Come next year, Lotus will delight driving
enthusiasts with a brand new model, its first all-new car in the past 12 years.
Known internally as the Type 131, this new Lotus will slot between the Exige
and Evora instead of replacing either of them. The Type 131 will reportedly be
based on an all-new lightweight platform and will utilize internal combustion
power as opposed to a hybrid powertrain – for weight reduction purposes.
One possibility has Lotus sourcing the
Type 131’s engine from Geely instead of Toyota, but it’s definitely too early
to speculate on that front. Last year, Lotus CEO Phil Popham talked about the
Type 131 project with AutoExpress, saying: “We’re busy now investing in a
pretty aggressive business plan that will deliver an all-new sports car next
year. It’ll be shown towards the end of next year and go on sale some time
after that. We are investing in new platforms as well.”
Popham did address the potential shift to
Geely-sourced engines by saying that his company will have access to
powertrains that exist within the group right now, as well as units that were
at the time under development.
