Type 132 - Lotus Eletre

[exeterjeep]

1 minute ago, Giniw said:

I would say an electric one with a petrol engine generator? (I think in a hybrid the petrol engine can propel the car too?)

Yes a bit like the Top Gear creation  - The Hammerhead Eagle Thrust  diesel-electric hybrid car that Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond made in the Electric Car Challenge in Series 14, Episode 2.

[Giniw]

It had a diesel generator?!

I didn't remember that! (but on the other hand I am not sure I have seen that episode — at least not the whole episode)

[Bibs]

https://www.wallpaper.com/transport/lotus-eletre

[Il fenomino]

Does anyone know the Drag Coefficient of the Eletre already? Lotus talks a lot about the aerodynamic and make a lot of holes into the car. I wonder, what that achieves. The BMW iX for example, has a drag coefficient of 0.25.

[Bibs]

https://carnewschina.com/2022/05/05/lotus-eletre-electric-suv-hits-roads-in-china

[NedaSay]

Lidar testing ? this SUV is low to the ground in the pic... air suspension determined right height.

[jonwat]

Chapman's philosophy will live on 

[NedaSay]

under two tons, lowest possible weight for the entry level would be quite a feat, that is nearly half a ton lighter than an Urus  3/4 of a ton lighter than a Bentayga and over half a ton lighter than a comparable Model X.

[KusaKusa]

Yeah, honestly when other publications were saying a mix of the Eletre being at least 2 tons or under 2 tons, I thought the latter was a misinterpretation.  Good that Matt confirmed it.  If Lotus can hit that, even with a base trim with no extra goodies, that'd be exceptional.  It'd demonstrate that Lotus can truly stand out and bring unique value to the EV field amongst a ton of new start ups and existing manufacturers, and that they can compete with state-of-the-art mass market products.

[eUKenGB]

I've opined here before that I believe new model secrecy is counter-productive, but it was brought to mind again recently with some (not relevant) news from Tesla as they exemplify how I think it should be done.

I know Musk isn't always completely accurate in what he reveals of their future intentions, but by the time the CyberTruck is launched, we will have had about 3 years to consider it, see it, understand what it is and have an idea of the price. Anyone in the market for such a vehicle will have had full opportunity to consider the options and make their choice - possibly not purchasing anything else as they just want the CyberTruck.

Compare that to Lotus and their new range. No pictures of anything prior to the launch, except for vague spy shots and now months after the Eletre launch, still no idea whatsoever of price. Will it be a nice surprise at 60k, or an unrealistic 120k. That's a big variation. As for the 133, 134 and 135, who knows. They might be moon buggies for all we know.

I think it's just something marketing types think is clever, to keep potential customers guessing, yet I think in reality it just pisses them off. Well, it does me. All this secrecy is childish IMO. Without any real information about the upcoming cars, I am far more likely to simply move on and buy something else. A CyberTruck maybe. 😀

Edited May 26, 2022 by eUKenGB

[NedaSay]

^^^Ok. Lotus has never been about hyping up stuff years in advance, Eletre is still about 8/10 months away from market, their goal is winter 2023. We know price will be priced up a tad under 100k.  Their logic has been to tease. they've done it for a while ; Evora was first teased, then unveiled and after that they went into silence before release. Evija was teased, stunned on unveil and has been hit with delays in part due to Covid, in part due to a change in supplier/partner. Emira was teased, very effectively I would say, and now it is being launched, there have been delays too I Believe, but come to think of it, it hasn't been a year since its public unveil at Goodwood so by Lotus standard they are on schedule.

Eletre was unveiled on march 29th, so about two months ago.  there will be no news about price at least until september, if we get anything before that consider it a bonus. They have not even finished speccing the vehicle yet, before they give you a price the may need to know how much  it will cost especially the entry model spec, because the model unveiled was the top of the line and i really doubt that the golden toggles will cost the same as the run of the mill aluminium ones...

As for the agency model.  Everybody in the industry is trying to cut the middle man, it is no surprise. Tesla showed what is possible, even though it is far from perfect. Volvo and Polestar are adopting alternative sale strategies, The Geely group is encouraging its brands to try new ways to sell cars. Lotus strategy's goal is to compensate for a dealer network that most have described as deficient.

 

[eUKenGB]

Another thought on this 'secrecy' thing. The most obvious and common reason for secrecy about a new model is to avoid any loss of sales of the current model. However in the case of Lotus' very first SUV, first production EV and in fact their entire new EV line, that's completely irrelevant as there are NO current models of which to lose any sales.

Still seems to me that by releasing more information about their forthcoming models they have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

[exeterjeep]

12 minutes ago, eUKenGB said:

Still seems to me that by releasing more information about their forthcoming models they have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

And releasing more info about the Eletre, any power variants and we all need to know the price range.  Then we can all spend months over the colour options for launch cars etc like there has been for the Emira.....

