Lotus, a brand that may sound strange but has some familiarity, carries the pursuit of extreme lightweight, excellent handling and pure driving pleasure in the hearts of fans. Its alias "Lotus" is also memorable. It originated from a long-standing British sports car manufacturer, which covers hundreds of thousands of pure performance sports cars and tens of millions of super sports cars. However, in China, there are few Lotus models that can really cross mountains and run unimpeded.
Since Lotus EMIRA was listed on the China market in 2021, the territory of Lotus in China has been officially launched. Subsequently, Lotus quickly launched its first pure electric supercar SUV——ELETRE, which made its debut in March last year. The outside world is full of expectations for the future performance of this SUV and the development blueprint of Lotus in China. In addition to the eye-catching design, Doug is curious about the actual handling performance of this new car. Finally, at the end of 2023, Brother Dou conducted a real car test drive in Beijing. First, let’s take a look at the static performance of this car.
In terms of appearance, Lotus ELETRE is completely different from other pure electric vehicles on the market. Generally speaking, pure electric vehicles may emphasize a sense of technology or futurity, but they should avoid being too "fierce" in appearance. However, Lotus ELETRE has adopted the opposite design concept. Through a large number of sharp lines, the vehicle’s "aggressiveness" is deliberately enhanced, which is in sharp contrast with other pure electric vehicles in visual effect and has a unique style.
The appearance of ELETRE left an impression on Douge mainly because it was full of unique "perforated" design. Described in professional terms, this is the so-called "porous design", and this design element can be described as one of the three magic weapons that Lotus is proud of, paying tribute to EVIJA, a tens of millions of electric sports cars. On ELETRE, this unique design presents seven groups of holes, which are located under the air intake grille, headlights, headlights obliquely, hood edge, wheel cover trailing edge, C-pillar end and taillights.
The size of these pores is very clever: they are not as exaggerated as EVIJA, but they can make people fall in love at first sight and produce a strong "sports car" visual effect. Don’t think that the porous design is just for "looking good". In fact, it can generate a downward force of up to 90kg, and with the two-section open tail, it can provide the owner with a driving pleasure of "flying close to the ground". No wonder it is called "aerodynamic pioneer".
The design of Lotus ELETRE is mainly based on two considerations. First of all, the use of sharp lines can make the body fuller, which is in line with the design style of many coupes. After all, Lotus has more than half a century’s experience in coupe design, so it is unrealistic to let ELETRE give up the coupe attribute.
Secondly, the design team took aerodynamic factors into account, which is also the focus of the following article. Aerodynamics has always been closely related to automobile design, and many models will consider some aerodynamic problems in the hub and tail. However, the design team of Lotus ELETRE is almost obsessed with the concept of aerodynamics, and aerodynamic problems are considered everywhere in the design of the whole vehicle. If a design does not conform to aerodynamics, then the design will definitely compromise for the needs of aerodynamics.
In terms of tail design, Lotus Eletre adopts design elements such as split wind-breaking tail and active tail, aiming at providing sufficient downforce for the vehicle and ensuring stability when turning at high speed. This design enables the vehicle to maintain excellent handling performance at extreme speed, providing a safer and more reliable experience for driving.
In the interior, Lotus ELETRE shows an unforgettable sense of technology. The new car didn’t use those huge giant screens that connect left and right, but chose a 15.1-inch central control screen. This design adopts the symmetrical layout of the main driver and assistant, with a 12.6-inch screen on each side. In addition, the central armrest of the rear row is also equipped with a huge multimedia screen to clearly transmit the route and data of the vehicle to the rear row. The front and rear central screens support angle adjustment, which provides a more convenient experience for drivers and passengers.
What impressed Douge was the octagonal steering wheel adopted by ELETRE, which was equipped with two paddles on the left and right: the control button for energy recovery on the left side, including three gears and a close button; On the right is the choice of driving mode, which provides five driving modes-personality, sports, comfort, economy and off-road, and each mode corresponds to a different cruising range. These design details make the interior of ELETRE not only full of science and technology, but also meet the diverse needs of drivers for driving experience.
