MOTORING FUTURE SHOCK

LOTUSused to bolt together fragile cars using fibreglass, British Leyland leftovers and a slightly blinkered sense of optimism.

Back then, using the words ‘Lotus’ and ‘electric’ in the same sentence would have inevitably meant Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious. The new Eletre represents a different kind of trouble: a clear and present danger to Porsche –perhaps even Lamborghini, too.

In truth, everything about the Eletre is different. It’s a tech-laden SUV instead of a skeletal sports car. Fully electric, rather than powered by petrol. And made in Wuhan, not in sleepy Norfolk. Lotus took 70 years to build its first 100,000 cars; now, buoyed by Chinese investment from Geely, it aims to shift that number annually by 2028. The Eletre is central to this goal.

The range kicks off with the standard Eletre at £89,500. It uses a 112 kWh bat- tery and twin electric motors for allwheel drive, serving up 603hp, 0-62 mph in 4.5 seconds and 373 miles of range.

The Eletre S (£104,500) offers the same performance with more luxury, including soft-close doors, and a ground-quaking 23-speaker KEF audio system.

Then there is the flagship Eletre R (£120,000). This adds a two-speed transmission and larger motors for a faintly absurd 905hp, 0-62mph in a supercarslaying 2.95 seconds and a range of 304 miles. It also has an arsenal of active chassis technology, including rearwheel steering, anti-roll control and a dedicated Track driving mode.

Lotus has lined up an ‘R’, an empty airfield and a circuit of sacrificial traffic cones for us later. First, it’s time for a road drive in the middling Eletre S. With ‘porous’ design inspired by the Evija hypercar, it certainly has plenty of presence – especially in radi-

LOTUS ELETRE R

PRICE: £120,000

POWER: 905HP

0-62MPH: 3.0SEC

TOP SPEED: 165MPH

BATTERY SIZE: 112KWH

ELECTRIC RANGE: 304MILES ant Solar Yellow. An aerodynamic SUV is a contradiction in terms, of course, but the Eletre’s drag coefficient of 0.26 is slippery for a car of this type.

Inside, you’ll find 5G connectivity and the new Lotus Hyper OS media system. There are up to seven touchscreens, including the main 15.1-inch OLED interface and a Ferrari-style passenger display. The tech looks sharp and feels intuitive, including a dedicated smartphone app and a navigation system that predicts energy use, preconditioning the battery before you arrive at a charger.

As you’d hope for an SUV with a similar footprint to a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, space for passengers and their luggage is plentiful. The optional gold-effect trim looks decidedly more Nanjing than Norwich, but most surfaces are swathed in tactile Alcantara and quality edges close to Porsche standards.

On the road, the Eletre’s air suspension combines a comfortable ride with reassuring poise and huge reserves of grip. The much-vaunted ‘Lotus DNA’ feels somewhat smothered beneath 2.5 tonnes of SUV, and you can sense the electronics doing some literal heavy lifting. We found the default Tour driving mode offers the best sense of feedback and flow; switching to Sport makes the car feel abrupt and over-caffeinated.

Even the standard Eletre is hardly slow, but the ‘R’ can embarrass a Lamborghini

Urus Performante (and costs almost half the price). A full-bore start leaves your stomach behind like the drop on the roller coaster. As we drive across to the circuit, the sky darkens and stair-rods of rain begin lashing the runway. Yet the adverse conditions only serve to reinforce the Eletre’s inherent balance and tenacious traction, and allow some Lotus magic to shine through.

This is an easy vehicle to admire, but a harder one to love, at least for this old-fashioned Lotus diehard. Yet it's also exactly what the company needs, to survive in this brave new electrified world and generate the profits to continue building brilliant sports cars. An electric saloon and a smaller SUV will soon follow, but the Eletre seems a promising start. And a reason for genuine optimism.

Tim Pitt writes for motoringresearch.com

LOTUS REVEALS PRICES AND SPECS FOR AMG-POWERED EMIRA SPORTS CAR

PREFERa more traditional kind of Lotus? Orders are now open for the four-cylinder version of the Emira coupe. Following the launch of the 400hp supercharged 3.5-litre V6 version, the new 2.0-litre turbocharged model expands the Emira range.

Supplied by Mercedes-AMG, the mid-mounted engine is closely related to that in the AMG A45 hot hatchback. A 365hp output makes this the most powerful four-cylinder Lotus sports car ever made. It's also the end of a long bloodline of fourcylinder Lotus models, including the Elise, Exige and Esprit, as the British brand prepares to go fully electric.

Helped by a twin-scroll turbocharger, the Lotus Emira’s engine generates a substantial 317lb ft of torque. An eightspeed dual-clutch transmission is fitted as standard (there's no manual option), with steering wheel-mounted paddles for rapid shifts. Thanks to a relatively low kerb weight of 1,446kg, the Emira will sprint to 62mph in just 4.4 seconds: a mere 0.1 seconds behind the V6. Top speed is 180mph.

As you'd expect, Lotus has also tuned the handling of the Emira to suit its new engine. An aluminium rear subframe saves 12kg compared to the V6 model, plus there is a choice of Tour or Sport chassis settings. The car rides on bespoke tyres, and features a specially calibrated stability control system.

A fully-loaded First Edition model marks the start of four-cylinder Emira production, and is offered in a choice of 13 paint colours. The standard power-adjustable and heated sports seats can be upholstered in a leather or Alcantara (artificial suede) trim.

Along with a 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen, it also features a 12.3inch digital instrument panel and a 10-speaker 560W audio system.

Orders for the Lotus Emira First Edition can be placed now, with prices starting from £81,495 – a modest £4,500 less than the V6. A cheaper standard version should join the range in 2024.