When the Lotus logo appeared on the River Thames, it was like a meteor breaking through the night sky and breaking the tranquility of the Tower of London. In the famous show host Clarkson's tribute to the British automotive industry, Lotus will always be one of the oldest, most dazzling racing performances, and one of the most personalized car brands.
To use fashionable words, it is a row of noodles plastered on the public screen, which is the opposite of Lotus's previous niche identity and niche products, which also reflects the brand's new strategy, determination and confidence in electrification transformation. After the sports car Emira, Lotus will only produce pure electric models, Eletre's footsteps are obviously ahead of many traditional car companies, and it has targeted the market to the blank space where no one has stepped on.
Founder Colin Chapman's wife, Hazel Chapman, died in December 2021 at the age of 94, and Lotus is rumored to be a love name for Hazel. A week later, Elise, Exige, and Evora ceased production, and they produced 51,738 units over a 26-year period, accounting for almost half of Lotus's 73-year history. Everything came so fast, so fast that people were overwhelmed.
Eletre is the same, it seems that it has not returned to God, Lotus's first pure electric SUV debuted in the world. In Lotus's history, it was the first two-row-seater model and the first SUV, defined as lotus Lifestyle EV by Lotus. It seems that compared with the sports car, the difficulty is slightly lower, but as the top priority of business transformation, the burden on the shoulders is the same as the historical mission when Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin DBX were born.
At present, the largest shareholders of Lotus Group are Geely Holdings, Lotus Automobile mainly engaged in sports car business, Lotus Technology headquarters in Wuhan, the new plant annual production capacity of 150,000 units, put into operation at the end of this year. Eletre will come from the Wuhan factory and deliver to users worldwide in 2023. In addition, there is the well-known Lotus Project, which not only undertakes vehicle research and development, chassis adjustment, but also produces sports cars for third parties such as Tesla and General Motors.
Back to the point, if it is not the Lotus brand, defining a new car as a Hyper SUV really requires strength and courage.
Previously, the Lotus sports car pursued the ultimate lightweight, aerodynamic performance and driving experience, and it has been inherited on the Eletre. With a length of 5.1 meters, a width of 2.2 meters and a wheelbase of more than 3 meters, the Eletre can reach a speed of 260 km / h, unlike the principle that traditional pure electric models dare not run fast.
The powerful powertrain, derived from the front and rear dual-motor and four-wheel drive configurations and two-speed transmission, has a maximum power of 608 horsepower, an acceleration time of 2.95 seconds, and an acceleration of less than 12 seconds to 200 km/h. Although the tram talks about acceleration performance is a bit too one-sided, it is still breathtaking, and reflects Lotus's brand heritage and technical strength.
The book data here, in fact, is more from the integration of lightweight materials, aerodynamic design and many other aspects.
For example, the porous design derived from the pure electric supercar Evija, hidden door handles, electronic rearview mirrors, and stepless variable speed-dependent intake grilles have all contributed. The 7-set air duct not only provides good heat dissipation, but also achieves a drag coefficient of 0.26, while the active tail provides up to 116 kg of downforce.
The battery capacity of the new car is about 100 kWh, corresponding to the WLTP range of 600 km. Using 350 kW ultra-high-speed fast charging, it can recharge for 400 kilometers in 20 minutes (slow charging is 22 kW AC charging).
Compared to the exterior styling, the interior has a more Lotus flavor. Although the large screen is the protagonist, the overall design style, materials, color matching, etc. are still performance-oriented, and Chinese users will enjoy the panoramic sunroof configuration exclusively. In addition, the dual 8155 chip provides super computing power, top-of-the-line KEF brand audio power of 2160 kilowatts.
As for driver assistance systems, the hardware is "ceiling" level, equipped with lidar, high-definition cameras, 4D millimeter wave radar, etc., and will provide corresponding functions according to the laws and regulations of the delivery market. Users in the Chinese market don't have to worry about features and experiences, so many configurations and chips bring delivery problems are more important. The Eletre is a groundbreaking model and hopes to lead the way when delivered.
Users who drive Lotus products in China are very limited, and everyone's perception of the Lotus brand is very different from overseas. Eletre's million-level positioning is time-consuming for Lotus users, not to mention the very representative SUV market for medium and large luxury brands. Perhaps Porsche is the best object of its success.
Interesting details are that the Lotus Eletre may become the most expensive pure electric SUV domestic model. Good or bad can't be directly defined, but looking at the entire market, it seems that only Tesla Model X and BMW iX M60 can touch lotus Eletre in some performance. If you consider its brand and model positioning, there is no direct product at present.