There have been news and rumours regarding this vehicle for a long, long time, but now, we finally have a good look at what the Lotus SUV will look like. Patent drawings of the new model have been leaked in China, showing a rather handsome and sporty SUV with a fair bit of Lotus design cues.

The front end bears some resemblance to recent Lotus sports cars, with the customary three-wide air intakes and a round emblem on the nose. If the images – published by Chinese website PCAuto.com.cn – are to be believed, the SUV will have a rather distinctive side profile, with a steeply raked rear window.

Sharp lines flow across the sides, with prominent wheelarch bulges leading to the rear light enclosures. As is common with recent lotus models, two single circular lamps are featured here, joined by a wide frame. Other design flourishes include the central duct on the roof, as well as the fuel filler placement.


That it looks nothing like the Lotus APX concept should come as no surprise, as that is in fact, a design study from over 10 years ago. These new drawings do show a much more modern and sporty interpretation of an SUV/crossover by a specialised sports car maker.

While rumours of it being built on a Volvo or Lynk&Co platform are rife, it needs to be mentioned that this project was started long before Geely came into the picture. Two years ago, Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales had already put out a bold claim that the company’s SUV would out-handle the Porsche Macan.