For more than 20 years, the strange-sounding combination of ultra-light Lotus sports cars and otherwise boring engines from Toyota has made magic for drivers. Now, though, that era is nearing the end. Lotus Cars has said that a new Emira sports car is coming next year, and it will trade Toyota and AMG engines for Horse power. No, that's not a typo. Allow us to explain. Updated Emira Will Get 540-HP V6 Horse Powertrain Lotus launched the mid-engined Emira in 2022. The car was powered by a choice of two engines: a Toyota 3.5-liter V6 crowned with a supercharger, or a 2.0-liter turbo-four from AMG. It was intended to be the final gas-powered Lotus model, with the brand going electric instead. Then the company's EV plans changed and so the Emira will be getting a makeover for 2027. CEO Qingfeng Feng confirmed the update to Autocar along with news of the new V6 engine sourced from inside the house at Geely, which has owned Lotus since 2017. The Toyota V6, a version of the engine that you might have found in the Camry until recently, is being replaced by a V6 from Horse Powertrain. The company is a collaboration between Renault and Geely that builds engines and hybrid systems. We've covered this new engine before. It's the company's newest product, capable of 536 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. In a complete reversal of Lotus' EV plans and in keeping with the spirit of the company, it's 22 pounds lighter than any other V6 engine on the market. Lotus is going V6 instead of finding another four because the US loves it. Feng toldAutocarthat "they told us that they love the V6 engine, and actually the V6 version is our best-seller in the US market." After Planning For Zero, Lotus Will Now Have Two Gas Sports Cars Lotus This will give Lotus two different gas-powered cars starting in 2028. Lotus plans to launch a new Esprit that year, which will get a hybrid V8 engine also developed by Horse under its rear cover. We don't have any details of that engine yet, but Lotus said that it will make more than 986 horsepower and be built in Europe. Lotus struggled last year against US tariffs. Its cars are built in England, and building a new factory would be a massive gamble for the small company. It built just 2,000 vehicles in 2025, but now the company's CEO believes it can do much better. The company is looking to build 10,000 vehicles there with the new Emira and V8 sports car combined. Its other vehicles, the Emeya sedan and Eletre SUV, are built in China. Toyota engines were first installed in a modern Lotus with the Series 2 Elise. Lotus used various versions of Toyota's 1ZZ and 2ZZ 1.8-liter four-cylinder engines, and even fitted superchargers to later models. Starting in 2009 with the Evora and in 2012 with the Exige S, Lotus began using the 2GR V6 found in the Camry and most Toyota models. The standard version Lotus used made 276 horsepower, but a later supercharged model made as much as 430. The Lotus Emira debuted in 2022 with a 400 hp version of the engine, while a 360-hp 2.0-liter AMG four-cylinder arrived not long after. If you consider Horse and Lotus as parts of the same company under the Geely umbrella, this will be the first in-house engine for a Lotus since the end of the Esprit V8 in 2004.
Liked by Nicole Poirier, Zoë Wilson
Liked by Nicole Poirier, Zoë Wilson
Liked by Nicole Poirier, Zoë Wilson
