be similar in size to its Geely group sibling, the Polestar 5 that is due to go on sale next year, Autocar adds.

According to Autocar, specifications of the forthcoming Type 133 will closely follow those of the Eletre, which means beginning with a base variant such as that of the base SUV that outputs 605 hp and 710 Nm of torque, while the range-topper will similarly follow the 905 hp/985 Nm variant that makes the Eletre currently the quickest full electric SUV on sale.

Componentry from the Eletre that will be shared with the Type 133 include the 112 kWh battery pack, which the magazine estimates could give the upcoming four-door EV a range of more than 640 km.

“In terms of charging, it will have the same platform as the Eletre so it can go from 10% to 80% [state of charge] in less than 20 minutes. We’ve got a number of key things we’ve taken from the Eletre which you’ll see in the Type 133, which will give us a good point of differentiation,” Lotus commercial chief Mike Johnstone told Autocar.

The British sports car brand has so far mapped its EV range until 2026, which is when its all-new sports car model is due to be unveiled. There are currently no plans for derivatives of its upcoming line-up, such as an estate or shooting brake version of the Type 133, though that could be subject to demand.

“Consumer tastes change, new market segments appear and new technologies come into play that mean we could do things in a different way,” Johnstone noted. “The product plan at the moment is the three cars [Evija, Emira and Eletre] we have now, and the three coming in the future. We have to be dynamic with that plan. We’re constantly looking at how we can ensure we maximise the potential in the marketplace,” he said.

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