Lotus Emira and Eletre: What should you expect?

Lotus will make its debut in India on November 9, 2023. The British brand will sell its vehicles through Exclusive Motors in New Delhi, which will also serve as the country's distributor. We expect two vehicles to be available at the launch: the petrol-powered Emira sportscar and the all-electric Eletre SUV. Let's take a closer look at what you should expect from these 2 cars.

Lotus Emira

The Emira comes with two engine options. First up is a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder Mercedes-sourced engine that produces 366PS and 430Nm of torque. This engine is mated to an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission that can do 0 to 100kmph in 4.4 seconds

If that's not enough, there is also a larger 3.5-litre, Toyota V6 that puts out 405PS. The Toyota-sourced engine is available with a manual or automatic transmission and offers 420Nm with the stick and 430Nm of torque with the latter. The V6 is capable of 0 to 100kmph in 4.2 seconds and 290kmph at Vmax.

Lotus has kept the weight of the Emira at 1,405 kg which is fairly light, but considerably heavier when compared to older Lotus sports cars like the Elise, Exige and Evora.

Talking more of design, the full-LED headlights are standard across the Lotus Emira range. The side ducts are placed to feed air to the engine and also improve cooling. The Emira rides on 20-inch alloy wheels that can be shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres along with Lotus Drivers pack. On the inside, the Emira features digital dials and a large central touchscreen. The two seats are supportive and the dashboard is draped in soft-trimmed surfaces.

Lotus Eletre

The Lotus Eletre is based on the Lotus Emira sports car in many aspects, except for the SUV design feature. The Lotus Eletre is constructed on Lotus' all-new Electric Premium Architecture, which is extremely adaptable (EPA).

Lotus will sell three versions of the all-electric SUV. There's the regular Eletre and  Eletre S with 612PS and 710Nm of torque. O to 100kmph is achieved in 4.5 seconds. Then there's the Eletre R with 918PS and 985Nm of torque. The top speed in the R variant is 265kmph and 0-100kmph takes just 2.9 seconds.

All three are powered by the same 109kWh battery, which is installed beneath the floor and operates on an 800V system and can be charged by a 350kW unit. The Eletre and Eletre S have a claimed range of 600km while the top-end Eletre R has a range of about 490km.

The dashboard arrangement in the interior has a clear focus on simplicity while still seeming incredibly appealing to the senses. The driver display, which is roughly 30 mm tall and expands horizontally to meet the 15.1-inch primary HD infotainment screen, is pretty unusual. In addition, an augmented reality HUD will be included as standard. Customers also get to choose between to audio systems from British brand KEF. the standard system comes with a 15 speaker setup while the upgradable system is a 2,160-watt 23-speaker system with Uni-Q and 3D surround sound technology.