Summary
- The Lotus Emira will be the last Lotus with an internal combustion engine and the last to be built with the brand's tradition of lightweight sportscars.
- The newly-unveiled Eletre is a departure from Lotus' traditional values, being more luxurious, technologically advanced, and heavy.
- Despite going against the brand's ethos, the Eletre has been well-received and has sold well, providing Lotus with a stable revenue stream for future developments and allowing room for the production of true Lotus sportscars.
Lotus is in the midst of a transformation that will bring the brand into the era of electric vehicles (EVs). We talked about how the Lotus Emira will be one of the last true sportscars and the last true Lotus in the traditional sense. For one, this includes the fact that it'll be the last Lotus with an internal combustion engine (ICE), and moving forward, it will be the last Lotus that will be built with the brand's tradition of creating lightweight sportscars. The newly-unveiled Eletre, on the other hand, is a vehicle that goes against everything that Lotus is known for, but it's also the vehicle that has given the brand a new lease on life.
It's The Least Lotus Of All The Lotus Cars So Far
It's a known fact by everyone at this point that in today's market landscape, SUVs and crossover sell (and so do pickups) while sports cars and even traditional passenger cars have fallen out of favor. Today, a sports car brand suddenly deciding to make an SUV isn't unheard of. Almost everyone else has done it already, from Porsche with its Cayenne (arguably the first among a series of high-performance SUVs) and Lamborghini with the Urus. Even the company that was very resistant to the idea of building an SUV eventually gave in and ate its words, and the company I'm talking about here is Ferrari with the Purosangue.
Prior to Chinese automaker Geely's takeover, Lotus is only selling a tiny amount of lightweight sportscars annually. Without the huge revenue stream to fund development, all of its sports cars--despite being one of the absolutely best driving machines out there, are all outdated next to what Porsche can produce. Since Geely's takeover, Lotus has been generously fed with cash to fund development, and thus transition into the electric era, but in order for the British company to survive, they had to create an SUV. The Eletre is a big deal for Lotus, both literally and figuratively.
For starters, it's the most un-Lotus of all the Lotus-es (whatever is the plural for Lotus). In order to understand why, we have to look back at a famous quote by Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus. He famously said, "Simplify, then add lightness". Can you now see why the Eletre is the exact opposite? The Eletre, with all of its luxury, tech, and gizmos, makes this car the most technologically-advanced, and therefore the most complicated Lotus ever. And since the Eletre is also a midsize SUV with huge batteries, it's also the heaviest Lotus ever. Oh boy, Colin Chapman's going to have a field day in his grave when he finds out about this.
Despite the Eletre going against everything that the brand and its founder are known for, buyers didn't seem to care at all. That's because Lotus revealed in an official statement recently its record retail performance for the first half of 2023. To no one's surprise, the Eletre sold extremely well, with 17,000 orders to date. Deliveries have already begun in China, where the car is assembled, while European deliveries are set to begin later in the summer.
Don't Dismiss The Eletre As Being Incapable
Though the Eletre is a vehicle that Colin Chapman would least likely build, it doesn't dismiss the fact that it's one impressive electric SUV. It may not be simple or lightweight, but it still delivers on the aspect that Lotus is also known for--making fun-to-drive cars. Reviews of the Eletre have been largely positive. Most of the positive reception revolved around its handling, which is good for a full-size electric SUV, and its steering, which is communicative, responsive, and precise. It's fun, but not in the traditional lightweight manner that Lotus sportscars are known for.
But how good is it compared to other performance EV rivals such as the Tesla Model X, BMW iX M60, and Audi SQ8 e-tron? These specs compare the numbers of these vehicles, but not necessarily how they perform in the real world, so check and test drive wisely.
Lotus Eletre and Eletre S | Lotus Eletre R | Tesla Model X Long Range | Tesla Model X Plaid | Audi SQ8 e-tron | BMW iX M60 | |
Motor Layout | Dual-motor AWD | Dual-motor AWD | Dual-motor AWD | Tri-motor AWD | Dual-motor AWD | Dual-motor AWD |
Horsepower | 603 hp | 905 hp | 670 hp | 1,020 hp | 496 hp | 610 hp |
Torque | 524 lb-ft | 726 lb-ft | 556 lb-ft | 1,050 lb-ft | 718 lb-ft | 811 lb-ft |
0-62 mph | 4.5 sec. | 2.95 sec. | 3.9 sec. | 2.6 sec. | 4.5 sec. | 3.8 sec. |
Top Speed | 160 mph | 165 mph | 149 mph | 149 mph | 130 mph | 155 mph |
Battery Size | 112 kWh | 112 kWh | 100 kWh | 100 kWh | 114 kWh | 111.5 kWh |
Range | 373 miles (WLTP) | 304 miles (WLTP) | 348 miles (EPA) | 333 miles (EPA) | 310 miles (WLTP) | 352 miles (WLTP) |
Based on these specs, the Lotus Eletre has a breadth of capabilities. You can get a model with an extremely long range but still delivering impressive performance, but if you go all out, then the Eletre R can nearly match the Tesla Model X Plaid's performance. Where it will most likely ace the Tesla is in the aspect that driving enthusiasts care about the most--handling. Again, at least based on initial reviews, journalists have commended the handling of the Eletre.
Lotus Is Replicating Porsche's Recipe For Success
The Eletre, however, is just the start of Lotus entering into the EV arena, and it won't be the last non-traditional Lotus we'll be seeing. An upcoming electric sports sedan is also set to debut in the coming years. If you're seeing a pattern here that was initially formulated by another famous sportscar brand, then you're not wrong. Porsche was in the same position as Lotus is today. The German sports car brand needed a stable revenue stream to remain afloat, and while making the more affordable Boxster initially helped things out, it's not the vehicle that will provide Porsche the financial room to develop more sports cars. A family-friendly SUV was in order--but one that was sporty and dynamic that only Porsche could achieve. Thus, the Cayenne was born and has been the brand's best-selling model ever since.
Lotus has replicated that recipe, and guess what, the Eletre is now the most popular Lotus ever. Because of the Eletre's success, Lotus has undoubtedly created a stable revenue stream to fund development for more sportscars. What's even more amazing is the fact that because Lotus has fully embraced the electric vehicle era, the Emira being the final ICE-powered Lotus, has proven to be extremely popular, too. 2,200 units of the Emira have been produced for the first half of 2023, which is a "381-percent increase" and I'm putting that in quotes because it's only in 2023 when production of the vehicle was in full capacity. Still, with order books for the Emira being full for the next two years, there's still indeed demand for a true Lotus sportscar.
And that's what we can expect from Lotus in the future. As the company continues to offer more vehicles that stray away from the traditional recipe of simplifying and then adding lightness, what matters more is that Lotus has finally found its niche as the world transitions into the electric era. The Eletre is a car that Colin Chapman would never create, but if it wasn't built, then Lotus will be erased from existence. Besides, if the company's more mainstream cars become popular, that leaves the company with more money for sports car development, and isn't that what we want in the first place?