Lotus Type 132 EV previewed

New design patents have given us our first look at the incoming 2022 Lotus Type 132, just weeks before the all-electric SUV's official unveiling.

The blueprints, published by IP Australia, were submitted by Wuhan Lotus Cars Co Ltd and reveal that the Lotus Type 132 will be similar in size to the current Porsche Cayenne but feature a far more dramatic design that's shared with both the Evija hypercar and latest Emira.

The headline news is the amount of aero trickery involved in the Lotus SUV's design to maximise its range. These include bonnet dimples and active aero flaps within the front bumper.

The entire underbody has also been shielded for optimum aero.

The patent also ends the mystery of where exactly Lotus will position its LiDAR sensor, with the Type 132 mounting the sensors in the optimum space above the windscreen.

The door mirrors have also been dumped for a pair of rear-view cameras that, along with pop-out door handles, have been designed to cut drag.

The charging point, meanwhile, is located on the left front fender.

Already previewed, along with the LiDAR, is the lightweight carbon-fibre-reinforced aero wheels and the full-width LED rear light bar.

Above the light strip there's curiously another high-mounted housing for sensors that's surrounded by an intricate two-piece roof spoiler.

There's also an active rear spoiler, although it's not deployed in the images.

We already know the Chinese-built SUV will be based on Lotus' fresh Premium Architecture that has been designed and developed specifically for electric vehicles.

It will be powered by large batteries ranging from 90kWh to 120kWh. Versions with the biggest batteries should have a range of up to 650km.

Performance claims are still to be released, but the company has said its Premium Architecture can be driven with multiple electric motors that will see the fastest versions capable of an incredible 0-100km/h time of less than 3.0 seconds.

And the British sports car-maker's SUV will not only be quick in a straight line. Thanks to an 800V architecture, it will be among the fastest to charge in its class – at a rate of up to 350kW.

That could see an 80 per cent top-up taking a little over 20 minutes.

The Type 132 is one of four EVs that Lotus will launch over the next five years, with a larger SUV and then a four-door Porsche Taycan rival coming next.

While production of its incoming sports car will remain at its Hethel HQ in England, the Type 132 SUV will be built in China at a new $A1.6 billion factory in Wuhan, China.

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