This is the Lotus Type 132, the first SUV from Lotus that aims to bolster or rather solidify annual sales for the seemingly low selling perpetually troubled British sports car company. It’s an iconic company that specialised in a lightweight-is-right philosophy. However, the days of the lightweight Lotus are over. Those days are gone for good as the company transitions into the reality of what it takes to maintain and prosper in the automotive industry. Realism is the new lightweight philosophy for Lotus. Bread and butter products that shore up the company’s balance sheet are a new reality, the only way forward to keep alive its sports car business.

And the way forward is to enter the SUV market, just as Porsche did with the Cayenne. In the auto industry, you always give people what they want. And they all want SUVs. The Lotus brand has more than enough heritage to repress the doubters. But a Lotus SUV will always be a significant Oxymoron in the room.

And here is the new reality, the new way forward, the only way for Lotus to co-exist, the Lotus Type 132 SUV. Albeit revealed as a render in a digital patent filing. The Type 132 will be made in China and is scheduled to be retail-ready later this year. Before that, it is scheduled to make an official debut on March 29.

We can see what it looks like now in the 3D renders, and it looks… like a typical mid-size SUV. We know it has an active grille shutter to control airflow and improve aerodynamics. Interweb rumors suggest the Type 132 will be a fully electric SUV available in 2-wheel drive and AWD variants. Power will range from 600bhp and 750bhp.

Pricing? at a wild guess, prices in the UK could start at £90K.