The 2026 Lotus Elise Will Prove Electric Drive Is Better
The Lotus Elise’s successor will have at least double the power of any Elise that came before it
The launch of the Lotus Emira was a bittersweet moment as it forced the world to accept that Lotus would no longer be producing gas-powered vehicle. With the Elise, Exige, and Evora dead, what’s coming next?
A new report has shined light on a new car that’s internally known as Type 135, that will be the ideological successor to the Lotus Elise and is said to be designed as a “true Lotus product” with the company’s trademark handling and agility on the track.
Matt Windle, Managing Director at Lotus, said:
“It’s our DNA: dynamics, aerodynamics, lightweighting – that’s what we do on all our products. We still want these to be Lotus products.”
He continued:
“ 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.”
In the end, the Type 135 will be the first car to ride on Lotus’ new electric sports car platform, also known as the E-Sports Architecture.
This platform is capable of supporting single- and dual-motor configurations with power outputs ranging from 470 to more than 800 horsepower.
If you put the pieces of the puzzle together, that means the spiritual successor to the Lotus Elise will have at least 470 horsepower, or nearly double that of the most powerful Elise ever produced.
For reference, the Elise Sport 240 Final Edition offered up 240 horsepower from a 1.8-liter engine.
As of now, all we know is that the Type 135 is expected to launch in 2026, which indicates that it’s still in the earliest phases of development. Whether or not it will carry the Elise name or not is still up for speculation as well.
More importantly, Lotus is aiming to keep the new sports car as affordable as possible by borrowing parts from various companies under the Geely corporate umbrella.
That could be a good thing or a bad thing, but as long as the company doesn’t over do it, it should leave room for a truly unique sports car while keep the end consumer pricing in check too.