Lotus Cars has revealed the first vehicle in its plan to broaden its appeal and electrified the well-heeled masses. On Tuesday night, the company staged the world premiere of the Eletre, its first “lifestyle” electric vehicle, which it also dubs the world’s first pure-electric hyper-SUV.

Known until a few days ago only by its Type 132 codename, the Eletre delivers a significant number of firsts for Lotus: the first five-door production car, the first model outside sports car segments, the first lifestyle EV, and the most “connected” Lotus ever. The company says it also has the most advanced active aerodynamics package on any production SUV and the world’s first deployable LIDAR system in a production car.

“This is a momentous point in our history and a clear signal of our ongoing desire to transform our business,” said Matt Windle, Managing Director, Lotus Cars. “It is a true Lotus, and we’re confident it will delight performance car customers and offer a distinct alternative to the segment’s established players.”

“The Eletre will make Lotus accessible to a whole new audience,” added Qingfeng Feng, CEO, of Group Lotus.

The SUV is the first in a new range of premium lifestyle performance electric vehicles to be built at a new production facility in Wuhan, China. Under the “Born British, Raised Globally” tagline, the SUV’s exterior and interior design was led by an international team based at the Lotus Tech Creative Centre (LTCC) in Warwickshire, UK. Development supported comes from the new Lotus R&D facility established in China in 2020; the Lotus Tech Innovation Centre (LTIC) in Raunheim, Germany; and an engineering team in Gothenburg, Sweden.

“The Eletre is a rare creative opportunity in performance car design—the chance to start with a blank sheet of paper and develop an all-new vehicle that takes a brand in a completely fresh direction,” said Peter Horbury, Senior Vice President, Executive Advisor, Design, Lotus. “The result is a Hyper-SUV that is genuinely different to what’s on the market; the electric powertrain has inspired a cab-forward design that echoes the iconic mid-engine layout of Lotus sports cars, creating a unique look and position in the SUV segment.”

The Eletre is on sale now across global markets, with the first customer deliveries in 2023 starting in China, the UK, and Europe. It will arrive in the U.S. in 2024.

 

Transforming Lotus

Eletre means “coming to life” in some Eastern European languages, which Lotus says is an appropriate link as the SUV marks the start of a new chapter for the company. That meaning is also translated to the company promising an immersive experience.

For instance, pressing a button on the key or smartphone app activates a “moment of theatre,” with the car’s exterior lights running through a short sequence, the active front grille “breathes,” and the illuminated flush door handles deploy. The experience is repeated inside the car.

“It’s a visual expression of a car coming to life and a metaphor for the reinvention of the Lotus business and brand which begins with the Eletre,” said Ben Payne, Head of Studio at LTCC.

As the start of the Vision80-led transformation of Lotus, the Eletre is a showcase for how the company can deliver performance-oriented driving thrills outside of its traditional sports car segments.

The SUV’s measurements are within an inch or two in nearly every dimension of ICE competitors Porsche Cayenne and Lamborghini Urus and the all-electric Tesla Model X. Specifically, it is 5103 mm (200.9 in) long; 2135 or 2231 mm (84.1 or 87.8 in) wide, depending on the fitment of Electric Reverse Mirror Displays of traditional door mirrors; 1630 mm (64.2 in) tall; on a 3019-mm (118.9 in) wheelbase.

Target performance specs are power starting at 600 hp (447 kW), a top speed of about 260 k/h (161 mph) and 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration in less than 3.0 s.

With a battery pack of more than 100 kWh, the SUV is expected to deliver a maximum WLTP range of around 600 km (373 mi). A 350-kW charger will deliver a 400 km (248 mi) range in just 20 min. The car comes standard with the ability to accept 22-kW AC charging where available to reduce charging time.

 

Dedicated EV platform

The Eletre is built on Lotus’ new, versatile Electric Premium Architecture (EPA) that has a low-to-the-ground design intended for outstanding handling. It can be adapted to accommodate C+ to E+ vehicle classes and related battery sizes, motors, component layouts, and intelligent driving technologies.

The architecture uses 800-V electrics and is aluminum and high-tensile-strength steel-intensive. Like most purpose-built EVs, it uses a flat skateboard style with a high-energy-density battery pack and electric motors close to the ground for a low center of gravity and optimal dynamic performance.

There are two electric motors, one on each axle. A three-in-one electric drive unit approach, which integrates a motor, controller, and reducer, is said to result in size and weight efficiencies.

“Dynamically, the Eletre has been developed to deliver everything you would expect from a Lotus—outstanding ride and handling, highly communicative steering, and exceptional driver engagement,” said Gavan Kershaw, Director, Attributes and Product Integrity, who defined the attributes of the Eletre and led the Hethel-based dynamics team in collaboration with colleagues in China, Sweden, and Germany. “From a performance perspective, we know the world is watching, so there has been an obsession with getting everything just right.”

The SUV has a five-link suspension at the rear, while standard equipment includes air suspension and continuous damping control. Active ride height, active rear steering, active anti-roll bar, and torque vectoring via braking are all available. Top options include 23-in machine-cut split-finish five-spoke alloy wheels with carbon-fiber inserts to aid airflow and ceramic composite 10-piston caliper brakes.

The car comes with standard Range, Tour, Sport, Off-Road, and Individual drive modes. They adjust the steering, damper settings, powertrain, and accelerator pedal response.

 

Carved by air

The design team used a “carved by air” design ethos inspired the Evija and Emira to create the Eletre’s cab-forward stance, long wheelbase, and short overhangs front and rear. The absence of an engine enabled creative freedom that echoes the styling cues of Lotus’ mid-engine cars. The body panels are aluminum with carbon fiber trim.

“We have taken the iconic design language of the Lotus sports car and successfully evolved it into an elegant and exotic Hyper-SUV,” commented Payne.

