King Charles hits the road in his new Lotus Eletre
King Charles has taken to the road in his latest EV after taking delivery of a new Lotus Eletre.
The monarch and Queen Camilla were spotted at the weekend being driven to church in the hyper-SUV, which he joked was “silent but deadly”.
King Charles ordered the car last May but recent days are the first time he has been seen using it as he attended Sunday service at St Peter’s Church near Sandringham.
The Eletre was Norfolk-based Lotus’s first pure electric model and is offered with anything between 592bhp and 888bhp, with prices starting at £85,000 and rising to £140,000.
With a range of up to 373 miles and a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds for even the slowest version, Lotus says it blends “racecar DNA” with the practicality of an SUV and a usable real-world range.
It’s not clear which variant the King opted for but the car has been painted in a bespoke Claret Red in keeping with other vehicles on the royal fleet.
The King is famous for his passion for sustainability and exploring new technology and the Lotus Eletre is his second all-electric car.
From 2018 until 2020, he used a Jaguar I-Pace for his personal transport. Bought directly from Jaguar, he had the car repainted in Loire Blue and used it “sparingly” for two years before returning it to Jaguar.
It was subsequently sold on through Jaguar’s used car service before being auctioned off for £64,500 in 2024.
The monarch has also had EV charging points installed at several royal residences and ordered electric BMWs for the royal fleet.
Along with the Eletre SUV, Lotus’s EV range now consists of the Emeya hyper-GT, which uses the same underpinnings as the Eletre, and the much-delayed Evjia hypercar, which promises more than 2,000bhp from its quad-motor arrangement.
