29 March 2022, BBC Television Centre, WhiteTown, London, UK.
Jenson Barton, classic car displays, modern dance performances, Lotus brought a new car conference full of technology in the most British way, and brought the first lifestyle car after lotus electrification transformation, and it is also lotus technology's first smart product - Hyper SUV Eletre.
Who is it?
The Eletre is a Lotus brand all-electric SUV. According to the previous introduction at the inaugural meeting of Lotus Technology on August 31, 2021, this model is the second pure electric model of the Lotus brand acquired by Geely, and the first product under the EPA edge evolution structure independently developed by Lotus.
Eletre was born from the one who used to be Lotus?
Yes and no. It is because the Eletre still belongs to the model of "Lotus Car", just like the previous Evija and Emira.
It's not because its development has changed from an R&D center in Hethel, England, to a R&D base in Wuhan, China, Raunheim, Germany, and Coventry, uk – no longer a fully British Lotus, but a global Lotus. Among them, the Chinese team is responsible for the core technology research and development of new era automobiles such as battery technology, energy management, motors and electronic control systems, intelligent driving, and intelligent manufacturing. The German team is responsible for R&D in traditional automotive fields such as ESP, intelligent cockpit, electronic and electrical architecture, etc. The British team is responsible for the shape design, aerodynamic design, etc.
Why electric vehicles?
Matt Windle, general manager of Lotus Automotive, announced the company's strategy at the "Driving Tomorrow" conference in April 2021, focusing on pure electric products after the Emira model, and this direction will not change. Eletre is just one product within this strategy, and there will be a number of pure trams in the future.
Why SUV?
The Eletre is defined as the "lifestyle car" of the ultra-luxury brand, which is equivalent to the Porsche Cayenne, and the Lotus brand business has expanded from a niche sports car to a richer product line including sports cars and SUVs.
This transformation is not only an expansion of product types, but also a big step forward in production capacity. In 2020, Lotus's annual output is only 1500 units, and now Lotus's sales target is 100,000 units by 2026, and the annual production capacity of the Wuhan factory is set at 150,000 units, which is 100 times the annual production capacity in 2020!
In order to achieve such ambitious goals, it is not enough to have the technical reserves and development capabilities of China, Britain and Germany, but also to have a deep understanding of the needs of the target market, including the Chinese market. Obviously, the Chinese market likes SUVs, which need not be said, so there is this anti-traditional Lotus SUV in front of you.
Exterior design highlights?
Porosity and streamlines
The Eletre's shape continues Evija's pore design, and the lightness of this "carved by air" design technique contrasts greatly with the heaviness of other brands' SUVs. The detail I appreciate most is the air duct on both sides of the front, through the front wheel arches, to the downward airflow channel of the front door grooves, which not only improves the vehicle's wind resistance from the actual, but also presents this often imperceptible gas flow in a clearly visible way. This is also the most obvious visual feature of Lotus in the new era - pores and streamlines.
Proportion of sports cars
Lotus obviously did not forget its best sports car style because it wanted to make an SUV, and when Eletre was first conceived, the pure electric architecture allowed the front cabin to not consider the engine arrangement, so that the cockpit could be more forward-looking, and the side proportions of the whole vehicle were closer to a mid-mounted sports car.
Waistline and light strip
If it is not surprising that hidden door handles and tail light strips are in this era, Lotus organically integrates the front cabin upper edge, door handle, rear shoulder line, and tail light strip to form a running waist line, providing a sense of integrity and sculpture, which is precious in this exaggerated, eye-catching market.
Interior design highlights?
Lotus in the previous era did not have any interiors to speak of, and although it did allow motorists to focus on driving, in the context of the expanding needs of the new era, it is clear that too pure design cannot capture a wider consumer group. I also worried that the big screen would trap Lotus in the screen arms race, and therefore abandon the principle of letting the driver focus on driving.
What is valuable is that the interior of Eletre achieves the harmony of the two.
Concise information bar gauge
In order to focus on driving, you need to minimize the interference of the screen, so it is clear that the current market mainstream 10-inch, 12-inch full LCD instrument is a bit too fancy, the most terrible here is the 48-inch car screen of byton M-Byte in previous years. Fortunately, Lotus did not work in that direction.