A signature element of the design is its “porosity”—the aerodynamic principle of air flowing through key parts of the car. The benefits are less resistance through the air, delivering improved vehicle range, speed, and performance. It is most obvious where the air is channeled under the leading edge of the car, emerging through two vents in the hood above. Other examples of porosity are ahead of and behind the front wheel arches, behind the rear wheels, and at the top of the D-pillar.

Key front design details are the slim, “technical” light clusters that house the daytime running lights and scrolling directional indicators. The main lamps, available with matrix technology for adaptive lighting, are housed below, recessed, and partially hidden.

The active front grille has a network of interconnecting triangular petals in the center. They remain closed when the car is at rest or to reduce drag during driving, but can open to cool the electric motors, battery pack, and front brakes.

From the side, an air outlet behind the front wheels defines the sculpted shape of the doors, each of which has a flush handle. Other design highlights are an aggressively raked windshield, relatively narrow glass area, and black rail above. The “floating” D-pillar features an “air blade” that aids drag reduction, another example of the porosity for aerodynamic enhancement.

In markets where allowed, the door mirror is replaced by an Electric Reverse Mirror Display. It houses three cameras—one for the rear-view mirror, a second to help create a 360-degree view of the car from above to aid parking, and a third for the intelligent driving technologies.

At the rear is a cantilevered carbon-fiber “floating” split roof spoiler meant to mimic racecar winglets. The removed central section allows for a LIDAR sensor to be integrated at the top of the glass. The roof spoiler channels airflow down the rear glass to an active tailgate spoiler that has three deployment angles, depending on drive mode.

A full-width ribbon light strip picks up the feature line from the side. It includes a scrolling directional indicator at each end, where it curves into the air outlets from the wheel arches. The rear light plays a role in the car’s theatrical unlocking sequence, glowing in one of four colors, red when the car is moving.

 

Driving assistance and four LiDARs

The SUV’s suite of advanced driver assistance systems is designed to be futureproofed, with new features enabled via over-the-air updates. Several features use the LiDAR sensors, hidden when not required for design reasons, that emerge from the top of the windshield, top of the rear glass, and the front wheel arches. The LIDAR system is designed to eventually support end-to-end autonomous driving technology, with capabilities added via OTA software updates when allowed by local market regulation.

“To have the world’s first deployable LIDAR system on the Eletre is a signal of the technology vision we have for Lotus,” said Maximilian Szwaj, Vice President of Lotus Technology and Managing Director, LTIC.

Out of the box, the Eletre will be available with intelligent adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation support front, traffic sign information, door open warning, rear and front cross-traffic alert, lane change assist, children presence detection, lane keeping aid with lane departure warning/prevention, parking emergency brake, collision mitigation support rear, and emergency rescue call.

 

Sustainable interior design

The Eletre interior is meant to take Lotus to a new level of performance-oriented and technical design, using ultra-premium materials and delivering an exceptional customer experience. Shown at the launch with four individual seats, the interior is also available in a more traditional five-seat layout. Above, a fixed panoramic glass sunroof is optional in markets outside China.

Sustainability was a core focus of the design team, working with supplier Kvadrat on interior materials. Premium feel, highly durable man-made microfibers are used on the primary touchpoints. An advanced wool-blend fabric on the seats is 50% lighter than traditional leather.

Hard materials are carbon fiber, but rather than using a traditional weave, Lotus recycles the fibers trimmed from the edge of the weave. These are reconstructed into a new matting, then compressed in a resin to create a premium marble-like finish.

The driver-focused cockpit and high center console are inspired by the Emira and Evija designs’ cossetted feeling. The triangular theme, similar to that of the SUV’s active front grille, is replicated in multiple locations around the cabin.

The Lotus philosophy of light-weighting, by removing material if it’s not needed, is illustrated on the instrument panel. The floating wing’s central section is removed, echoing the design of the rear spoiler.

 

Digital experience

The infotainment experience, a collaboration between the design team in Warwickshire and the Lotus team in China, is said to set new automotive standards in user interface and user experience design. At the core of Eletre’s UI/UX is the Lotus attribute of simplicity realized through three design pillars: lightweight, intelligence, and immersive.

The blade of light running across the cabin on the instrument panel in a ribbed channel is part of the human-machine interface. It changes color to communicate with occupants, for example, if a phone call is received, if the cabin temperature is changed, or to reflect the vehicle’s battery charge status.

Below the light is a “ribbon of technology” that provides front-seat occupants with information. Ahead of the driver, the traditional instrument cluster is reduced to a slim 30-mm (1.2 in) strip to communicate vehicle and trip information. It’s repeated on the passenger side, where information like music selection and nearby points of interest can be displayed.

In the middle is an OLED 15.1-in landscape touchscreen that provides access to the infotainment system or folds flat when not required. Information is also displayed to the driver via a standard head-up display featuring augmented reality technology. Voice control through advanced speech recognition technology is also available.

The standard KEF Premium audio system features a 1380-W 15-speaker setup with Uni-Q and surround-sound technology. Uni-Q combines tweeter and mid-range speakers into a single unit. It covers the entire mid- and high-frequency sound spectrum from a single point, delivering a more coherent and realistic sound experience.

The KEF Reference audio upgrade is a 2160-W 23-speaker system with Uni-Q and 3D surround sound. Its pioneering approach to the speaker and subwoofer design called Uni-Core sees its first automotive application. It uses two dual-force-canceling drivers with concentrically arranged and overlapping voice coils driven by a single motor enabling high-level performance while significantly reducing subwoofer/speaker size.

Connectivity technology includes 5G compatibility, a smartphone app, and the ability for customers to purchase new features enabled via software as they become available. The app will include access to driving logs, vehicle and charge status, remote features, and location services.