[JimH]

https://carnewschina.com/2022/06/01/lotus-eletre-electric-suv-is-available-for-reservation-for-750-usd-in-china/

"As for the power output, the entry-level Eletre has 592 hp (450 Kw), 710 Nm, a zero-to-hundred acceleration in 4.5 seconds, and a 258-km/h top speed. The top-performance version has 905 hp (675 kW), 985 Nm, a 265-km/h top speed, and can speed up from zero to one hundred in just 2.95 seconds."

[exeterjeep]

Sounds impressive from a performance point of view, really hope they can package that in the 'smaller' 134. 

[KusaKusa]

There's actually a lot of interesting info in the article.  

• 0-60 MPH being 2.95 seconds is a bit disappointing for their highest performance model.  Like 2.95s will make the Eletre the second fastest SUV ever, taking the title from the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT at 3.1s.  But it's a shame a "hyper SUV" from a performance brand that's made the Evija and has invested a ton into transitioning to EVs early can't compete with the Tesla Model X Plaid out of the gate, by a significant amount actually (it has 2.5s).
• Coefficient of drag at 0.26 cd.  It shows the porosity in the Lotus design language isn't just aesthetics and pretending.  For comparison, the Audi e-tron SUV has 0.28 cd and the Model X has 0.24 cd.  Considering the Eletre is more performance oriented with air intakes and downforce, has 23" wheels vs. the Model X's 20" wheels, and doesn't look like a blob, having a competitive cd is really good.
• The article mentions that Lotus' Electric Premium Architecture is based on Geely's Sustainable Experience Architecture.  This was reported in early leaks and hypothesized earlier on, but Lotus said it was a bespoke architecture for Lotus and never mentioned Geely SEA in their initial Eletre reveal.  I can't tell in this case if the article is just saying that or if it was straight from Lotus' Chinese press materials.  It'd make sense if it were true though.

[Il fenomino]

The drag coefficient is kind of disapointing. The BMW iX is 0,25 cd. So it is worse even with all the holes in the car.  

[Giniw]

Stupid question maybe, but are the drag coefficients ever verified? I mean, the performances (and weight) figures are notoriously off on most brands so why would it be different for the drag coefficient?

[Bibs]

https://carnewschina.com/2022/06/01/lotus-eletre-electric-suv-is-available-for-reservation-for-750-usd-in-china

[NedaSay]

 The Lotus' skate finally visible:

thanks Bibs

So basic specs are available in China... what a surprise to none ever.

905bhp for the top spec... That borders on ridiculous, The Taycan Turbo offers a  pretty sufficient 700+ bhp.

Edited June 2, 2022 by NedaSay

[DarrylV8]

Does the top of the range 905bhp version receive larger battery pack?

Large dose of lightweighting or is the compromise less range? 

Apologies if already asked and answered 

 

[exeterjeep]

Don't think we have any real idea of what it will be like yet. I had an email from a dealer (not local) who expect 1 to be in their showroom before the end of the year. Also no idea of a UK tour.

 

[JimH]

https://www.esquire.com/uk/design/a40141500/lotus-evija/

[KusaKusa]

Lotus' first EV model, Eletre, to be powered by CATL's Qilin Battery:  https://cnevpost.com/2022/06/24/lotus-first-ev-model-eletre-to-be-powered-by-catls-qilin-battery/

The Qilin battery pack seems like a master class in optimization through integration, so I'm glad Lotus it taking it.  It can give them credibility in the EV space by standing on the shoulders of the largest battery manufacturer in the world, and it shows their commitment to cutting edge technology.  And this demonstrates their legitimacy as a big and serious player to get a contract with CATL.  Here's a link with more technical details about the battery pack, which are quite impressive:

CATL unveils Qilin Battery, says it can easily achieve 1,000 km vehicle range:  https://cnevpost.com/2022/06/23/catl-unveils-qilin-battery/

Though I wonder if it's possible for a supplier-provided battery pack to be designed with the attributes/requirements in mind to be used as a structural battery pack with performance vehicle rigidity.  Normally I'd think that a supplier battery pack would have to be designed to connect to a vehicle structure like side railings for compatibility, leading to redundancy between the two compared to a slightly bigger and more structured battery pack that could act as both and could directly connect to stuff like subframes.  If it's not a structural pack, it seems like a waste of all the integration within the battery for it to not integrate needs outside of it.  But a structural pack is still rare, with I think only Tesla having achieved it in its 2 recent factories, so a good supplier pack is still better than most.

[eUKenGB]

I'm not sure what you're getting at there regarding structural battery pack. Whether they use the CATL batteries, pouch cells or some 4860 variant, or whatever, the batteries themselves CANNOT be the actual structural component. They are small items, but lots of them so whatever their topology, they have to be in some 'exoskeleton' that is the structure to which Lotus have been referring. The actual cell inside the 'pack' is kinda irrelevant is it not?