A Lotus SUV Is Coming To Give The Porsche Macan A Kicking

Lotus has confirmed that it's working on an SUV to tackle the likes of the Porsche Macan, and it wants the car to be the best-handling in its class...
A Lotus SUV Is Coming To Give The Porsche Macan A Kicking

Lotus is planning an SUV to fight the Maserati Levante and Porsche Macan, and these designs have just been filed with patent authorities.

Billed from the off as the best-handling sports-SUV of the three, which would be some achievement, Lotus says it wants the car to go around bends “like nothing else in its segment.”

A Lotus SUV Is Coming To Give The Porsche Macan A Kicking

But just when you were thinking this might be a Lotus that’s actually all-new for once, we have to put a pin in that bubble. Geely-owned Lotus will take most of the new car’s key parts from stablemate Volvo.

Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales – who’s now back behind the wheel – confirmed that the Lotess-you-vee will be built from parts nicked from beneath the XC60 and XC90, which share the same modular structure.

A Lotus SUV Is Coming To Give The Porsche Macan A Kicking

Reading between the lines that means four cylinders only for the premium soft-roader, but at least the ‘twin-engine’ T8 plug-in hybrid drivetrain coughs up 401bhp. You can expect that to increase once Lotus’ engineers have whipped their tuning tools out.

The designs filed for patent applications look kinda Jaguar-ish from the front and surprisingly Ferrari-like from the back, although the bum-end styling clearly comes from the likes of the Exige and Evora.

A Lotus SUV Is Coming To Give The Porsche Macan A Kicking

Production is currently set to start in late 2021. Production of the £60,000-£70,000 car will be split across two locations with one said to be China and the other dependant on the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

Source: Autocar

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Comments

Matthew Henderson

looks like an F-Pace/FF mix-up

03/20/2018 - 19:00 |
0 | 0
DriftMaster2.0

Urus looks similar

03/20/2018 - 19:40 |
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Anonymous

Why are SUVs useful anyway. U need space? get a station wagon, u need speed? get a sports car, you need both? Get a sporty station wagon. SUVs are just babd handling

03/20/2018 - 19:59 |
0 | 0
Kyle Reid

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

You really want to go offroad? Get a “real” SUV!

03/20/2018 - 23:35 |
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Beetler

“Coming to give the Macan a kicking” just the project alone is kicking itself and the ideology of the brand in the face

03/20/2018 - 21:02 |
1 | 0
TheBagel

Good god

03/20/2018 - 21:04 |
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MitchellC

Watch out other drivers!

03/20/2018 - 21:31 |
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Callum Luker

Will it weigh under 1000kgs though?

03/20/2018 - 21:41 |
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Anonymous

wait lotus exists?

03/20/2018 - 21:46 |
1 | 0
Speedy

Looks like a urus with different lights and grill to me

03/20/2018 - 22:09 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

If this becomes a commercial success, then that means that the money made from the SUV could go to development of some badass cars… Hopefully

03/20/2018 - 22:43 |
0 | 0