Monterey, California, USA – 21 August 2023
The Lotus Eletre hyper-SUV has made its public debut in North America at Monterey Car Week, taking centre stage at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering.
Visitors were thrilled to see the highly anticipated Eletre in Blossom Grey on the Lotus stand, commenting on the spaciousness and the incredible number of features included. The retail team received significant interest, kick-starting the push for customer deposits in advance of the Eletre launching in the USA market in 2024.
The first of a new breed of pure electric performance SUVs, the Eletre takes the core principles from 75 years of sports car design and engineering. It evolves the brand as a desirable lifestyle vehicle that is practical and spacious, while packed with the latest digital technology to make their driving life safer and more convenient. Eletre takes Lotus’ DNA of creating vehicles that people love to drive, and effortlessly combines it with the latest cutting-edge technology to create a vehicle that is fun to drive, as well as being comfortable enough for long-range road trips and city driving alike.
The Eletre is priced from £89,500 in the UK and €95,990 in Europe. The most premium versions are the Eletre S and Eletre R. The Eletre S is focused on customers seeking luxury. The enhanced specification over the base model includes additional features such as soft door close, privacy glass, active rear spoiler, configurable ambient lighting, illuminated side sills, air quality system, 2,160-watt 23-speaker KEF Reference Audio system, and 22-inch 10-spoke forged wheels in grey with a diamond-turned finish.
The flagship Eletre R is all about performance, and benefits from the Lotus Dynamic Handling Pack (comprising Intelligent Active Roll Control and Active Rear Steering), Carbon Pack, Pirelli P Zero performance tyres, and a gloss black finish for the wheels. There’s also a sixth Drive Mode: Track.
Lotus also celebrated its 75th anniversary year with the world debut of Type 66 at both The Quail and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Bringing history back to life, the Type 66 is a stunning, track-only car with a limited production run of just 10 units. It reimagines a ‘lost Lotus’ drawing board programme from the brand’s world-renowned motorsport heritage, combining it with today’s state-of-the-art racing technology and components.
F1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi would have likely raced the car in the 1970s had it gone to production. He was at The Quail on Friday to help with the unveiling. “It’s been an honour to be a part of this reveal and share the Type 66 with the public,” he said. “I’m so happy to have had this opportunity.”
The final treat for Lotus’ fans was the reveal of Jenson Button’s bespoke Evjia electric hypercar. His unique spec was chosen in consultation with the Lotus Design team and the special colour scheme pays tribute to his 2009 F1 World Championship-winning Brawn GP race car – Arctic White with Verve Yellow and Carbon Black accents.
In an F1 career spanning seasons 2006-2012, Button had 15 race victories. The aluminium strip that runs vertically through the driver’s seat centre has been laser-etched with the dates and locations of each of those wins – just one example of the attention to detail that Lotus can offer to Evija customers.
