Lotus Eletre EV coming soon to Malaysia – hyper SUV in 3 variants including 905 hp R, from RM630k est

The Lotus Eletre EV, which Hethel calls an ‘all-electric hyper-SUV’, is confirmed for Malaysia and will be coming very soon. According to our sources, the EV has amassed over 100 bookings despite there being no marketing activities by Lotus Cars Malaysia (LCM).

We hear that LCM will be bringing in all three variants of the EV SUV, which are the Eletre, Eletre S and Eletre R. Indicative pricing is said to be from RM630k, taking advantage of EV duty incentives. The final RRP might be even lower, as distributors always err on the side of caution when it comes to estimated prices.

If it ends up around RM600k, the Lotus SUV would be quite a steal, and here’s why. The standard Eletre and the S are powered by a single electric motor taking juice from a 112 kWh battery. Both have 603 hp (450 kW) and 710 Nm of torque, which propels the Lamborghini Urus-sized SUV to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds. The 80 to 120 km/h sprint, which hints at overtaking ability, is below 2.2 seconds. Claimed WLTP range is 600 km.

That’s impressive, but the Eletre R is the real hyper-SUV. With dual motors pushing out 905 hp (675 kW) and 985 Nm of torque, its 0-100 km/h time is 2.95 seconds and the 80-120 km/h push takes less than 1.9 seconds. It uses the same 112 kWh battery and claimed WLTP range is 490 km, so you do exchange some miles for the speed. Top speed is 258 km/h for the single-motor and 265 km/h for the dual-motor R.

In the charging department, Lotus says that the 800V architecture Eletre’s 112 kWh battery has a quick charging time (10% to 80% SOC) of just 20 minutes using a DC charger, with no further elaboration.

As for ride and handling, the Eletre might be the biggest and heaviest car Hethel’s dynamics team has had to work with yet, being an SUV with EV batteries, but we won’t be betting against the masters of the art finding a good balance.

Anyway, 600 hp for +/- RM600k could be unprecedented, perhaps only possible with a combination of electric motors, our current duty-exemption for EVs and a challenger brand in Lotus. For some context, the CKD Porsche Cayenne with a 3.0L V6 engine has 340 PS/450 Nm and does 0-100 km/h in 6.2 seconds. Locally assembled in Kulim, the ICE SUV is priced from RM575k.

We understand that the hyper R flagship variant with 905 hp will not cross RM1 million even with all option boxes ticked. If you have that sort of bank balance, the Eletre sounds like a steal. We’ll share more info when it’s available, but for now, what do you think of the Lotus Eletre, its looks, the performance on offer, and the value at around RM600k?

GALLERY: 2023 Lotus Eletre