British sports car maker Lotus is jumping into the ranks of electric cars, and the company launched the Eletre. It is reported that this is a plug-in crossover SUV, and its design language is inspired by the automaker's Evija supercar. In addition, the Eletre will be the first of three new electric vehicles that Lotus plans to launch over the next four years, covering sports cars, coupes and SUVs.
Formerly known as the Type 132, Geely's second EV, the Eletre will feature futuristic components such as camera-only side mirrors and lidar sensors attached to the front and rear of the roof.
Commensurate with the tradition of its sports cars, Lotus is emphasizing the performance capabilities of its new electric SUV. Eletre will be able to sprint 0-100 km/h in 3 seconds, which Lotus said has a place in the "exclusive 'two-second club'", which also includes Tesla Model S Plaid. But that doesn't mean the Eletre can't be built like an SUV. Thanks to all-wheel drive, the five-door EV will be fairly compact, but it will still be able to carry a lot of power, including a battery capacity of over 100kWh and 600 horsepower.
Lotus said the 350kW charger will provide a range of 400 kilometers in 20 minutes. The vehicle has a target maximum WLTP range of 600 km. In addition, it has the standard ability to accept 22kW AC charging, which can reduce the time of plugging in when conditions permit.
Designed, the Eletre is extremely aggressive, with a forward-leaning front end and coupe-like roof lines. Lotus's designers are clearly learning from their experience in building fashion sports cars. However, its proportions are unmistakable SUV.
Lotus boasts that Eletre brings many "firsts" to the brand — including the first five-door production car, the first non-sports car model, the first lifestyle electric vehicle and the most "connected" Lotus ever. It will also be the company's first car to be built in China, where its parent company is located.
Eletre will build on Lotus's new electric advanced architecture, a low-profile "skateboard" design that flexibly adapts to different battery sizes, motors, component layouts and "smart" driving techniques. For Eletre, Lotus said it would include "end-to-end autonomous driving technology" and OTA capabilities. The platform will form the basis for Lotus's range of high-end performance electric vehicles.
With "end-to-end autonomous driving," Lotus really means autonomous parking capabilities. The company said customers can use their smartphone app to ask their Eletre to drive autonomously to their side from a nearby parking spot and then autonomously re-park after the trip is over. The company said that more advanced autonomous driving features will be added through OTA updates in the future. The electric vehicle is also equipped with 5G connectivity.
In addition, Eletre will be equipped with a series of advanced driver assistance features in alphabetical order: Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Mitigation Support Front (CMSF), Traffic Sign Information (TSI), Door Warning (DOW), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), Front Crossing Traffic Alert (FCTA), Lane Change Assist (LCA), Child Appearance Detection (CPD), Lane Keeping Assist with Lane Departure Warning/Prevention (LKA+), Emergency Stop Braking (PEB), Collision Mitigation Support Rear (CMSR), and Emergency Rescue Call (E-Call). However, Eletre may require driver supervision at all times.
Source: cnBeta