When you think of Lotus, the first things that come to mind are probably lightness, dynamism, and maybe sportiness. As the brand reinvents for the future, this definition might’ve changed, just a bit. With a brave new line-up that includes, of all things, an electric SUV, the Emeya is a somewhat more familiar form factor, their first four-door saloon since the Lotus Carlton.
For old-school petrolheads, brace yourselves, as the Emeya ‘hyper-GT’ is electric, but it might have enough of that Lotus charm to bring dinosaurs like us to the other side. They’ve put a lot of thought into how it drives, which is a very Lotus-like thing to do. This includes a suspension system that’s paired with active roll control, rear-wheel steering, and all-wheel drive.
Not Your Grandpa’s Lotus
There’s even active aerodynamics to maximise downforce, lightweight carbon ceramic brakes, air suspension, low seating position, and a high-performance battery pack that brings with it a cooling system that’ll handle track days; no problem. And of course, there’s the horsepower, as Lotus claims an output of 905bhp, allowing it to accelerate from 0-62mph in just 2.8 seconds.
That alone makes it one of the quickest electric cars in the world today. It remains to be seen just how Lotus-y the driving experience will be like, but at least we could expect a really good grand tourer. This is pretty new territory for Lotus, as they’re promising a copious amount of boot space, legroom, power-assisted doors, and massaging seats for those long road trips.
High Tech Hyper Grand Tourer
This is accompanied by ambient lighting, a panoramic glass roof, and state-of-the-art tech and connectivity features that’ll make Silicon Valley proud. I know that none of this is what you’d expect to see out of a Lotus, but let’s face it, they’re a whole different beast now, and I could only hope to see great things to come from them. And hey, you could order the Emeya now.
Lotus has just unveiled the pricing for the Emeya, which you can spec in 3 different variants; the entry-level Emeya for a starting price of £94,950, the more well-equipped Emeya S for a starting price of £107,450, or the range-topping Emeya R, starting at £129,950. For UK and European would-be owners, the Emeya is expected to arrive on our shores by Q3 2024.
