2023 Lotus Eletre SUV Revealed | Price, Specs & Release Date

The 2023 Lotus Eletre is an all-electric 600bhp car and Lotus' first foray into the SUV market. It's a hyper-performance SUV with a futuristic design.

• All-new electric Hyper-SUV from renowned sports car brand Lotus
• Sleek, exotic and futuristic with the Lotus DNA baked into the car
• Features the soul of a Lotus car with the versatility of an SUV
• Lotus' first foray into the SUV vehicle market
• Lotus' second foray into the electric vehicle market after the Lotus Evija
• Lotus have designed it to be extremely aerodynamic
• Power outputs start at 600bhp
• Will feature a large 100kWh+ battery
• Target driving range of up to 373 miles on a full charge
• Will feature up to 350kW of rapid charging
• Will be capable of 0 to 62mph in less than 3 seconds
• Will use LIDAR technology
• Interior will feature sustainable and recycled high-quality materials 

2023 Lotus Eletre SUV revealed

Lotus are on the ball lately, with their recently released supercar, the Lotus Emira, preparing for 2022 sales and now their first-ever SUV, the Lotus Eletre, being announced.

The Lotus Eletre is a performance hyper-SUV EV (electric vehicle) that looks extremely similar to a Lamborghini Urus and features a similar rear to the Kia EV6. It's an electric car and it features the same sports DNA every other Lotus has come to be known for.

It's an alternative to the strong EV SUV market we have currently, taking on rivals like the coveted Tesla Model X, the stunning BMW iX M60, the ever-popular Audi e-tron S and the highly-rated Ford Mustang Mach-E GT. 

Exterior Design

The Lotus Eletre is bold, striking and aggressive. Dramatic swooping lines across the entire car with sharp points and crisp edges give it a hyper-aggressive styling that instantly gives you the impression this car means business. And it does because it's seriously fast.

It features a sloping couple-like roofline that tapers off into a smart rear end. The Eletre is a big car and needs big wheels to support it. With up to 23-inch alloys wheels that feature carbon fibre inserts and a diamond-cut five-spoke design being available to make it feel like it's riding on clouds. 

Brakes include ceramic composite 10-piston calipers that feature superior stopping power and will bring the Eletre to a halt extremely fast. Though these will be optional costly extras no doubt.

The futuristic air vents are surrounded by black gloss finishes and the sharp bumper gives the front end a hyper-aggressive design that puts the Lamborghini Urus to shame. Why does it have air vents if it's an electric car you are probably thinking? Lotus says letting air flow through parts of the bodywork actually reduces drag, similar to the Evija.

Lotus says the Eletre has a hidden rear spoiler that unfolds at higher speeds. We've seen this a few times but a common car with an automatically unfolding rear spoiler is the Audi A7.

The Lotus Eletre will be the first production car on our roads to feature intelligent driving systems like the LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) system. The LIDAR system works to deliver autonomous driving capability. But only when you're in 'geo-fenced areas' and local laws permit the use of driver to let the car use autonomous features.

Interior Design

The interior of the Eletre is a bit of a breakaway from the usual Lotus fare, as they made a habit of making sports cars with very minimal interior clutter. But the Eletre breaks away from the days of old, as it has a very opulent interior to match the ferocious exterior in quality.

The Eletre comes packed with features and functions that make it a highly versatile car and not just a fast one. Features like a 15.1-inch landscape orientated colour touch screen that features built-in satelite navigation. Passengers in the back also get a large touch screen to keep them busy too.

The touch screen lets you select built-in driving modes, which is a staple of most performance cars at this point. You get four modes: Range, Tour, Sport and Off-Road. We don't have any specific yets but these modes will alter the power, steering, suspension and driving experience at the touch of a button.

You get a multi-function flat-bottomed steering wheel with an Alcantara-like texture that feels great to hold. In the centre console, you have an armrest with plenty of storage space underneath, cup holders and some black gloss material that adorns the buttons below the touch screen.

Lotus says the Eletre will offer an augmented-reality heads-up display, which is something not very common but is seen on a few new cars like the Mercedes EQS.

Motors & Performance

The Lotus Eletre will come with two electric motors, one driving the front axle and another driving the rear. Together they produce a mindblowing 600bhp and this is enough to give the Eletre a 0 to 62mph sprint time of under 3 seconds. 

How does it fare compared to other performance-based electric SUV cars in the market? Quicker than most actually. With the BMW iX M60 doing it in 3.8 seconds, the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT doing it in 3.5 seconds and the Audi e-tron S in 4 seconds. 

The Tesla Model X Plaid still wins out with its 0-62mph sprint of just 2.3 seconds. However, Lotus are planning to bring out more models of the Eletre and we're sure they will feature even more powerful motors.

As mentioned earlier, you will get the chance to add carbon-ceramic breaks as a cost option. It will be possible to improve the rear differential to send power to individual wheels as an optional extra, as well as adding rear-wheel steering to help the car to be more manoeuvrable.

Being an SUV it won't be as tight as say a performance hatchback when taking corners fast, but Lotus will give you the option to add active anti-roll bars as a cost option to help the car perform better in tight corners. And finally, you can opt for adaptive suspension which can adjust the stiffness of your ride depending on the driving mode, as a cost option says Lotus.

Batteries & Range

Of course, as with any EV these days the main focus is on the battery size, range and charging capacity. And Lotus have gone all out this time with the Eletre supposedly packing a 100kWh+ battery that will offer up to 348 miles of range on a full charge. Real-world miles that will probably come down to around 315 on a very cold day but it's still good enough to be a daily driver.

Compared to its SUV competitors, it features similar ranges but the comparable 503bhp Audi e-tron S manages just 222 miles on a full charge. So Lotus have definitely stepped their game up here.

The Eletre has a robust 800V electrical system, which interestingly enough is shared by the well-received Porsche Taycan, and that lets you charge the car from up to 350kW with the fastest public rapid chargers available. 

What does this mean in real-world terms? Well, using the fastest public rapid chargers available right now, you could charge the Eletre from 10% to 80% in just 20 minutes. 

2023 Lotus Eletre SUV Price

Lotus themselves haven't confirmed prices as of the time of writing this article. But you can expect the standard entry-level Eletre model, which features the 600bhp dual-motors, to cost around £80,000-£100,000 more than likely.

Lotus expect more versions of the Eletre to be built and if they're more powerful and more feature-packed, you can expect these models to cost over £100,000.

2023 Lotus Eletre SUV release date

The Lotus Eletre is due to go on sale in the UK and Europe sometime in 2023.