The all-new Lotus Eletre, which hits the market in Europe and China in 2023 and is expected to be ready for delivery in the United States in 2024 or 2025, is a sleek and focused take on an electric-driven high-performance SUV that follows closely behind the excellently engineered mid-engine Emira. The famous sports manufacturer wants you to reconsider your Tesla Model X purchase. The Tesla Model X — Yes, that Model X, the electric SUV with crazy articulating doors—becomes old and dull all of a sudden.
The exterior of Lotus Eletre
The 200.9-inch long and 64.2-inch tall Eletre was designed by Ben Payne, head of styling at the Lotus Tech Creative Centre in Warwickshire, England, which is overseen by former Volvo and Geely design chief Peter Horbury. It has a cab-forward stance that recalls mid-engine Lotus sports cars, as well as sculpted aluminum panels teased out over a 118.8-inch wheelbase. The Lotus Eletre is 2.1 inches longer altogether and 0.8 inches lower than a Tesla Model X, with 2.1 inches extra area between the axles. This is no ordinary Lotus.
Daytime running lights are situated high on the bodywork’s leading-edge, above a full-width black area that conceals the lower headlamps and hidden vents that drive air up and over the bonnet and past the front tires. Below there is a dynamic grille, which consists of a series of interconnected triangular slats that open to allow air to flow into the radiator when the electric motors, battery pack, and front brakes require cooling.
The front door has been heavily sculpted to let air to flow from the vent on the outer edge of the front fender, and the rear wheel has a strong haunch that elevates to meet a roofline that smoothly slopes away from the sharply slanted A-pillars. An air blade is embedded into the floating D-pillar.
All of those vents are reminiscent of the Lotus Evija hypercar, which debuted in 2019 with a power output of 1972 hp and was driven by an electric motor. The SUV initially appears to have certain Lamborghini elements, but the overall impression is milder and more graceful than the harsh Lamborghini Urus.
Interior of Lotus Eletre
Lotus interiors have always been known for being more utilitarian than luxurious. Everything changes with the Lotus Eletre.
The Lotus Eletre includes superior, highly durable man-made microfibres on the key touchpoints and a sophisticated wool-blend fabric on the seats, and is available as a five-seater or in the alternative four-seat arrangement. The hard surfaces are made of carbon fiber, which was reassembled and crushed in a resin to give a marble-like finish. The fibers were clipped from the edge of weaved carbon fibre mats used elsewhere by Lotus.
The dash includes a light strip that spans the length of the vehicle and changes color to notify passengers of incoming calls, cabin temperature changes, and battery charge status changes. Behind the steering wheel, there is no large instrument binnacle. Instead, the driver’s important information is shown on a 1.2-inch-wide LCD right below the light strip. The front seat passenger entertainment and location information are displayed on a similar panel on the opposite side of the dash.
KEF, a British luxury audio firm, provides the standard audio system, which has an 800-watt, 15-speaker arrangement. Upgrade to the 1500-watt, 23-speaker KEF Reference system for even better fidelity sound in their Eletres, which incorporates the company’s high-performance speaker and subwoofer technology in an automotive audio system for the first time.
Features in Lotus Eletre
Beyond its electric motor, the Lotus Eletre is packed with cutting-edge technology, the most notable of which is the world’s first deployed LIDAR system. When not in use, the four LIDAR units, one on top of the windshield, one on top of the backlight, and one on each front fender, are hidden, retaining the Eletre’s slim profile.
These LIDAR units will provide “end-to-end” autonomous driving functionality in addition to supporting many of Eletre’s driver aid technologies. Customers will be able to use their smartphone app to request that their Eletre automatically come to them from a nearby parking spot, and then automatically repark itself at the end of the voyage, according to Lotus.
Battery and Horsepower of Lotus Eletre
The Lotus Eletre will be powered by a 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack that will power the SUV’s dual motors. On the European WLTP test cycle, Lotus claims 373 miles of range, which is about equivalent to 332 miles in EPA rating. When connected into a 350-kW charger, the Eletre’s 800-volt electrical architecture allows the battery to be recharged by roughly 250 miles in around 20 minutes.
The Eletre’s initial builds will include a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system capable of producing at least 600 horsepower. This should allow for very quick acceleration—Lotus predicts 0-60 mph times of less than 3.0 seconds. The maximum speed is claimed to be 161 miles per hour, which is quite fast for an electric car.
Lotus may eventually offer additional powertrains, such as different-sized batteries or a single motor. Eletre’s range, performance, and price point options would be expanded as a result of these additions.
Pricing of Lotus Eletre
The Lotus Eletre starts at around $200,000. More detailed price information is yet to be released by Lotus
