Lotus Cars, the famed make of the Elan, Elise, and Esprit - these days owned by the same Chinese Geely Group that also owns Volvo and Polestar - says it has a new hybrid V8-engined supercar in the works, which it hopes to put on sale by 2028.
I thought Lotus had gone all electric and was making SUVs?
Well, you're partially right. Under Geely ownership, Lotus has been effectively divided in two. The historically significant bit, based in Norfolk (the long-term home of Lotus and the place from which its greatest road cars and F1 world titles were planned), still makes the petrol-powered Emira sports car. The Chinese end of things has been focused on making the big Emeya saloon and Eletre SUV, which were, yes, originally fully electric.
However, the combination of uneven global EV sales and the impact of US tariffs has forced Lotus into the latest in a long, long list of reorganisations and regroupings. Late last year, 550 staff were let go from the Norfolk factory, almost half the workforce, as US orders for the Emira dried up. Meanwhile, the Emeya and Eletre have just been expensively re-engineered to allow them to become range-extended hybrids, which Lotus hopes is more in line with global customers' wishes.
So what do we know about this new supercar?
Please, please don't call it a 'new Esprit.' Plenty probably will, but it just puts our teeth on edge and reminds us of the disastrous Dany Bahar era of Lotus. This new hybrid V8 supercar looks interesting, though. So far, Lotus has issued only an initial CGI image of the car, officially called the Lotus Type 135 for now. It certainly looks like a classical Lotus, all low and wedge-y, with dramatically slim LED brake lights with lines apparently influenced by the Theory 1 concept car.
What kind of hybrid is it?
That remains to be seen. Both the Emeya and the Eletre use a complex range-extender hybrid setup, with a large 70kWh battery. Charge that up, and it'll run for a claimed 350km on electric power, with a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder engine there to act as a generator on long runs. Combined, the system produces up to 952hp.
Does the new Type 135 simply plug a new V8 into that system?
No, it looks very much as if the 135 will use a simpler, non-plug-in hybrid setup in the interests of weight saving, appropriate for a mid-engined supercar. We don't know yet if this V8 will be an engine of Lotus' own designs (the company previously made an own-brand 3.5-litre V8 for the Esprit in the 1990s) or if Geely will source one from outside the group. Lotus already uses Toyota V6 and Mercedes turbo-four petrol engines in the Emira, so it's certainly not impossible that one of those companies could be tapped up for a V8 supply.
Will this new supercar be built alongside the Emira?
Maybe not. The original Geely concept was that Norfolk would build the traditional Lotus sports cars, while the other models would be made in China. However, Lotus has said that the Type 135 will be built 'in Europe' which specifically does not necessarily include 'Norfolk.' It could be that Geely will try to keep the V8 car's costs down by making space for it in a larger European factory, which is currently in the planning stage.
Does this mean no more electric Lotuses?
Certainly not. Although Lotus has said that it plans to increase its PHEV sales to 60 per cent of the brand's total sales, the company also said that it's still pushing hard on the electric front: "Lotus' EV portfolio, Eletre (SUV), Emeya (GT), and Evija (hypercar), remains a core pillar of the business, having brought new customers to the marque and broadened its commercial foundation. Lotus was an early adopter of 800V architecture through its electric SUV and GT offerings and remains committed to continued BEV innovation.”
As part of the pivot back to petrol power, Lotus and Geely are working on a new investment plan for the brand, called Focus 2030. Under that plan, the UK and Chinese ends of Lotus will be combined into a single corporate entity. Daniel Li, Lotus' chairman, said: "Geely has believed in Lotus from the beginning, and that belief has not wavered. We are committed to giving Lotus the resources it deserves to compete at the highest level. What Lotus brings is irreplaceable, and Focus 2030 is proof that we take that responsibility seriously. We are excited for the next chapter in the brand's story.”
To prove that there's still life in the Norfolk operations, Lotus will shortly show off a new version of the Emira, which it says will be the lightest and most powerful iteration of that car yet.
Is this just another shuffling of the deck chairs on the Lotus Titanic?
Hopefully not. Lord knows, Lotus has been through a string of well-meaning, but ultimately unsuccessful, owners since its original founder, Colin Chapman, passed away in 1982. Since then, Lotus has been variously tied up with or owned outright by Toyota, General Motors, Romano Artiolli (who also revived Bugatti in the 1990s), Proton, and now Geely. It's a brand with an astonishing history, but usually a troubled present. Hopefully, Geely - and this new Type 135 supercar - can bring a renewed focus to the Lotus story.
Qingfeng Feng, CEO of the Lotus Group, said: "Lotus was born from the rebellious spirit of Colin Chapman, and that is not lost today. Focus 2030 will reset both the brand and the business to keep us true to our DNA. We are obsessed with engineering, obsessed with performance and obsessed with building drivers' cars, and that is what will grow this business.”