Lotus Affirms Volvo-Based SUV

Group Lotus plans to finalize the design of its first crossover/SUV by May.

Confirming previous reports, CEO Jean-Marc Gales tells Autocar the British carmaker expects to launch the new model within four years. Initial patent drawings were filed late last year.

Using the Volvo platform and sharing other components will allow Lotus to reduce costs. The lightweight architecture, which features the use of high-strength steel, also will help Lotus maintain its signature ride characteristics.

The yet-to-be-named crossover will share styling cues with other Lotus models and “go ‘round bends like nothing else in its segment,” Gales vows. He previously has said any Lotus SUV would be the lightest and fastest in its class.

The vehicle will be about the same size as Maserati’s new Levante crossover. Other competitors will include the Porsche Macan and Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The new Lotus model also will use the SPA’s electrical architecture and get Volvo’s large infotainment touchscreen. But Gales says the infotainment system won’t be used in future Lotus sports cars, which typically feature Spartan interiors.

The SPA structure likely will restrict the Lotus crossover to a 4-cylinder engine, Autocar notes. A hybrid-electric system also is said to be under consideration.