We dont know ..or should I say... I dont know, if Lotus will be the lead, or Alpine, but I do recall the possibility that Lotus would manufacture both cars, not just their own, but that does not seem to be decided and its a way off yet anyway. Although reading into it now, it would seem its a Lotus lead project:
"The E-Sports platform has yet to be revealed in its entirety but will be based around a lightweight rear subframe housing batteries and motors, developed by the dedicated Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture) programme.
Said to be 37% lighter than the equivalent structure used by the Emira, it has been designed from the ground up to compensate for the added weight of an electric powertrain and with a view to replicating the typical dynamic traits of previous
Lotus models. The batteries can either be stacked vertically behind the seats – in a layout reminiscent of a conventional mid-engined format – or arranged under the floor in longer-wheelbase cars with rear seats."
Although I clearly like the Emira design, I would hope and expect the 135 is quite different in design, BUT my reasoning, that its going to be a whole new tech, is flawed, seeing as the Emira already copies design elements from the leading EV of the group, the Evija, so I guess it is possible it will share a few design cues from the Emira/Evija. I guess the front end will be almost the same and the back will have a similar viewing also.
Im very much looking forward to it, but it will have stiff competition from the porsche, jaguar and one would expect the other germans to get in on the electric sports car act soon enough and 2026 is soon enough for them to come out with something. I dont want to see Jaguar go down and down and so I really hope they step up and bring out another great looking car like the F type, but light enough to compete.