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. We’ve only got four days to wait to have most of our questions answered, one of which will now be, even if Colin Chapman had wanted to design a crossover, would he have wanted to design this one?
Keyword: Lotus Type 132 gets another teaser in before debut