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Lotus Type 132 gets another teaser in before debut

Lotus has teased the Type 132 for what could be the final time before the battery-electric crossover debuts next Tuesday, March 29. Swinging for the fences with a special guest star that would help forestall the inevitable discord about Lotus making what will be a weighty crossover, Lotus enlisted Clive Chapman, son of company founder and legend Colin. Clive mentions Colin keeping a practical family car in addition to some variety of orthodox Lotus sports car, and says he thinks his father would have loved the chance to design something like the Type 132. Perhaps it's true. Yet, although Clive mentions practicality and towing and farming and a popular explosion of four-wheel-drive vehicles in the 1970s, Colin is never shown with one in the video. The best Colin does for practical is a Lotus Eclat, which everyone, even today, would likely accept as Lotus' version of a family car.  The video does offer one unquestionably honest bit, which is a silhouette of the Type 132. It's going to be sharp and racy, no doubt about that, and we like the look of it. Separate to the video, additional honest views of the Type 132 have been uncovered in another set of patent images. The Australian patent office let slip renderings of the CUV's exterior early this month, Spanish outlet Cochespias landed on images of the interior placed with a different patent office. They show some expected EV features like a flat floor and a two-level center tunnel with a floating console up top. They show us some expected luxury features like shapely and powered front sport seats, powered rear seats, and a full-width climate control vent design in front. They show some unexpected inclusions like a what appears to be a giant glove box door, and rear seat surfaces that could be a toss-up for comfort — but of the shut lines are accurate, those seats fold down in ways to make the most of the load bay. There's a large infotainment screen that allegedly lies flat on the instrument panel when not in use. And note what might be two cupholders on the center console, one of which might be tiny.  The slim extensions on the exterior views from earlier this month weren't just conceptual. The door panel in the interior renderings shows a blank square ahead of a speaker that should be a screen displaying the feed from the side camera. If anything, the only thing the drawings leave out is how long the vehicle appears to be, based on spy shots of the Type 132 testing in China last month.

Lotus marks 20 years of the Elise

Lotus was a very different company 20 years ago. For starters, it wasn't owned by the Malaysians: it had just been sold by General Motors to Romano Artioli, the same man behind the revival of Bugatti EB110. It had discontinued the Elan, Excel and Carlton, which left the Esprit – by then already 20 years old itself – as its only product. Then the Elise came along and everything changed. The Elise arrived in 1995, based on a lightweight aluminum chassis that was ahead of its time and cloaked in composite body panels to make it incredibly light in the spirit of Colin Chapman's ethos. Its name was taken from Artioli's granddaughter, but stuck around long after he sold the company. The Esprit was eventually retired, and with the exception of the Evora, the Elise served as the basis for every other new Lotus that has followed in the two decades since: the Exige, Europa, 2-Eleven, 340R, and so on. It even lent its underpinnings to a wide array of sports cars for other automakers, including the groundbreaking Tesla Roadster, the all-conquering Hennessey Venom GT, the Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220, and more concepts cars and niche products than we can count. Now 20 years since its introduction, Lotus is celebrating the milestone with the Elise 20th Anniversary Edition. It's based on (and effectively replaces) the Elise S Club Racer, and trims a further 22 pounds off the curb weight. It's got matte black forged wheels and trim, a retrimmed interior and of course all the special badging. UK customers will be able to pick one up for GBP39,900, but as the Elise hasn't been offered Stateside in a few years now, we'll just have to admire – and celebrate – from afar. Lotus Elise celebrates 20 years - Celebratory 20th Anniversary Special Edition Elise - Special edition, based on the Elise S Club Racer, including classic Elise colour schemes - Pioneering and iconic Elise continues to innovate and evolve - Weight reduced by 10 kg The Lotus Elise 20th Anniversary Special Edition celebrates the unveiling of the iconic sports car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1995. 20 years ago, the Lotus Elise revolutionised the sports car world, setting the benchmark for handling, purity of the driving experience, lightweight and efficiency. Its pioneering and advanced bonded aluminium chassis was a market-leading technological innovation at the time and over the years has improved and evolved and remains core to the Elise's exceptional performance today.

Lotus won't launch a 3-Eleven successor until it overhauls its range

Lotus has received an enthusiastic response to limited-edition models like the 3-Eleven. It's open to the idea of making similar cars, but Autoblog learned fans shouldn't expect to see one until it has overhauled its range. "There is room for it, but we have so many things to do that we're already committed to. Getting a new product range out there is the priority," Matt Windle, the firm's engineering boss, told us during an interview. The decision to wait is a wise one, because Lotus has a lot on its plate for a small company. It's putting the final touches on the electric, 2,000-horsepower Evija, it's allegedly working on a new Esprit with hybrid power, and unverified rumors sketch the outline of an SUV pegged in the same segment as the Porsche Macan. On the other hand, the global market's appetite for few-off models is healthy. Bentley had no trouble selling 12 examples of the Bacalar, for example, and even Aston Martin wants a piece of the pie. This trend isn't lost on Lotus; it knows it's in a unique position to capitalize on it. It competes at a lower price point than most other companies making limited-edition cars, and its "light is right" motto is still revered in enthusiast circles. While its car-building division is busier than ever, its engineering arm has the bandwidth to work on special projects. "Lotus Engineering, the consultancy side of the business, is going strong as well. We've been talking about bespoke programs with other companies. That's one way we could deal with that, and it would take it away from the main product development teams. Nothing is confirmed yet, but there are a lot of discussions going on," Windle revealed without giving too much away. Lotus has been there before. It notably helped John Z. DeLorean bring the DMC-12 to the market, and it transformed the Opel Omega into the fastest sedan in the world. Some of our geekier readers will remember the "handling by Lotus" emblems on the Isuzu Impulse. It has worked on several General Motors engines, too, including the EcoTec unit that once powered several Saab, Saturn, Chevrolet, and Pontiac models. The next limited-edition Lotus will have big shoes to fill whenever it arrives. The aforementioned 3-Eleven stood proud as the fastest street-legal Lotus when it made its debut in 2015, and the 430 variant (pictured) launched in 2018 put an even greater focus on performance.