The idea of a Lotus crossover might make some fans of the British sports car maker a little squeamish, but if Lotus is going to stick around, it’s going to need a higher-volume model with more mass-market appeal. Lotus CEO Jean-Mark Gales has already revealed that the automaker is currently developing a compact crossover, which is still at least four years away from production, and now we’ve managed to put together a rendering of what the Lotus CUV might look like.


Here’s what is known about the Lotus crossover so far: it will be built in China, its name will start with “E” and it will have emphasis on performance by being the lightest and fastest in its segment. Initially, the CUV will launch in China before eventually expanding to Europe and Japan, but there is still no word as to whether customers in the U.S. will ever have access to this vehicle. It would be hard to imagine Lotus not bringing a crossover to one of the largest markets for crossovers and SUVs, but it would require extra engineering to meet U.S. vehicle regulations.