A hybrid Lotus Emira could be on the cards

Three years ago when the Lotus Emira was launched, we were told in no uncertain terms that it would be a swansong for internal combustion Lotus cars. But that was a long time ago. A lot has changed in the automotive landscape since and alongside committing to hybridisation, new CEO of Lotus Europe Dan Balmer has implied an extended role for the Emira, subsequent versions and developments of its platform, further into the future of Lotus than what was suggested at its reveal. We got the lowdown from Balmer in a one-on-one chat, on what the future holds for Lotus sports cars, from the Emira itself, to the future of the platform and beyond.

‘Sports cars are the core of our brand,’ Balmer tells us. ‘Lotus without sports cars is unthinkable. That’s why Theory 1 was in the incarnation that it was – that’s firmly a part of our thinking.’

For the first nine months of 2024, the Emira still made up 48 per cent of Lotus volumes. After the first full year of Lotus being back in the US, it’s the marque’s petrol-powered sports car that’s been the most popular model. Believe it or not, it has the highest market share in Italy of all places, for sports cars of its type. Balmer’s theory on that relates to the Emira’s exotic looks, that stand up next to the kinds of cars the Italians like to build and sell at three times its price. 

Keep in mind the caveat that dealer and product rollout in terms of the ‘lifestyle’ line (the Eletre and Emeya) is far from complete, but the figures show what we’ve always known: appetite for Lotus sports cars as we’ve always known them, remains strong. And what we want to buy, Lotus wants to sell.

The latest Emira update comes in the form of the 360bhp Emira Turbo and 400bhp Turbo SE, two variants of the sports car that were first intended for the Asia Pacific, Middle East and African markets. Now they’re coming to Europe, to expand the four-cylinder Emira lineup to two cars. Both use Mercedes-AMG’s turbocharged four-cylinder and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox from the A45 and will be sold alongside the V6 for the foreseeable future, but it seems there’s more to come.

‘We have a sports car platform that’s flexible, in the spaceframe technology we use there,’ Balmer explains. ‘We can adapt and change it to suit different powertrain solutions.’

The implication is that hybridisation could be in the Emira’s future. This as opposed to being put out to pasture and replaced by the Type 135 fully-electric sports car, that was in the first instance set to be co-developed with Alpine and effectively twinned with the next A110. As Lotus has ‘read the room’ and moved to develop its Hyper Hybrid solution for its EPA-based electric cars, the Emira could be survived by hybrid tech too, at least in the medium term.

‘It still feels very fresh and exotic for its price point – that’s the secret of that formula,’ Balmer affirms. ‘Now we have the Turbo and Turbo SE models coming to the UK and Europe market, so more iterative versions are yet to come, to take us into the future.’

In a few days, the Emira lineup evolves again with the addition of the Emira Limited, the first product of its new bespoke program. But what about the V6? Well, it’s still a part of the lineup alongside the Turbo and Turbo SE in 2025 and is an enduring link with Lotus of the past, sharing as it does the 3.5-litre 2GR-FE Toyota V6 with the Evora it effectively replaced. That engine’s been in service in Lotus products since the Evora first launched in 2009. Its continued service will depend on supply from Toyota, so confirms Balmer:

‘The V6 will become a more finite defined volume the more we learn about Toyota’s intentions for that engine as well. But it’s still the hardcore, manual, supercharged sports car – it’s so special.’

Balmer hasn’t ruled out a souped-up sendoff for the supercharged Emira: ‘We’ll see what that engine can give us, but a celebration before it goes would be apt, for sure.’

We briefly touched on a big anniversary for Lotus, that’s coming up in 2026: the 50th birthday of the Esprit. It’s long been rumoured that a new-generation Esprit supercar could be born out of the bones of the Emira. While Balmer wouldn’t confirm explicitly whether a new Esprit, or a model to that effect, was on the cards, he did circle back to the potential of the Emira platform and affirmed, the Esprit would be celebrated.

‘First thing’s first, we will celebrate the milestone of the Esprit turning 50, in whatever form that takes. In terms of the future, we have the Emira platform and that’s important for us to develop, as we go through legislation changes and things like that to take it into the future. We’ll wait and see.’