Lotus Type 130: The British Are Coming, and They’re Bringing an Electric Hypercar With Them
The Type 130 will be Lotus’ first all-new car in more than a decade, and the first purely electric model in the brand’s 71-year history.
The rumors are true: British sports car maker Lotus announced today ahead of the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show that it will embrace the future by building an all-new, all-electric hypercar; the first in its 71-year history. Called the Type 130, the famous brand says that it has reached "advanced stages" of development and will reveal the car in its entirety later this year in London, the birthplace of the Lotus brand.
“Type 130 will be the most dynamically accomplished Lotus in our history," said Lotus CEO, Phil Popham. "It marks a turning point for our brand and is a showcase of what we are capable of and what is to come from Lotus.”
Last year, Popham told Forbes that this particular Lotus will cover some small details which previous cars left out in the name of racing; he called them "hygiene factors." In fact, potential buyers can expect to see improved ergonomics and connectivity, along with an overall better human experience in the car. However, don't think that Lotus has forgotten about its core values.
The Type 130 was announced to the world's media along with Chinese parent company Geely's other brands and models.
Presently, Geely owns a stake in six additional international auto companies, including Lotus, Lynk & Co, Polestar, PROTON, Volvo, and the company's newly announced brand, Geometry. It purchased a majority stake in Lotus amid financial concerns in 2017, soon thereafter stabilizing the brand and establishing short-term goals for the automaker to meet in order to make the brand more relevant and aligned to modern supercar buyers.
Unfortunately, we won't know more about the Type 130 for some time, as the automaker doesn't have a public-facing release date just yet. What we do know, however, is that this vehicle marks the first all-new Lotus car built from the ground up since 2008, and the first all-electric Lotus to be sold under the marque. Given the brand's long-standing racing history, we can't wait to see what the future has in store for Lotus.
