Lotus Eletre
Electric super-SUV heralds new future
- WLTP range of up to 600 km
- Large lifestyle SUV
- Lightweight sports car
Lotus is renowned for building lightweight sports cars. With the electric Eletre, the manufacturer is ushering in a new era in which it aims to establish itself as a premium electric brand.
Larger volumes and a global presence
Lotus is today owned by Chinese Geely, just like Volvo and Polestar, and like those brands, its owner wants to make Lotus an all-electric brand. The Eletre kicks off this new brand strategy, which aspires to larger volumes and a global presence.
The Eletre is a large lifestyle SUV measuring 5.10 metres long, 2.13 metres wide and 1.63 metres high. With its 3.02-metre wheelbase, it offers plenty of interior space. In the rear, you can choose between two separate seats or a classic three-seat bench. The dashboard is far from traditional. Behind the small sports steering wheel there are info bars for driver and passenger and in the centre Lotus mounted a 15.1-inch OLED infotainment screen to control all the car's functions. This screen folds down when not in use.
The Eletre is ready for the next step in autonomous driving through the use of cameras, radars and LIDAR sensors, among others, and can be kept constantly up to date thanks to its software over-the-air functionality.
600 kilometres driving range
The Eletre is expected to offer a WLTP driving range of no less than 600 kilometres, relying on a 112-kWh battery pack and a top-notch aerodynamic performance with cameras instead of wing mirrors. Lotus has managed to keep the weight under two tonnes by extensive use of carbon fibre and aluminium.
The Eletre's powertrain is high-tech. The car uses an 800-volt architecture that allows DC fast charging at 350 kW. There will be three versions, each with two electric motors and all-wheel drive. Differing only in terms of equipment, the Eletre and Eletre S have 450 kW (603 hp) and 710 Nm and can sprint to 100 kph in 4.5 seconds. The Eletre E top model boasts a massive 675 kW (905 hp) and 985 Nm of torque, allowing it to hit 100 kph in exactly 2.95 seconds.
The Eletre should help Lotus reach its very ambitious sales goal, i.e. 100,000 units per annum by 2028. It was designed in the brand's British design studios and will be built in China. The first cars will be available from this summer. The Eletre has a list price of just under €100,000.
