The rumoured SUV from Lotus already has a name and a packed schedule

Lambda, to some a Greek letter, to others a sensor. Either way, the Lotus Lambda will be the key to the immediate future of the company based in Hethel, whose fortunes are directly tied to Hangzhou since the British marque was taken over by the Chinese investment group Geely.

This situation, given that it places Lotus in a new dynamic whose momentum would essentially keep it a manufacturer of sports cars, would be adapted to the plans and demands of the Asian leadership for the future of the British firm. Even though, in the new phase, Lotus may have to build less sporty cars than it has accustomed us to.

For years, ever since Lotus Cars was integrated into Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, there has been a recurring rumour of a line-up for Lotus which, besides sports cars, whether with traditional engines or as powerplants for the new era of electrified motoring, would include unexpected offerings in the production range, such as a crossover.

And since then, the SUV from Lotus has only had to wait until, as a manufacturing group, the platform on which the Lotus Lambda will be assembled is operational, which is now a reality.

Sharing DNA with other historically European brands, such as Volvo and Polestar, together with native Chinese proposals also aimed at the old continent, like the recently announced sales formula for Europe Lynk & Co 01, Lotus will join the bandwagon of Geely brands which, from the SPA 2 platform, will lay the foundations for the SUVs.

The Lotus Lambda would offer both traditional and new-era engines

This means the Lotus Lambda could be fitted with multiple mechanical solutions, from traditional high-performance combustion engines to electric motors which, while already high, could reach extremely high performance levels.

In principle, the Lotus Lambda is tipped to be unveiled this same year. That is, we are on the threshold of seeing either the look of a pre-production model, as happened recently with the Nissan Ariya prototype, which practically previewed the definitive model, or the full debut of the final model, since, judging by what is known, the Lotus SUV would begin sales, retail and deliveries in 2021. This first phase would be for assembling units with petrol engines.

By 2022, the electric Lotus Lambda would arrive. Rumours suggest it will be named Lotus Lambda-e and that this vehicle would have a configuration essentially similar to that of the Lotus Evija, that is: an electric motor located at and driving each wheel.

Based on this, the performance of this electric SUV would not be as exceptional as that of the hypercar, but could by no means be described as modest, since the twin-motor version of the hypothetical Lotus Lambda-e would reportedly have around 500 CV, while the four-motor version would have around 750.

In any case, what is certain is that Lotus is irreversibly moving towards electrification with its upcoming models, whether sports cars, as the company founded by the legendary Colin Chapman traditionally was, or as a brand meeting the current marketing standards and prevailing environmental regulations.