Lotus, a once-British automaker now closely tied with Geely Group in China, has submitted a patent application for a petrol-electric version of its Eletre crossover. It is expected to debut in January and may make it to Europe in the second half of the year.
In the meantime, the Eletre hybrid remains unannounced. In fact, we don’t even know what it will be called. The patent shots reveal a badge on the trunk lid saying “For Me”, something that Lotus hadn’t put on any other cars before. In terms of dimensions, the hybrid is identical to the EV at 5,103 mm (199.3 inches) long, 2,019 mm (78.9 inches) wide and 1,636 mm (64 inches) tall with 3,019 mm (118 inches) of wheelbase.
The same spec sheet says the car uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 279 PS (275 hp / 205 kW). It’s unclear whether the engine is used for propulsion or only as a power generator in a serial-hybrid setup. The electric parameters also remain to be announced.
Interestingly, the combined output of the powertrain is specified as 952 PS (939 hp / 700 kW). This puts us in mind of the Chinese domestic SUV Zeekr 9X that went on sale in early autumn. The battery size (70 kWh) also matches. The 9X can run 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in three seconds flat and cover more than 1,000 km (621 miles) in hybrid mode, and we suspect the Eletre may end up with the same power internals.
Although originally envisioned as a pure battery-electric vehicle, the Lotus Eletre ended up a major failure for the already-struggling brand. In this year alone, the company saw its global sales decline by another 40% and its losses exceed $378 million. Going hybrid might help it recoup at least some of the investment into what was supposed to be the British marque’s first SUV in history.
