Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.He Said... What?Lotus' CEO, Feng Qingfeng, was at a press conference in China. With a lot of eyes in the same room, he said something that might've been a little too controversial. According to Car News China, the quote went viral on Chinese social media. Feng stated that any sports car exceeding 3,968 lbs (1,800 kg) is mediocre.So does that mean that nearly all of Lotus' cars in its lineup thus far are "mediocre?" Probably not. The operative term here is "sports car," so we shouldn't count the Lotus Emeya (5,412 lbs), the Lotus Eletre (5,732 lbs), or the Eletre X (5787.134 lbs), which are sedans and crossovers, right?LotusView the 2 images of this gallery on the original article"Sports Cars"Even so, it didn't take long for netizens to fire back at Lotus and its CEO for making that statement. The statement was made just after Lotus unveiled a V8-powered plug-in hybrid sports car that weighs under 3,968 lbs (1,800 kg).AdvertisementAdvertisementThe problem is that Lotus hasn't been staying true to its roots lately. What was once a brand that was obsessed with lightness, taking extreme measures to engineer every single part and design every square inch of the car to shave off ounces from the final product, is kind of missing now.Ironically, the Lotus Evija hypercar, which costs a whopping $2.3 million, actually doesn't pass the CEO's standard. Coming in at 4,175 lbs (1,894 kg), it couldn't even save its 2,011-horsepower motor.One Modern Lotus Model PassesUnder the "high" standard of lightness the CEO presented in his statement, the only car to pass would be the Lotus Emira, a good old gasoline-powered sports car that's not "mediocre." It tips the scales at just 3,218 lbs (1,460 kg), well under the arbitrary "standard." Also, it's worth mentioning that the Emira 420 also passes, coming in at just 3,132 lbs (1,421 kg).The Emira is widely regarded as one of the last true Lotus sports cars since the brand went all-in on delivering new-energy vehicles. Perhaps you could say that, by making this statement, Lotus' current CEO is looking to produce sports cars that are truer to the formula that made the brand so great in the first place.AdvertisementAdvertisementThat remains to be seen, but since Feng said his piece at the press conference, our expectations for the V8-powered plug-in hybrid from Lotus will get even higher. We'll just have to wait until the brand decides to launch it by 2028.Lotus CarsThis story was originally published by Autoblog on Jun 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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