The Breakdown
- Lotus has abandoned plans to become a purely electric brand.
- Future models will have completely new V6 and V8 engines.
- Developed by Horse, the gas engines will be used in hybrid versions of the Emira and an upcoming supercar.
When the Emira came out in 2022, Lotus claimed it would be its last production vehicle powered by a combustion engine. From that point forward, the Hethel-based niche brand planned to launch only electric vehicles. For a while, it kept its promise, as the Evija, Eletre, and Emeya were all EVs. However, the Eletre SUV has since received a four-cylinder gasoline engine for the strangely named For Me in China.
There’s more to come on the ICE side from Lotus. The Emira will switch to a completely new V6 engine, while the future supercar is getting a V8. Both engines are being developed by Horse, a 50:50 joint venture between Lotus’ parent company Geely and Renault. The future performance models will both be hybrids.
You might be wondering why Lotus has abandoned its goal of exclusively selling EVs. In an interview with Automotive News Europe, the automaker’s CEO admitted it overly estimated how quickly people would switch to electric sports cars. Feng Qingfeng concedes the rate at which EV demand is growing is slower than what the company had initially projected:
The number one at Lotus suggested that the 1,000+ hp supercar, internally codenamed “Type 135,” could revive the Esprit moniker. It may even have a central driver’s seat, in the same vein as the 2024 Theory One concept. Feng Qingfeng explained that doing so would reduce development costs, as the company wouldn’t have to engineer both left- and right-hand-drive configurations.
Lotus sees the Ferrari 849 Testarossa as a direct rival, which would put the new flagship model in $500,000+ territory. However, the plan is to undercut and outpace Maranello’s plug-in hybrid V8 supercar:
'We want to make sure that more people will have access to a performance car that is even better than a Ferrari with a lower price.'
Motor1's Take: Much like Mercedes-AMG has recommitted to six- and eight-cylinder engines, Lotus has realized the main selling point of a sports car is its combustion engine. EVs are quicker in a straight line, but the emotion and thrill are notably absent.
Ideally, those new Horse engines would come without electric assistance to keep weight low, but in reality, hybridization is necessary to comply with tougher emissions regulations.
Extra complexity runs directly counter to Colin Chapman’s “simplify, then add lightness” ethos, but the only way to keep large-displacement engines alive in an ever-more-restricted industry is to make them the central part of a hybrid powertrain.