Inside Lotus’ tech-loaded Eletre electric SUV that’s as quick as a Lamborghini and leaves rivals looking like dinosaurs
FIVE years ago, firms like Porsche and Lamborghini didn’t give two hoots about Lotus.
They didn’t need to. Lotus was producing lightweight analogue sports cars. And not very many of them.
But in less time than it took Elon Musk to ruin Twitter, the British brand operating from a far-flung corner of East Anglia is now keeping the Germans and Italians up all night, every night.
This is Eletre. It’s an SUV. Lotus has never done that before. It’s electric.
Lotus has never really done that before. It’s loaded with LIDAR self-driving tech.
No one has ever done that before.
On top of that, Eletre is stuffed with software from the developers of Fortnite.
It’s got seven screens inside. Cinema sound. Arcade games. Reclining rear seats.
Oh, and the top-spec R version is 900hp. Hubba. Hubba.
Max Verstappen’s F1 car is 1,000hp but you can’t fit for four people and a dog in that.
The cheapest Eletre, at £90k, is dual-motor 4WD and 603hp. Plenty quick enough.
The peri-peri hot R, at £130k, has a bigger rear motor, rear-wheel steering and active anti-roll bars, and catapults from 0-62mph in just 2.95 seconds.
Obliterating a Lamborghini Urus in a traffic-light grand prix, for much less money — and it can tow stuff.
Whereas a Urus can’t.
Eletre isn’t short on drama either, with trick aero optimising dynamics and maximising range.
Allow me to give you one example. Active shutters in the lower front grille breathe like gills to help cool the battery hardware, adding six miles of range.
In a nutshell, this is the fastest and most technically advanced SUV ever created.
So not only has Lotus leapfrogged Porsche, Lamborghini, Range Rover and others with this car, it has made them look like dinosaurs.
How is all this possible? Because Chinese giant Geely is investing billions to turn Lotus from breadline minnow to major global player.
Eletre will be followed by a Porsche Taycan rival, a Porsche Macan rival and then a low-slung sports car inspired by the Esprit.
All of them electric. All of them beginning with the letter E, as history dictates.
The sports car will be made in the UK, alongside the petrol Emira. The others will be made in Wuhan, China.
Fast and engaging
When Lotus turns 80 in 2028, bosses want to shift 250,000 cars a year.
Now, I’ll answer the obvious question. Does Eletre drive like a Lotus?
No. But it feels like one. As close as a car of this size possibly could.
The steering is direct and beautifully weighted. The chassis and air suspension do a good job of making it feel smaller and lighter than it is.
Batteries aren’t light.
And for a car weighing almost 2.5 tonnes, it dances.
Fast and engaging when you hurry it. Quiet and relaxing when you don’t.
Eletre has an official WLTP range of 373 miles from a 112kWh battery.
Closer to 300 in the real world. But still enough.
Mega-fast 800v charging adds 74 miles every five minutes.
Now, some of you might think it is sacrilege for Lotus to make an SUV. But I disagree.
Colin Chapman — the genius Lotus founder — was an innovator.
And he had two parking spaces at Hethel — one for his sports car and one for the family Range Rover.
Colin’s son Clive said: “I have no doubt my father would have loved the opportunity to design some-thing like an SUV.”
Something like Eletre. Porsche and Lamborghini are now playing catch-up.
Key facts
ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE
Price: £330,000
Battery: 102kWh
Power: 584hp, 900Nm
0-62mph: 4.5 secs
Top speed: N/A
Range: 329 miles
Charging: 80% in 34 mins
CO2: 0g/km