Lotus Emira could swap V6 for hotter V8

Lotus is poised to offer a V8 option for its Emira sports car as the company looks to expand the appeal of its sole ICE model. But it is also a response to the fact that the V6 will not pass upcoming Euro 7 emissions regulations.

CEO Feng Qingfeng told investors on the company’s recent earnings call that “We are currently investigating the feasibility of the V8”.

Check out the NZ Autocar review of Lotus Emira V6 First Edition here.

At the moment Lotus offers V6 and four-cylinder turbo options for the Emira. Both generate almost 300kW but Feng ruled out boosting the power of the V6. That’s because it won’t meet upcoming emissions regulations.

The Emira is built in Lotus’s plant in Hethel and last year hit a sales record of 5272 deliveries.

New CEO of Lotus Cars in Europe, Matt Windle, said: “The US is an incredibly important market for the car. So we’re looking at the market demand for the product going forward.” And he added the company is looking at powertrain options, stating it Emira hadn’t realised its full potential.

AMG could supply Hethel with a V8. Whether or not it would fit into Emira’s compact mid-engined frame is unclear.

Lotus hasn’t had an eight-cylinder offering in its line-up since Esprit V8 in 2004.

Meantime, the company has halted shipments of British-built Emira to the US after the new 25 per cent tariff was applied in April. And America accounts for one-fifth of all Lotus sales. Ditto Eletre SUV and Emeya saloon EVs that are built in China.

The US recently agreed to lower tariffs on UK-built goods to 10 per cent but Windle has yet to restart trade across the Atlantic.

He said “There’s product that’s ready to ship but what we don’t want to do is jump the gun…”

Lotus had intended to replace the ICE-powered Emira with an electric sports car but it is currently assessing the market before giving it the green light. 

“Is the market ready for an electric sports car? I don’t really know the answer to that yet,” said Windle.