Lotus uses a 15.1-inch central control screen with angle adjustment, but the screen in front of the driver retracts into a liquid crystal information bar about 2 inches wide, which only provides basic information related to driving, quite like the McLaren 720S LCD information bar instrument that can be turned down.
Bright, functional rear
It was the first Lotus to have a usable rear. Since choosing to build SUVs, Lotus conducted extensive research on Chinese consumers who were more concerned about the comfort of the rear row early in the design. In other words, the brand, which has always had a mission of "everything for the driver," is seriously considering the "driver" experience. The openness of the sunroof, the practicality provided by the cleverly designed storage compartments in the interior, and the exclusive flip-up display at the rear reflect its attention to the rear passengers.
Grid blending and cutout design
A must-have feature of lifestyle models is the stylish interior design and exquisite workmanship. The Eletre's light-coloured composite fabrics with black carbon fibre and brass trims look very stylish, and more importantly, this black-yellow color scheme echoes the most successful Lotus F1 race cars in history – the JPS-painted Type 72, Type 78, Olympus-painted Type 79 and so on. The cutout design under the center control also made me think of Evora immediately. The visual lightness, coupled with the sense of echo in color, makes this car full of brand style.
What are its engineering features?
Previous dedication to racing has given Lotus an absolutely deep knack for lightweighting, chassis tuning and aerodynamics. Although it has accumulated a small number of fans for Lotus, including me, who are very much recognized for its pure "British" driving pleasure, it has to be said that this part of the experience is not enough to support Lotus's ambition to return to the global ultra-luxury car market today. The newly established Lotus Technology Company has introduced the cutting-edge technology of 800V electric drive technology, electronic appliances, intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit and other aspects of the new era into this British classic sports car company, plugging in the wings of high computing power for feelings, so that the most cutting-edge mechanical and electronic components break through the boundaries of classic mechanical dynamics and aerodynamics.
Technical characteristics of aerodynamics
A major contribution of the Lotus brand to the racing world throughout its history has been the advancement of the application of aerodynamics in increasing downforce, reducing drag and improving vehicle stability. For a small team, the former Lotus car was not comparable to its competitors in absolute performance, but the clever aerodynamic design allowed it to achieve countless victories between the 60s and 80s. This excellent tradition is also carried on with the new Eletre models.
The aforementioned "pores and streamlines" make lotus in the new era very "aerodynamic" in appearance - but these graceful curves and curved surfaces are not so simple as to look good, they do contribute to the vehicle to sort out the airflow and reduce the wind resistance (although lotus has not officially announced the wind resistance coefficient). In addition, several new aerodynamic technologies have elevated the already excellent form factor, namely:
Active radiator shutter: close at low speed to reduce wind resistance; when open, improve heat dissipation performance;
Aircurtain (Aircurtain) brought by the front wheel arch ventilation hole: reduce the wind resistance of the front wheel;
Active rear wing: open at high speed, increase the rear axle downforce, high speed braking open, increase braking force (air brake)
Concealed door handles, electronic exterior mirrors, reversible lidar: reduces wind resistance
Powerful powertrain
If the historical Lotus is a typical British racing shop built by grafting other engines, then the new era of Lotus completely subverts this former positioning. Eletre's powertrain has not announced many technical details at present, but the biggest highlight is the use of a more efficient 800V voltage system, which is currently the leading technology in the electric industry. This technology allows electric vehicles to accept faster charging compared to existing 400V systems, but also provide more power and torque, as well as improve efficiency.
The Eletre also features a two-speed reducer, which is clearly a good fit for high-performance electric vehicles with both rapid acceleration and high speed – the car accelerates from 100 km/h in just 2.95 seconds, with a top speed of 260 km/h and a maximum horsepower of nearly 1000 hp. The days when Lotus borrowed Toyota engines are finally gone.
Smart cockpits and smart driving ahead of their time
The ingenious aerodynamic design and the absolutely powerful powertrain guarantee the speed performance of the Eletre, but this is not unusual, and other sports car companies have also made breakthroughs in this regard in recent years. But in this era of intelligence and interconnection, those are still the tricks of "functional machines". Catching up with the trend of "smart machines" and plugging in the wings of science and technology for cars is a compulsory course for every car company today.
