Lotus’ Eletre EV pricing marks new automotive direction

Consumers and businesses are witnessing the efforts of long-term development projects coming to the fore. But, with racing and motorsport deeply ingrained into Lotus’ heritage, its latest news marks a new era for the company—not only through electrification, but also introducing an SUV to its range. 

The all-new Lotus Eletre is the latest model, which the company has announced prices for, and will bridge the gap between the company and the functional automotive business. 

In the carmakers’ latest press statement, it refers to the Eletre as a new breed of pure electric SUV, which takes on the core principles of Lotus’ 75-year sports car design principles. 

Lotus puts a price on electrification

While our attention was drawn to the sheer power of the company’s Evija model—an EV expected to have 2,000bhp in its final production model—Lotus has had the Eletre in the pipeline for some time, having originally surfaced in 2016. 

The SUV will be ‘Born British, Raised Globally’ as the company stated at a world premiere in London earlier this year. Now consumers will know exactly how much they can expect to spend on the Eletre, following the announcement of its pricing for the EV. 

“Confirmation of the pricing and specs of the Lotus Eletre is a key moment in a transformation of Lotus through our Vision80 strategy,” says the Group Vice President and Managing Director, Matt Windle. 

“We know from media and customer feedback that they’re hugely excited by the arrival of this car—indeed, the Eletre has already won awards as 2023’s ‘most excited to see’ new model. Customer deliveries start during the first half of next year.”

The announcement was made at Lotus’ Unleash the Future global press broadcast, which detailed the latest and most up to date specification of the Eletre model, as well as its technology innovation in the form of its advanced ‘digital cockpit’ to include its Lotus Hyper Operating System (OS). The car will also feature ‘Unreal Engine’ technology from the gaming industry to provide a greater user experience (UX), which is capable of generating 3D content and experiences in the cockpit using two Qualcomm 8155 System-On-Chips. 

Lotus has also collaborated with Dolby to create an immersive audio experience for the car, which enables Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

What does electrification cost at Lotus? 

Consumers that have been waiting to find out how much the Eletre costs have now had their prayers answered three-fold. Not only is the pricing and specification public, but it also includes figures for the Eletre S and R models. The not-so-basic baseline model is priced at £89,500 (€95,990 in Europe) and the Eletre S is £104,500 (from €120,990 in Europe). The Electre R will cost £120,000 (from €150,990 in Europe). 

For the standard model, customers will receive a significant amount of power for a lifestyle SUV. The Eletre and Eletre S hold the same specifications with 603 bhp—nearing the Lamborghini Urus Performante’s 657 bhp, but in an all-electric format.

Maximum power: 450kW (603 bhp)

Max Torque: 710Nm 

Top speed: 160mph (258km/h) 

0-62mph/0-100km/h: 4.5 seconds

Battery capacity: 112kWh

Charging time: 20 minutes via rapid charger

Maximum range (WLTP): 373 miles (600km)

The Eletre R model sports similar battery configuration, but has 675kW (905bhp), 985 Nm of torque, achieves 0-62mph in 2.95 seconds, and tops out at 165mph (265km/h). 

The press broadcast showcases how Lotus has been undergoing rigorous testing with the Eletre at the Nürburgring, which is “very challenging, and we are proving with our tests there and our simulations that we will achieve the performance targets we have set for the Eletre,” according to Maximilian Szwaj, Vice-President of Lotus Technology and Managing Director, Lots Tech Innovation Centre (LTIC). 

Gavan Kershaw, Director, Product Definition and Attributes, Lotus, also comments on the company’s work at the test track in Dudenhofen. 

“The Eletre is a truly global car with involvement from the best engineers around the world. The Dudenhofen test track is tight, twisty and undulating—like the perfect English B-road—and the Eletre is so enjoyable to drive, exactly like a Lotus should be. The Eletre is a true Lotus.”