Lotus Eletre EV US Pricing Announced As Emira Production Lies Emerge

The Lotus Eletre will finally reach American buyers in Q4 2024, with pricing starting at $107,000 for the regular version of the so-called ‘Hyper SUV,’ while the hotted-up Eletre R will start at $145,000. Buyers can now start designing their vehicles on the Lotus configurator.

Regardless, Lotus says that deliveries will begin in the fourth quarter of this year (without those rearview cameras for mirrors, sorry America). For those worried that we may have a repeat of the Emira delivery fiasco, fear not. Last month, it was announced that delayed Emiras on US soil could be delivered, so everything is dandy, right? Well, the Eletre is produced in a different part of the world, and it seems the Emira’s troubles may be ongoing according to a post on the Lotus Talk forum. The following has been edited lightly for clarity:

The post goes on to claim that when asked why the dealer had not told anyone about the change in plans, the dealer representative replied that an official go-ahead to inform customers of the news had not yet been given. The user joined the forum just before posting and has not posted since, so we don’t know where the dealer is or if the experience even took place. In an effort to determine the validity of this forum entry, CarBuzz has reached out to domestic and global representatives for more information.

Electric Premium Architecture For Eletre

Back to the Eletre, which Lotus has had to build in order to survive. Lightweight sports cars are cool, but electrified luxury SUVs pay the bills – plain and simple. Some may scoff at the idea of an electric vehicle produced in Wuhan, China, but Lotus is Chinese-owned, just like Volvo and Polestar. If we can look past our prejudices for a moment, there’s an impressive piece of 800-volt architecture underneath a body made mostly of carbon fiber and aluminum. Even so, the Eletre is one well-fed human away from weighing 6,000 lbs.

That’s why even the regular model needs a lot of grunt, and it can generate up to 603 hp. This is achieved with a dual-motor, single-speed transmission setup. The Eletre R, on the other hand, gets a two-speed transmission (like a Porsche Taycan does) and reaches peak output at 905 hp with 727 lb-ft of torque. With that, 0-62 mph is possible in 2.95 seconds, while top speed is a respectable 165 mph. A Cadillac Escalade-V gets left behind at 125 mph, even with 850 Hennessey horses.

Big Battery Equals Competitive Range

The Eletre is only available with a 111.9 kWh battery, which can be charged from 10-80% in 20 minutes when on a 350 kW DC fast charger. As noted, this is a rather portly machine, and so despite that big battery, the most you’ll get on a single charge is 373 miles of range, and that’s obviously with the regular model. The high-performance Eletre R has sportier software tuning and puts more strain on the same battery, so it can only go 304 miles. Both estimates are based on the WLTP cycle, so prepare for more conservative numbers when the EPA figures are released. The Alfa Romeo replacement is targeting similar figures, and upcoming electric Maseratis are, too.