In terms of intelligence, unlike the electrification products of traditional car companies such as BBA, Lotus ELETRE has entered the field of intelligence without hesitation. The vehicle is equipped with 34 sensor devices, 4 laser radars, 12 ultrasonic radars, 2 millimeter-wave radars with 4D imaging technology, 4 millimeter-wave radars, 4 2-megapixel panoramic cameras and 7 8-megapixel HD cameras. All these data links will be completed by the computing power (up to 508Tops) of two NVIDIA Orin car specification chips. This set of intelligent technology system not only enables Lotus ELETRE to achieve high-level intelligent driving assistance above L2.5 level, but also can achieve excellent functions such as super image rendering and 3D image.
In terms of power, ELETRE offers two versions, both of which are dual-motor four-wheel drive versions. The maximum power of the S+ version of the drive motor reaches 450kW, the peak torque is 710N·m, and the acceleration time is only 4.5 seconds. The maximum power of the top model R+ version is as high as 675kW, the peak torque is 985N·m, the acceleration time of 0-100km/h is only 2.95 seconds, and the shortest braking distance of 100km/h is less than 33 meters. Judging from these figures, no matter which power version, Lotus ELETRE can meet those consumers who have high performance requirements.
Lotus ELETRE continues Lotus’s 70-year experience in chassis adjustment, and realizes a more stable cornering posture through active electronic stabilizer. The free switching function of air suspension not only provides enough support stiffness, but also brings comfortable driving experience to drivers. The rear wheel active steering system provides agile steering induction at low speed, while maintaining stability and safety at high speed. It integrates continuous damping adjustable shock absorber, body stability control system and One-Box braking system, and can also be equipped with track-level carbon ceramic braking system to achieve a perfect balance between comfort and handling.
In terms of charging efficiency, Lotus ELETRE can charge the vehicle to 80% in about 20 minutes. This rapid and efficient charging speed fully meets the charging efficiency standards of mainstream new energy vehicles, and also provides considerable cruising range for vehicles.
Next, I would like to share with you the true feelings of Doug in the test drive of Eleetre. After all, the handling performance is a highlight of this Lotus Eleetre.
Excellent control
When Douge is waiting for the traffic lights, the green light comes on. As long as he lightly steps on the gas pedal, ELETRE will respond in seconds. It can be said that the brakes and the gas pedal are quite sensitive, and he will respond when he moves his toes.
In addition to the amazing acceleration performance, the car’s cornering and lane changing performance is quite stable. This is due to the precise steering wheel, which makes Brother Dou feel very real. In addition, ELETRE also adopts dual-cavity air suspension design, 6D intelligent chassis system, CDC continuous damping adjustable shock absorber, and high-end configurations such as height adjustment of 25 mm to 50 mm. In dynamic driving, these configurations greatly improve the sports performance of the whole vehicle, and at the same time instantly improve the support stiffness, which brings a more comfortable driving experience for Douge. Especially when turning a corner, the handling feeling of the vehicle is excellent, and there is almost no obvious roll, just like driving a high-performance car, so people can safely pass the corner quickly.
Comfortable online
When charging, Brother Dou deliberately sat in the car and tried to call a friend through the car, but the friend said that he could not hear him, which fully demonstrated the outstanding performance of ELETRE in sound insulation. In addition, even if driving at a high speed of 120 kilometers per hour, there is almost no motor sound in the car, only slight wind noise and road noise. In addition, the seat design of ELETRE is very comfortable. After about 200 kilometers of test drive, the fatigue is not obvious, which is very important for long-distance travel.
Written at the end: Compared with BBA’s current pure electric SUV, Lotus ELETRE has shown outstanding advantages in pure electric platform, pure electric technology, cruising range, technology configuration and power performance, and won the competition at the starting line. In addition, from the perspective of sports cars, its potential opponent may be Taycan from Porsche. In any case, at present, Lotus ELETRE has obvious competitive advantages in all aspects. Although Douge’s test drive time is not too long, he mainly experienced the road conditions such as urban roads and crossing expressways, but he can still clearly feel the careful adjustment of Lotus ELETRE in the "three big pieces" of motor, electronic control and chassis, reaching the level of super-running. Of course, if the price can be more close to the people, I believe the recognition of Lotus ELETRE will be further enhanced.
