Page 2 of 4
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2022 11:52 pm
by Mito Man
I said just that on the second post of mine which you quoted!
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 8:21 am
by Jobbo
Mito Man wrote: Tue Mar 29, 2022 11:16 pm
(On a completely unrelated note, at Goodwood on the BMW EV stand the chap was saying that during testing they had an IX 50 (111kwh) mule on smaller alloys with just 215 section tyres which was doing over 400 miles real world range - which shows how much extra battery they need to pack just so they can still fit chunky tyres)
If you buy a Porsche Taycan and spec the nicest looking (biggest) alloys, the WLDP range reduces about 40 miles.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 8:46 am
by mik
Mito Man wrote: Tue Mar 29, 2022 11:52 pm
I said just that on the second post of mine which you quoted!
Sorry - I went to bed.
I get your point, but I am not sure it would have made sense to be "brave" and release another model with extremely niche appeal? The whole point (as I see it) is to emulate the success of other performance brands by adding an SUV to the lineup, basking in the reflection of the brand to justify a higher price, selling in decent numbers, thus financing the design & development of their sports/super/hyper/whooppa cars
Lotus sales figures over the last few years have been
dreadful. They aren't even listed separately on the SMMT UK sales site any more. I can't find archives, but 2020 UK sales were something like 270 cars, vs 25000+ sold by Porsche (all based on shakey memory but these aren't a million miles off). Hopefully the Eletre (and the apparently high levels of interest in the Emira) might start to turn things around.

Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:13 am
by scotta
mik wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 8:46 am
Mito Man wrote: Tue Mar 29, 2022 11:52 pm
I said just that on the second post of mine which you quoted!
Sorry - I went to bed.
I get your point, but I am not sure it would have made sense to be "brave" and release another model with extremely niche appeal? The whole point (as I see it) is to emulate the success of other performance brands by adding an SUV to the lineup, basking in the reflection of the brand to justify a higher price, selling in decent numbers, thus financing the design & development of their sports/super/hyper/whooppa cars
Lotus sales figures over the last few years have been
dreadful. They aren't even listed separately on the SMMT UK sales site any more. I can't find archives, but 2020 UK sales were something like 270 cars, vs 25000+ sold by Porsche (all based on shakey memory but these aren't a million miles off). Hopefully the Eletre (and the apparently high levels of interest in the Emira) might start to turn things around.
Retailers sold 1,710 new cars in 2021, the year the iconic Elise, Exige and Evora ended production. That compares with 1,378 sales in 2020, an increase of 24%
https://media.lotuscars.com/en/news-art ... of%2024%25.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:14 am
by Jimmy Choo
What we want doesn't matter. This is what sells and if Lotus keeps going because of that, good.
I like it more than the BMW iX and the Tesla model Y. The stupid Falcon wing doors on the Model X are still very tempting, though.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:23 am
by mik
Cheears.
(These are global sales figures as opposed to the UK figures I had in my noggin)
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:30 am
by mik
Interestingly the screens for the virtual wing mirrors seem to be in approx the same locations as the E-Tron that many folks don’t like. (See approx 11m15 in Henry’s vid)
Also - Shirley they are putting grilles on the speakers? There will be a child’s finger through those within about 8 second of leaving the dealership.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:31 am
by Rich B
I don't get this desire for coupe style rears on 4x4 bodies - 4x4s look so much better with a standard 2 rectangle box shape. this just looks crap - like a Toyota CHR.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:54 am
by ZedLeg
It's a shame they definitely won't sell any. The kinds of people who buy Masarati/Jaguar/Aston SUVs aren't interested in having a Lotus on their drive (apart from Mik but he's weird) and Lotus fans aren't interested in an electric SUV.
Maybe a lightweight electric something or other would be more appealing but as I said in the other thread, you're never really going to be able to build anything light weight when you have to start with half a ton of batteries.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:13 am
by mik
I bet - if someone put some batteries into something small, nimble, lightweight. Like - I dunno - an Elise? Maybe change the styling slightly just to differentiate it. I bet you’d soon be rich! Such a product would Shirley have interstellar appeal!
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:13 am
by mik
Rich B wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:31 am
I don't get this desire for coupe style rears on 4x4 bodies - 4x4s look so much better with a standard 2 rectangle box shape.
That.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:16 am
by scotta
mik wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:23 am
Cheears.
(These are global sales figures as opposed to the UK figures I had in my noggin)
Still the Sqrt/fuckall in comparison to Porsche.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:18 am
by ZedLeg
mik wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:13 am
I bet - if someone put some batteries into something small, nimble, lightweight. Like - I dunno - an Elise? Maybe change the styling slightly just to differentiate it. I bet you’d soon be rich! Such a product would Shirley have interstellar appeal!

Sounds like the kind of thing that would only appeal to Hollywood polar bear hugging elites tbh.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:39 am
by V8Granite
I thought battery size also had a big impact on how
Many kw you can take from it at any one time ? Unless 50kwh would be more than big enough for near 600hp.
I know that Mr Koenigsegg on one of his latest videos is able to get an instant hit of near 1Mw from an 8kwh battery.
These cars interest me as much as boiled mince.
Dave!
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:52 am
by mik
V8Granite wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:39 am
I know that Mr Koenigsegg on one of his latest videos is able to get an instant hit of near 1Mw from an 8kwh battery.
Assuming 800V, that needs to draw 1250amps
Thick cables…..
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:55 am
by IanF
Tbh I don’t mind that, plus a lot of Geely elec components is a good thing (steering wheel looks like a previous Volvo one no?), so I’d consider one..
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 12:12 pm
by Jobbo
Rich B wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:31 am
I don't get this desire for coupe style rears on 4x4 bodies - 4x4s look so much better with a standard 2 rectangle box shape. this just looks crap - like a Toyota CHR.
Mostly I agree, but the Audi Q8 looks infinitely nicer than the Q7.
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 12:17 pm
by V8Granite
The problem I have with the coupe big cars is the car is taking up a lot of space very inefficiently.
A coupe is generally a 2 seater so won’t normally be the family car. When you have a big 5 door 4x4 but either an impractical sized box in the back or a sloped back which doesn’t take a lot then it just turns into a pointless thing.
It’s why when cars give boot volumes it’s annoying as a lot of the space is unuseable unless you only carry squishy bags.
Dave!
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 12:19 pm
by V8Granite
mik wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:52 am
V8Granite wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:39 am
I know that Mr Koenigsegg on one of his latest videos is able to get an instant hit of near 1Mw from an 8kwh battery.
Assuming 800V, that needs to draw 1250amps
Thick cables…..
We used to have some bloody chunky cables on the aggreko kit so I’m guessing they will use busbars between the battery and motor on things like that?
I really enjoy watching the Koenigsegg videos as the solutions him
And his team come up with are generally really clever.
Dave!
Re: Lotus Eletre
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2022 12:23 pm
by mik
Jobbo wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 12:12 pm
Rich B wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:31 am
I don't get this desire for coupe style rears on 4x4 bodies - 4x4s look so much better with a standard 2 rectangle box shape. this just looks crap - like a Toyota CHR.
Mostly I agree, but the Audi Q8 looks infinitely nicer than the Q7.
Whilst the rear glass is clearly raked, I don’t really consider the Q8 as coupe-esque. It’s side profile is v similar to the std E-Tron (whereas the ETron sports back or whateverthefucktheycallit is ridiculous to me - for the reasons Dave notes above).
