Lightweight construction, a mid-mounted engine and a low-slung cabin are elements characteristic of the Lotus brand ethos, as espoused by its founder, Colin Chapman. 

The Elan, Elise and Exige will remain the poster children of Colin’s vision but the British sports car brand is moving in a new direction, as we reported back in 2021, as part of its expansion plans. That is to say, it’s taken a leaf out of the Porsche handbook by venturing into a segment it’s never played in before — the performance SUV. 

Pretty much every premium and sports car manufacturer now also builds SUVs. The buying trends dictate this and carmakers are heeding the clarion call to adapt or die. 

What you see here is the first SUV from Lotus, the Eletre, earmarked to be its first hyper-SUV, thanks to colossal power outputs that, even on paper, make your eyes water. But before we get into the raw figures and how these translate to the tarmac, it is the styling that sparks conversation and gets onlookers finger-gesturing and double-taking. 

Boasting enough air vents and venturis to make a Formula One car jealous, Lotus says the Eletre’s design is sculptured by the wind, so it is safe to say that aerodynamics are key to how it slices through the air. There’s a lot to drink up and one can safely say that the designers’ creative ink flowed with a fluidity resembling Victoria Falls. 

The overall design, which takes cues from the Ferrari Purosangue and Lamborghini Urus, is tastefully executed to arrive at a model that will appeal to those who appreciate a well-chiselled style of car. Those 23-inch wheels, with their throwing-star design, fill the arches with purpose, offering excellent purchase off the line, thanks to the 315/35 section tyres on the rear axle. That is to say, grip levels are prodigious, while these hardly exhibited a fidgety ride quality. 

Of course, there is no masking the car’s portly weight once you start playing corner-tugging with it. Still, it remains impressive how a big lump of SUV metal like this can shift.