A radical new design from esteemed British automaker Lotus just might help rewrite the brand for the 2020s, and beyond.

Lotus’ era as a builder of fossil fuel burners is all but over with the Emira, and the new model, called the Eletre, is a fully electric sport-utility that straddles the distinction between SUV and crossover nicely, and looks more than a little like it has a similar model from a certain Italian exotic carmaker clearly in its sights.

But the Eletre is more than a simple case of keeping up with the Uruses. The model will be built in China by Lotus parent company Geely, and signals a full navigational shift from Lotus as roadster specialist to Lotus as maker of vehicles with alternative fuel powertrains. The market appeal’s broadened but make no mistake—it’s still exotic. The announcement of the Eletre coincides with the completion of the new Lotus Tech Innovation Center in Germany, where the new Lotus brand is itself being engineered with a new division called Lotus Technology. Lotus cars will be made in Wuhan, in a massive new plant capable of turning out 150,000 vehicles a year.

During its R&D phase, the Eletre was known as Type 132, and revealed in enticing piecemeal via a marketing fan-dance. Now unveiled in hard copy with an official moniker, Lotus informs that the model will be outfitted with an 800-volt, 100-kWh battery that delivers 600 horsepower or better, a 0-60 time under three seconds, and a WLTP range of 373 miles.

The car’s unique approach to aero is particularly innovative — it is designed with a unique philosophy of ‘porosity’; air travels through, not just around, the Eletre. The idea helped produce the Emira, too, but in the Eletre its presence in the design is more acute. Techie bells and whistles include Lidar prep-work for autonomous operation, and camera mirrors.

Lotus calls the Eletre a global first: an ‘electric Hyper-SUV’. The subtitle sharpens curiosity. But China will see a production version in dealerships first. In the U.S., the Eletre is expected in 2024.