Lotus's official dealer in Singapore, Wearnes Automotive, held a special preview of the brand's new Eletre electric SUV at its Gallery at the Wearnes Tower along Leng Kee Road on June 5, with the car set to officially arrive here some time in 2024.

The Eletre (pronounced 'Electra') is likely to cost upwards of S$600,000 without COE, based on the current taxation rates. This will put it straight into competition with a whole slew of rivals from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, but its pricing will fall just shy of some ultra-high performance SUVs such as the Aston Martin DBX and Lamborghini Urus.

Wearnes said that there has already been strong interest in the car, despite the long wait time, given that the Eletre is the brand's first SUV, as well as its first fully-electric vehicle, and Lotus expects the Eletre to become its best-selling model when it launches.

The car is built off the Electric Premium Architecture (EPA) platform, which is developed by Lotus's parent company Geely, and underpins other cars under the Geely umbrella like the Polestar 3.

This also means that the Eletre will be the first Lotus to be built in China, and future cars to be spawned off the platform include a high-performance electric Lotus sedan codenamed the Type 133, which is set to compete against the likes of the Porsche Taycan.

Preliminary specs for the Eletre indicates that the car will have a large 112kWh battery, powering a motor that develops 603hp and 710Nm of torque. 0-100km/h comes up in 4.5 seconds, while top speed is rated at 258km/h.

Lotus also claims that the Eletre will offer a range of around 600km while fully charged, although final figures will only be confirmed closer to the car's launch date. Future more powerful versions are also planned, with a potential range-topper in the works that is said to have well over 900hp.

The Eletre is also a pretty sizeable SUV, measuring in at 5,103mm long and 2,231mm wide, with a wheelbase of 3,019mm long. This puts it broadly similar in size to the recently-launched BMW XM, although the Bimmer commands a much higher price tag. As a result, the Eletre promises plenty of space inside, with a generous 611-litre boot if configured as a four-seater, or 688 litres if specced as a five-seater.

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This article was first published in CarBuyer.