A new prototype of the forthcoming electric Lotus Envya has been spied testing in China, providing us with our first opportunity to see its cabin. We caught our first glimpse of the new EV, also known as the Type 133, back in late November. Much like those two prototypes, this one is bathed in body cladding to hide its exterior design and while it’s not possible to see some of the more intricate design details, there’s no mistaking some of the design similarities to the other electric Lotus, the Eletre SUV.
Visible at the front of the prototype
appear to be a pair of split headlight, a large lower front grille, and angular
air intakes. There’s also a flowing and sleek roof. Interestingly, the two
prototypes spied testing last month has prominent humps just above the
windshield, believed to be housing advanced LiDAR units. This prototype doesn’t
have such a hump but the outline of the LiDAR is visible, indicating that it
can pop out from the roof when needed, much like it does on the Eletre.
Then there’s the cabin. It looks as though
Lotus will sell the car exclusively as a four-seater as a prominent
‘transmission’ tunnel can be seen running through the length of the cabin. The
interior of the Electre also has a prominent tunnel just like this. Elsewhere,
you will see a pair of sporty rear seats clad in black leather and contrasted
with red seat belts. The console between the rear seats houses at least two
cupholders and what appears to be a touchscreen interface.
Up front, the interior has a prominent
infotainment display just like the Eletre while a subtle digital instrument
cluster has also been neatly incorporated into the dashboard. The new sedan is
expected to be based on the same Electric Premium Architecture (EPA) as the
Eletre SUV and should have the same powertrains, likely meaning entry-level
models will pump out around 595 hp and 710 Nm of torque while a
flagship model could be good for 893 hp and 985 Nm.