In addition to the aforementioned 15.1-inch large central control screen with angle adjustment and the minimalist LCD information strip in front of the driver, Eletre also uses a center console through-light strip, which is a very warm design - it can welcome the owner when entering the vehicle, providing different pulsations in different driving modes.
Active safety and assisted driving technology has revolutionized the landscape of today's car manufacturers in recent years, and even Lotus's last fuel vehicle, the Emiira, is equipped with a variety of assisted driving technologies. On the Eletre, Lotus not only provides the common ADAS function, but also takes it to the extreme - the new car will be equipped with ultra-high-performance 128-line lidar 4, 8MP ultra-high-definition cameras 7, 4D millimeter wave radar and other hardware combinations, and use two NVIDIA 7nm Orin chips (a total of 508TOPS computing power) to complete the operation, this configuration is really powerful. Of course, the specific performance will have to wait for the test drive experience after that.
Heavily armed chassis technology
Another killer of the Lotus brand is chassis tuning, but for a long time, because of its focus on sports car products, the orientation of chassis tuning is the main sport, even if evora such a daily GT sports car has a strong sense of road and track driving ability, which I have experienced in my previous test drive. As a luxury lifestyle car, the Eletre will naturally be different from a pure sports car in terms of handling and riding comfort.
In other words, Lotus is not only "for the driver", but also "for the driver".
"Four years ago we insisted on using the front double wishbone rear multi-link suspension, double cavity air springs, adaptive shock absorber CDC, active anti-roll bar, active rear steering, torque vectoring control and decoupling braking system." Gavan Kershaw, Director of Brand Tone and Product Attributes at Lotus, was introduced in an interview after the Eletre launch.
As a chassis electronics engineer, this list is already very telling here – it's not all from Jane's old-school Lotus. The goal of lotus in front of him is very clear: to be the most powerful, and there is no shortcoming in any aspect. Let me look at the effects that the following components may bring:
Front double wishbone rear multi-link suspension: Provides maximum tuning space, ensures uniform grounding area of the wheels, and facilitates anti-pitch adjustment
Air spring: reduce the height of the car at high speed, improve stability, and reduce wind resistance
Adaptive Shock Absorber CDC: Improves handling and comfort by monitoring wheel dynamics and body dynamics in real time and adjusting damping of shock absorbers in a timely manner
Active anti-roll bar: Reduces roll and increases handling limits and stability
Active rear steering: Increases the vehicle's low-speed agility and high-speed stability, and improves the difficulty of moving the vehicle due to the lengthening of the wheelbase
Vector torque control: Increases the vehicle's swing flexibility from the power output and increases the handling limit
Decoupling braking systems: Improves the feel of the brake foot while providing possibilities for driver assistance systems (e.g. auto-steering, emergency braking)
I remember when I test-drove the 2020 Evora two years ago, I asked lotus public relations personnel at the time why Lotus did not keep up with the times to replace power steering from hydraulic to electric, and the answer I got at that time was actually basically guessed by myself - (at that time) electric power steering could not meet Lotus's pursuit of control. So since then, I have been looking forward to the emergence of such a "full firepower" modern Lotus, so that the new era chassis electronic technology that meets the pursuit of Lotus driving control and ride experience will be displayed in front of the world. With the release of Eletre, the day is just around the corner. I look forward to the day when we test drive the Eletre and let us reacquaint ourselves with contemporary advanced chassis technology.
summary
The Eletre is one of the most significant models for Lotus in nearly a decade, and there is no one. In 2017, Geely acquired this legendary British sports car racing brand, and everyone is full of expectations, after all, although this brand is in the field of sports cars and racing in the UK and Europe, it does not even have a perfect marketing network in China, and it is rare to see car fan circles and car owners. The launch of Eletre opened the journey of this deep-rooted and distinctive British niche brand into a new era. In the future, it is expected that Lotus can bring more and more abundant products to Chinese consumers, and also contribute new technical strength to the development of China's automotive industry.