Lotus Elise Electric Successor Coming In 2026 With Double The Power

It will ride on a new dedicated EV platform.

By: Angel Sergeev

Oct 11, 2021 at 4:21am ET

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Last month, Lotus released the first details about its new electric sports car platform that will underpin future zero-emissions performance products from the British brand. Its first application will be in the ideological successor of the Elise, which will reportedly debut in 2026 as the marque’s entry-level sports car in the electric era.

In a new report, Autocar outlines the initial characteristics of this new sports car based on early information from the automaker. Internally known as the Type 135, the project will be designed to be a true Lotus product with the company’s trademark handling and agility on track. The propulsion, however, will be fully electric as the Emira is the brand’s final car with a combustion engine.

“It’s our DNA: dynamics, aerodynamics, lightweighting – that’s what we do on all our products,” Lotus managing director Matt Windle told the publication. “We still want these to be Lotus products. They are going to have a different propulsion system but that system comes with benefits as well: instant torque, easier cooling, and better packaging, so the first sports car will have a lot of storage and packaging benefits as well.”

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The so-called E-Sports architecture will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations with even the least powerful models based on it offering about 470 horsepower (346 kilowatts). If we try to read between the lines, this means the Elise successor will be twice more powerful compared to the Elise Sport 240 Final Edition which has 240 hp (176 kW) from its 1.8-liter engine. The new platform will also allow for use of an all-wheel-drive system, though it’s unlikely the Elise successor will get an AWD configuration.

The team behind the project will also take advantage of the compact dimensions of the electric powertrain and will work to develop highly effective aerodynamics. Probably the best part of the report claims Lotus will try to keep the price of that new vehicle relatively low by using existing components and systems from other automakers that are owned by Geely.