Lotus unveils Eletre all-electric hyper-SUV starting around $95K that goes 0-60 in under 3 seconds

Fresh off completion of a new production facility in China this past summer, Lotus Cars has officially launched its all-electric hyper-SUV, the Eletre. Today’s announcement includes all the pertinent performance specs and pricing from Lotus, showcasing three different available versions promising speed and luxury. It looks pretty damn cool as well, so let’s get into it, shall we?

Background

Let’s start with a brief Lotus refresher course leading up to this electric SUV launch. Lotus Cars exists as a division of Group Lotus and is joined alongside Lotus Engineering and Lotus Tech. Although it was founded by two Brits in the late 1940s, Lotus has been majority owned by Chinese multinational conglomerate Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. since 2017.

Early last year, Geely announced a development plan with Alpine as part of a joint venture with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance to develop electric vehicles and the platforms they will sit upon. This strategy furthered Lotus’s previous developments of its first all-electric hypercar – the Evija.

In April of 2021, the UK automaker also shared plans to produce electric vehicles only by 2028, laying out a timeline to deliver four bespoke EVs beginning in 2022:

• 2022 – Debut an E-segment SUV codenamed Type 132
• 2023 – Launch an E-segment four-door coupe, Type 133
• 2025 – Follow with the Type 134, a new D-segment SUV
• 2026 – Launch an all-new electric sports car, Type 135

This past March, we learned that the type 132 would be officially called the Eletre, when Lotus pulled the sheet off its all-electric hyper-SUV for us all to gawk at. At the time, Lotus shared several of its targeted specs for the Eletre including range, top speed, acceleration, and charging times.

Now that production at Lotus’s new $1.2 billion factory is up and running in China, the UK-based automaker has come out to show off its electric hyper-SUV. Furthermore, the Eletre has delivered all its targeted specs and even surpassed some. Have a look at the exterior before we dig into its performance.

Lotus dubs Eletre the “world’s fastest dual-motor electric SUV”

That’s right, Lotus is coming out swinging with its first electric SUV – which is also the automaker’s first five-door production vehicle and first lifestyle vehicle to boot. Lotus Cars officially launched the Eletre today during a global livestream called “Unleash the Future,” which offered us all the details of this hypercar we usually seek at these sort of events.

With the launch of the Eletre, Lotus says it creating “a new breed of pure electric SUVs,” that takes the automaker’s 75 years of expertise in sports cars and evolves it into a lifestyle car. Lotus Group vice-president and managing director Matt Windle elaborated:

The launch of the Eletre is the natural next step for Lotus. Two-seater sports cars are not for everyone, and we want to offer a Lotus for every stage of your life. The Eletre is the start of that.

Per today’s update, Lotus’s electric SUV will come available in three separate versions with the choice of single or dual-motor powertrains – Eletre, Eletre S, and Eletre R. The former two feature a single motor, while the top-tier Eletre R delivers the highest performance upon a dual-motor setup. Here’s how they break down performance-wise:

In addition to being Lotus Cars’ first electric SUV, the Eletre also houses the debut of the automaker’s new operating system – Lotus Hyper OS. But first, have a gander at the interior of this hyper SUV.

Introducing Lotus Hyper OS

During today’s presentation, the Lotus Cars team shared details of the new operating system that will debut inside the upcoming Eletre. The system utilizes “Unreal Engine” technology from the video game industry to create real-time 3D content and experiences for drivers and their passengers.This advanced “digital cockpit” is backed by two Qualcomm 8155 System-On-Chips. Here are some other features of this system including some help from some new partners:

• Next-generation Digital Head Unit from ECARX
  • Provides fully customizable displays, hosted on an advanced Driver Information Module (DIM), and ultra-slim floating one-billion-color OLED touchscreen
• Over-the-air (OTA) update capabilities
  • The immersive multi-screen user experience can be continuously improved throughout the lifetime of the EV
• Eletre includes navigation services from HERE Technologies
  • Includes EV Routing, EV Range Assistant and Predictive Routing, can be updated OTA
• Lotus has new collaboration with Dolby
  • Dolby Atmos and the Eletre’s KEF speaker system combine to elevate music listening

Moving past the software and microchips, the Lotus Eletre electric SUV will come available in six interior options that include high-grade materials like state-of-the-art leather alternatives and 100% recycled carpets and trunk liners (we love to hear that).

The Eletre comes standard with wireless smartphone charging, electrically adjustable front seats, and four-zone automatic climate control. Its infotainment system includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the aforementioned 15-speaker KEF premium audio system, and a 15.1-inch full High-Definition OLED center screen.

All versions of the Eletre come standard with five seats, but a four-seat version is available as part of the Executive Seat Pack. According to Lotus, its new all-electric SUV is equipped to support autonomous driving someday, as the technology evolves. Per the release:

Also standard is the deployable LIDAR technology, a world-first in a production car which supports end-to-end autonomous driving (AD) technology. Integrated OTA software update capability ensures the system will be fully ready when individual market regulations allow for the more advanced levels of AD.

Okay, but how much?

Pricing and availability for the Lotus Eletre electric hyper-SUV

According to Lotus Cars, thousands of customers around the world have placed deposits to secure their Eletre. That being said, those customers are probably mostly in Europe, at least to start.

Sales and deliveries will begin in “eight key European markets” followed by other countries in the region. Lotus says that arrival of the Eletre in North America, Middle East, and Asia Pacific will begin sometime in 2024, and pricing/specs will be revealed closer to that time.

Per Lotus Cars, Eletre pricing varies not only by market, but by country. Its press release breaks it down by each country, to get an idea of pricing, the electric hyper SUV starts at an MSRP of $95,990 in Germany, which equates to about $95,350.

While we await details of the North American version of the Lotus Eletre, check out the company’s entire presentation from earlier today.

Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.