New Lotus Type 132 and 134 SUVs and Type 133 four-door will be designed at new UK studio.
Lotus has confirmed further expansion of its operations with the opening of a new design centre in Warwickshire, UK which will come online early in 2022.
The Lotus Tech Creative Centre is the new name for parent company Geely’s existing UK design studio, and the centre will be responsible for leading the design direction of some of the new Lotus models planned for the coming years.
This new LTCC will be responsible for steering the direction of models outside the brand’s traditional remit of sports cars, and will be led by automotive designer Ben Payne, formerly of Bugatti and Aston Martin.
As such, the upcoming Type 132 SUV – the first such model in the brand’s history – has been designed by the team at the LTCC, and will be revealed in the spring. The LTCC will also be Geely’s lead design studio for further Lotus ‘lifestyle’ models, including the Type 133 four-door coupe and the Type 134, which will be a smaller, crossover-sized SUV to sit beneath the Type 132.
The LTCC’s remit goes beyond exterior design. It will also set the tone for the interiors of future Lotus models, and will also work on user interface and experience projects. Materials that will trim future Lotus models will also be selected by a colour, materials and finish team based at the site.
Lotus’s design team at Hethel will continue to work on sports car design and development, and the team at the brand’s Norfolk base will also work in ‘close collaboration’ with the teams designing lifestyle models in Warwickshire.
