1988 Lotus Esprit Turbo 4 Cyl on 2040-cars

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Lotus Type 133 / Envya spy photos show it in thin camouflage

Lotus's upcoming electric sedan, codenamed Type 133 and potentially named Envya, has been caught in spy photos once again, and this time we get an impressively clear look thanks to thin, branded camouflage. It looks as long and slinky as ever, and design elements from the Lotus Eletre electric SUV are obvious. It also looks as though it's closely related to the Polestar 5 sedan. The nose of the Type 133 is a near note-for-note remake of the Eletre's, but significantly lower and flatter. Frankly, it's a much better execution of the design to these eyes. It has the split headlights and the hexagonal active grille shutters like the SUV, too. Close examination also shows that the upper headlights consist of two scowling lenses on each side, with the upper ones obscured by vinyl camoflage. The low nose rises quickly over a short hood into the long, raked roofline that continues right through to the tail. The Type 133 is absolutely a modern fastback-type sedan, and likely features a hatchback. At the leading edge of the roof, there's a sensor that's presumably for advanced driver aids, and is one of the signs that this car likely is closely related to the Polestar 5, which was previewed with a similar sensor. Around at the back, the Type 133's details are harder to see due to the final taillights not being installed. But it does appear to be getting full-width units, and there are some diffuser-like details in the rear bumper. Besides that aforementioned sensor, the whole car's shape, size and proportions look extremely close to the Polestar 5's and those of the Precept concept that previewed the Polestar. The low nose, long roof, roof sensor, flush door handles, they're all very similar. And with Geely owning both brands, it's not really a surprise. The same electric platform from the Eletre is likely powering the Type 133, and power could range from 595 to 893 horsepower. Battery packs could range from 92- to 120-kWh. With how finished and thinly disguised this prototype is, we think the Type 133 could be revealed sometime this year, possibly going on sale next year.  Related Video:

Lotus working on a more spacious daily driver with a kinder price

Lotus has another sports car in the works, with a reveal planned for later this year or early next. It could be the second piece of the puzzle former Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales spoke of to Automotive News in 2018, saying parent company Geely "has approved three new models: Two sports cars and the third an SUV." The last new serial production car the English carmaker introduced was the Evora in 2009, the penultimate model in a four-car lineup in the UK that includes the Exige and Elise below, the Evija battery-electric hypercar above. Automotive News Europe writes that the coming sports car will be an "entry-level model" and "provide enough interior space for everyday use," based on an interview with new automaker CEO Phil Popham. Entry-level doesn't mean least expensive, though, rather a price range from GBP55,000 to GBP100,000, which is $68,000 to $123,670 in our money. Those figures would be entry-level here in the U.S., where the sole Lotus is the Evora GT and costs $96,950 before destination. In the UK, the Elise Sport 220 is priced at GBP41,655, the Elise Cup 250 at GBP49,555. For reference, a Porsche 718 Cayman begins at GBP44,790 over there, a Jaguar F-Type at GBP54,510.  The second sports car referenced a couple years ago isn't the Evija, if we can believe last month's report from Autocar. The magazine wrote there's a mid-engined hybrid coupe supposedly evoking the Esprit on the way, scheduled for debut the first half of next year. It will slot in above the Evora, which starts at GBP85,900 in GT410 Sport guise in the UK, and produce more than 500 horsepower with help from a mid-mounted Toyota-sourced V6.  Back to that entry-level car, the most surprising news is when AN writes it is "destined to be the company's last combustion-engine model." That begs the question, what happened to the SUV? Patent images of a Lotus people-hauler leaked in 2017, in 2018 the carmaker said the SUV would hit the market by 2022, and in the middle of last year spy shooters caught what we thought to be a Lotus SUV mule hidden under bodywork of Geely's Lync & Co 01. The AN piece mentioned that "Future options could also include SUV or sporting sedan, according to Popham." But if AN has it right about internal combustion engines, the SUV will be a surprise showing before the entry-level sports car, or will be electric.  And what would the end of ICE-powered models do to the chances of the lightweight revival models Lotus fans want?

Nissan GT-R, Armada and the new Kia Sorento | Autoblog Podcast #658

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer for the final episode of 2020. They've been driving some interesting cars, including the Nissan GT-R, the new Nissan Armada, a Mercedes-Benz GLA and a pair of new-gen Kia Sorentos. They talk a bit about an interesting new EV called the Ace from Alpha Motor Corporation. Finally, the trio takes turns talking about their favorite cars they drove this year. Enjoy, and we'll be back with more episodes in 2021. Autoblog Podcast #658 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:2021 Nissan GT-R 2021 Nissan Armada 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 2021 Kia Sorento Alpha Motor Corporation unveils Ace electric coupe Our favorite cars of the year: Zac: Lotus Evora GT John: Polestar 2 Greg: McLaren GT Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Kia Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Nissan Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Performance Sedan Polestar