Lotus Eletre debuted in London today, the new car code name Type 132, positioned as Lotus's first pure electric Hyper SUV, its name "Eletre" derived from the Eastern European language family, meaning "new life". The new car, a product of Lotus's global team, will be officially put into production at the Wuhan Smart Factory in the second half of this year and launched in China and other markets around the world, with the first vehicles to begin delivery in 2023.
- Design -
The Eletre is the first production model based on the Lotus EPA architecture, with a length of 5,103 mm, a width of 2,019 mm, a height of 1,630 mm and a wheelbase of 3,019 mm. Its exterior continues one of the iconic elements of the Lotus sports car, the "porous design", inspired by Lotus's first pure electric supercar Evija, the pores of the edges of the body not only reduce the resistance encountered by the body to cut through the air, but also effectively improve the endurance, speed and performance.
Ultra-long wheelbase, ultra-short front and rear overhang, this bold and exaggerated design makes the Eletre give people a sense of lightness in the overall vision, more like a sports car with a slightly higher chassis.
A slender high-tech lighting cluster is designed above the front face, integrating piano key daytime running lights and directional lights for rolling lighting, while the main headlights embedded in the car body below are arranged with matrix arrangement technology.
The infinitely variable active air intake grille is interconnected by the line design of the triangular lotus petals to form a matrix arrangement, which can be automatically opened or closed according to the needs of reducing drag or cooling the motor battery when the vehicle is driving.
The door handles are concealed, the charging port motor cover is mounted on the front wind wing, and also here is the first production-grade flip-capable lidar used in the Eletre, one on each side.
The top of the body is also equipped with production-grade flip-over lidar. The windshield area is relatively small, and each rearview mirror uses a streaming media exterior rearview mirror, with three different cameras built in, one for the rearview mirror, one displaying 360-degree panoramic images for assisted parking, and the other is a component of the intelligent driving system.
Streaming exterior mirrors work in tandem with Eletre's production-grade flip-over lidar system for track-level smart driving.
The rear body is made up of a unique carbon fiber floating split spoiler inspired by racing cars and looks a lot like the small fairing wings of a racing car. The rear wing also automatically deploys at high speeds and offers three different angles of deployment depending on the choice of driving mode.
The through-line LED taillights are available in four colors and also show the battery's charging status.
In addition, all black components of the Eletre's body are made of carbon fiber, while the body panels are made of aluminum. Users can also opt for a 23-inch blade style five-frame alloy wheels and a 10-piston carbon-ceramic braking system.
- Interior Design -
The interior of the new car is a mixture of ultra-durable composite fabrics and environmentally sustainable lightweight wool, and the interior is laid out in four independent seats, with a traditional five-seater model option and a fixed panoramic glass roof.
The instrument panel features a wing-shaped design with a slender, 3 cm high full LCD instrument panel that displays critical information about the vehicle and the road. The co-pilot's end is also the same full LCD screen, which can display other information such as music options or nearby points of interest.
Between the two slender full LCD screens is a 15.1-inch landscape touchscreen with new OLED technology that automatically retracts when not in use. In addition, the new car is equipped with a heads-up display with augmented reality technology as standard.
The entire Eletre range comes standard with a sound system from british gem brand KEF, the first time the brand's products have been used in a production car brand. KEF Premium is a 1380-watt system with 15 speakers featuring Uni-QTM and surround sound technology. Users can also choose from an upgraded version of the KEF Reference system, which has a power of 2160 watts and includes 23 speakers, as well as Uni-Q, 3D surround sound and other configurations.
- Autonomous Driving Technology Configuration -
Flip-over lidar chooses to hide when not in use, revealing only from the top of the windshield and the front wheel arches when needed. Sensors at the rear of the car are fixed to the top of the trunk cover.
Eletre Technology Suite uses new connected technology, compatible with 5G communication technology, enabling real-time interconnection. So users can connect to the vehicle through the app of their smartphone and update the software at any time via OTA.
Eletre's technical configuration includes intelligent adaptive cruise control, front collision mitigation, traffic sign recognition, door opening warning system, cross vehicle collision hazard alarm, forward crossing vehicle hazard alarm assist, lane change assist, child detection, emergency lane line keeping assistance - advanced version, parking emergency braking, rear collision mitigation, and emergency rescue calls.
- Chassis & Controls -
The range can be adjusted to five driving modes of Range, Tour, Sport, Off-Road and Individual, and the settings of functions such as steering, shock absorber, powertrain and accelerator pedal response will be different in different modes.
The Eletre features a five-link independent suspension whose standard components include air suspension and continuous damping control to optimize the vehicle's road feel and handling feel.
The Eletre is also available in body height adjustment, rear wheel steering, front and rear active stabilizer bars and one-box braking system.
- Power & Endurance -
The Eletre is equipped with an 800V electrical architecture, which is mainly composed of aluminum and high-strength steel, with excellent structural rigidity. The high energy density battery pack achieves the perfect balance of high performance and high endurance.
Using front and rear dual motor drive, each drive motor integrates a controller and reducer to form a three-in-one electric drive system. This efficient design makes the electric drive system smaller and lighter.
The combined maximum output is more than 600 horsepower, the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h is 2.95 seconds, equipped with a battery pack with a capacity of more than 100 kWh, and the full range of the WLTP is about 600 km. At 350kW charging power, charging for 20 minutes and 400 km, compatible with 22kW AC power charging.
- Say at the end -
The much-anticipated Lotus pure electric SUV has finally unveiled the mystery of Ta, and from the name of the name "Eletre", it can be seen that Lotus is still the "lotus" we are familiar with. Under the general trend of electrification, we can feel Lotus's determination to change in the future and Lotus's insight into market demand from Eletre.
Most ultra-luxury brands have achieved sales turnover by relying on the "true fragrance" of SUVs, and now Lotus has also joined the "fragrant" SUV market. Although the competition is fierce, it will be an interesting "team battle" for Lotus, which has more than 70 years of racing and sports car manufacturing technology. As for the strength of Lotus Eletre, we are also looking forward to the driving experience on the road as soon as possible.
Of course, Eletre is just one of Lotus's many new products, and after Lotus will have a lot of new products will meet with you, we are also looking forward to these different kinds of new products, to see if the Lotus brand will achieve a real revival.
Paul also previewed the Lotus Eletre in advance at the end of last year, and the car's dazzling aerodynamic design and unique exterior shape left a deep impression on Paul.