An internal combustion-engined variant of the Lotus Eletre appears to be in the works, according to images posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Tycho de Feijter, who stated that the camouflaged development vehicle photographed in these images was sighted in China.
With a fuel door and exhaust outlets visible, denoting the presence of an internal combustion engine, this PHEV version of the Eletre is “likely based” on the Geely SEA-R platform, according to the post, which is shared with Geely group products such as the Zeekr 9X.
Sharing a platform, and possibly componentry with the Zeekr 9X could present the opportunity to bring a variant of the Eletre with even higher outputs than the most powerful dual-motor Lotus, as the Zeekr 9X – the first Zeekr to incorporate an internal combustion engine – can have up to three electric motors producing 1,400 PS and 1,410 Nm, with two motors on the rear axle and one on the front.
That internal combustion engine would be the Geely group’s 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces 279 PS, and instead of being mechanically connected to the driveline, instead serves as a range-extender generator for the motors that propel the vehicle.
Battery specifications of the Zeekr 9X, which could be shared for the range-extender Lotus Eletre, starts with a 55 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery that offers a claimed 300 km of range on China’s domestic CLTC testing cycle, and when combined with the 50 litre fuel tank of the Zeekr 9X, offers a claimed combined range of 1,200 km.
A larger, 70 kWh battery can be specified for the Zeekr 9X for EV range of up to 355 km on the tri-motor variant, though this can also be specified on the twin motor variant for 380 km of EV range, and up to 1,250 km of combined range.
As for the Eletre currently on sale, the electric SUV range in Malaysia was updated in August, and the range now starts from RM499,000 for the base Eletre 600, with a further four variants topping out at the Eletre 900 Sport Carbon at RM839,000, for a total of five Eletre variants.
All variants of the Eletre currently on sale in Malaysia get a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain, with the ‘600’ and ‘900’ being approximations of their respective power outputs. The Eletre 600 is rated for 612 PS and 710 Nm, enabling a claimed 0-100 km/h time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 258 km/h.
The Eletre 900 gets 918 PS and 985 Nm, enabling a 0-100 km/h sprint in 2.95 seconds and a top speed of 265 km/h. For battery range, the Eletre 900 variants does a claimed 410 km to 500 km on the WLTP testing standard, while the Eletre 600 variants are rated for 530 km to 600 km of range (WLTP).
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