A Lotus has to be about the driving though, doesn’t it? With the mantra ‘For the Drivers’, you’d expect so. It’s into the experienced hands of Gavan Kershaw, Attributes and Product Integrity director for Lotus, that the tall order of making an electric SUV feel like a Lotus falls. In spite of what is one of the most contradictory propositions in motoring we’ve yet heard, he sounds confident.
“Dynamically, the Eletre has been developed to deliver everything you would expect from a Lotus – outstanding ride and handling, highly communicative steering and exceptional driver engagement,” Kershaw says.
“From a performance perspective, we know the world is watching so there has been an obsession with getting everything just right. Everyone is delighted with it – it’s a world-class product and a true Lotus.”
Indeed this all-new platform isn’t just about modularity. It’s about stiffness, lightness and performance orientation. Bounding it to the road too as standard are air springs and Continuous Damping Control systems, working with active anti-roll bars and rear-steering. The four driving modes dictating the dynamics include Range, Tour, Sport and Off-Road, with an Individual option for customising settings for personal preference.
Though there’s been a good amount of talk about ‘adding lightness’ with clever materials in the cabin, carbon and aluminium in the construction and so on, one key figure we’re missing is weight. A car on sale now offering similar range specs, if not performance, is the BMW iX, which in top trim weighs over 2.5 tonnes. That’s the number we’ll be most curious to learn as this car nears its market introduction.
What do you think of the Lotus Eletre? Is it doomed to be a cynical cash cow, or could it really, as Lotus Managing Director Matt Windle claims, “have the soul of a Lotus and the usability of an SUV”? The proof will be in the driving.