Lotus Eletre arrives

Hethel, the home of Lotus since 1967, has seen the arrival of the first Eletre, a battery-powered innovative five-seat all-wheel drive SUV.  It is a lightweight car that surely Lotus founder Colin Chapman would have been proud of, a real grown-up Lotus.  Admirers include his son Clive, these days Managing Director of Classic Team Lotus, a stand-alone business dedicated to the spirit of the Lotus heritage.

“Arrived in Hethel” means arrived from China, in fact Wuchan, the home of Covid, but don’t let that put you off.  In time it will mean 25,000 units, a year. Not that long ago the Norfolk factory could barely put out, and not always sell, 1,300 Elise variants.  Today it is 130 Evoras a week, comfortably beating the 100 Elans, Europas, and Plus Twos in Chapman’s heyday.  Hethel today employs around 1,500 people.

Since 2017 Lotus has been owned by Geely, privately funded and headquartered in Binjiang, north east China.  Its car portfolio also includes Volvo.  

Lotus says Eletre is ‘Born British, Raised Globally’, a collaboration between highly experienced and dedicated teams in the UK, Germany and China. They include the product definition and attributes teams at Hethel, the design teams at Lotus Tech Creative Centre (LTCC) in Coventry; the engineering teams at Lotus Tech Innovation Centre (LTIC) in Raunheim; and the Lotus Tech engineering and manufacturing teams in Wuhan.

In a short visit there was no time to drive an Eletre but according to the brochure the top of the range car R model is claimed to be the world's fastest SUV.  With front and rear motors it has combined output of 905bhp through a dual-speed transmission which allows for faster acceleration. The 0-60 time is given as just under three seconds and a top speed of 165mph.

TNU host, Matt Windle (49), Chief Executive, is Lotus through and through, having first joined the company as a CAD designer 1998 followed by other industry appointments. He was poached back from Telsa in 2017 to head up the Engineering Division and was appointed CEO January 2021.  Many clever Tesla innovations can be found on the Eletre, but not the mighty information screen.  On the Lotus a 15.1-inch landscape-orientated central infotainment display tells you all you need to know.  It automatically folds down flat when not required.

Prices start at £89,500 for the base model, but you will probably want to stretch at least to the mid-level Eletre S, which is on the road from £104,500. With both these two variants, you will be offered the optional 'Lotus Dynamic Handling Pack' for a sharper driving feel. The top Eletre R has that as standard and costs £120,000.

A Lotus factory tour is bookable in advance, limited to eight participants, and takes 2½ hours including refreshments.  Cost is £95 per person.  For Classic Team Lotus the visit is one hour longer, again up to eight, and is priced at £140.  A morning or afternoon tour is possible to cover both operations.

www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/factory-tours

https://media.lotuscars.com/en/news-articles/eletre-unleash-the-future-global-news-broadcast-from-lotus,-including-prices,-specs-and-more-about-eagerly-anticipated-hyper-suv.html

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