[ad_1]
It might be difficult to say its name, but Lotus expects to gain plenty of attention — and some new buyers — with the launch of the Eletre, its first “volume” battery-electric vehicle.
The British automaker is in the midst of the largest product rollout in its history, one that also will mark its transition away from classic internal combustion-powered vehicles. The Eletre — pronounced EL’-etra — will be just the first EV to come, two more due out by 2026 and still more to follow.
Lotus teased the launch with a barge carrying a bright yellow cube and an Eletre prototype up London’s River Thames on Monday. It will stage a formal world debut of the Eletre during a virtual webcast at 7:30 p.m. British Summer Time on Tuesday, March 29. That works out to 2:30 p.m. EDT and you can check it out by clicking here.
A bit of a surprise
The choice of the Eletre name took some observers by surprise, with expectations Lotus might stay with the Type 132 nomenclature used during an announcement last August. Then again, the brand’s history is filled with model names starting with “E,” such as the Elise and Exige.
The new Lotus electric vehicle will be an SUV. And it will be assembled in significantly higher volume than the brand’s first, limited-run EV, the Evija hypercar, of which only 130 will be produced.
The Lotus Eletre also will be the automaker’s first model produced in China — more precisely, Wuhan, a city best known as the likely source for the COVID-19 virus. That’s not a surprise considering the British marque is owned by the ambitious Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which also runs Volvo.
Beyond that, not much is known about the Eletre, though there’ve been a few leaks and lots of speculation. It adopts a midsize SUV design with aggressive aerodynamics meant to enhance range and performance.
How much range remains to be confirmed but is almost certain to top 200 miles per charge. That is, of course, if you don’t push it to its limits, something owners clearly will be tempted to do, considering Eletre likely will deliver as much as 700 horsepower using motors on front and rear axles.
More to come
In its earliest days, Lotus found Colin Chapman laid out some basic ground rules for the brand, his mantra being: “Simplify. Then add lightness.” Don’t expect this to be a low-mass vehicle, however, a battery pack likely to add many hundreds of pounds to the electric SUV’s mass.
The plus side is that Lotus has followed the current industry approach, mounting batteries and motors in below the load floor, in a skateboard-style platform. It very likely will have a lower center of gravity than similarly sized, gas-powered SUVs, something that should improve handling.
Looking forward, the Lotus Emira will be the brand’s last ICE vehicle. It plans to follow the launch of the Eletre with at least three more all-electric offerings. If it holds to the strategy announced last year, the model codenamed Type 133 will be a four-door coupe, the 134 a smaller SUV — likely a challenger to the upcoming Porsche Macan EV — and the Type 135 a classic sports car. The latter model is set to roll out of the brand’s British factory in Hethel.
[ad_2]
Source link