Lotus Eletre EV’s North America debut

The Lotus Eletre electric performance hyper-SUV made its public debut in North America at Monterey Car Week (August 11-20) at The Quail, a motorsports’ gathering.

The Lotus retail team received significant interest, kick-starting the push for customer deposits in advance of the Eletre launching in the US market in 2024.

Practical and spacious, the Eletre – priced from 89,500 pounds in the United Kingdom and 95,990 euros in Europe – is packed with the latest digital technology, says Lotus.

The most premium versions are the Eletre S and Eletre R with enhanced specification over the base model including soft door close, privacy glass, active rear spoiler, configurable ambient lighting, illuminated side sills, air quality system, 2160W 23-speaker KEF Reference Audio system, and 22-inch 10-spoke forged wheels in grey with a diamond-turned finish.

The flagship Eletre R has 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 had two world debuts at Monterey Car Week – the Type 66 track-only Can-Am racer and F1 legend Jenson Button’s bespoke Lotus Evija hypercar

Celebrating its 75th anniversary year, Lotus featured the Type 66 at both The Quail and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, with a production run of just 10 units planned.

F1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi was at The Quail 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 says.

Jenson Button’s bespoke Evjia electric hypercar has a special colour scheme which pays tribute to his 2009 F1 World Championship-winning Brawn GP race car – Arctic White with Verve Yellow and Carbon Black accents.

Button won 15 races during his F1 career from 2006 to 2012, an aluminium strip running vertically through the driver’s seat centre laser-etched with the dates and locations of each of those victories.

Automobili Pininfarina’s Barchetta electric hypercar was also unveiled at Monterey Car Week.

Just 10 bespoke examples of the “B95” will be made for collectors worldwide, priced from 4.4 million euros.