TESTED 6.7.23, OSLO, NORWAY ON SALE AUGUST PRICE £105,805
Remember when Chinese car-making giant Geely bought Volvo? It went quiet for a few years, then came launch after launch. The same is now happening with Lotus, and its new generation starts with the Eletre - a big car in every sense.
They call it a hyper-SUV, because it's a 4x4 with at least 603bhp. A coupé-ish saloon will follow, then a smaller SUV, all on the same platform and all made in China. Only after that will there be a two-door sports car built in Norfolk, electric like the rest. The Emira petrol sports car and Evija electric hypercar feel a bit incidental to what's coming.
The Eletre's Electric Premium Architecture, of which 47% is high-strength steel and 43% is aluminium, shares some basic ideas but "almost zero components" with anything used elsewhere in the Geely empire.
The Eletre has a length of 5.1 metres, a height of 1.6 metres, four or five seats and pricing that ranges from £90,805 to £121,305.
Between the base car and the R is the £105,805 S, tested here. It has the same 603bhp as the base car via two 302bhp motors, one at each end, with open differentials. The R gets a bigger rear motor with 603bhp for a 905bhp total.
Every version has a 109kWh battery under the floor, running at 800V and able to charge at rates of up to 350kW.
The generous 373-mile WLTP range is aided by a competitive aerodynamic rating of 0.26Cd.
Air springs are standard, while rear steer and 48V active anti-roll bars are options fitted to our S test car (they are standard on the R).
And if none of that hardware sounds like the 'simplify and...' school of Lotus, wait until I tell you the kerb weight is 2520kg.
Also remarkably un-Lotus is the interior. Bar the smell, there's nothing in here that an existing Lotus owner would recognise but it's none the worse for it.
This story is from the July 12, 2023 edition of Autocar UK.
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This story is from the July 12, 2023 edition of Autocar UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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