The all-new Lotus Emeya is part of the Geely-owned automaker’s plan to become a global performance brand by 2028. It kickstarted its electric ambitions with the Evija hypercar in 2019 and the Eletre SUV in mid-2023. The Emeya is a sedan version of the Eletre and rides on a similar EPA (Electric Premium Architecture) platform with a low center of gravity.
It’s also the first-ever four-door sedan from Lotus and will compete in the hyper GT segment led by the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron, Tesla Model S Plaid, and Lucid Air.
“This is a Lotus like you have never seen before,” said Ben Payne, Vice-President of Design at Lotus Group. “We’ve built on everything Lotus has achieved so far to create a luxury performance car for the drivers, designed to inspire confidence, exhilarate with raw emotion and pure joy – connecting them to the road.”
2024 Lotus Emeya: What’s New?
The Emeya commemorates the first-ever four-door sedan from Lotus, wearing a familiar silhouette first seen in the fascinating Eterne sedan concept unveiled in 2010. However, Emeya wears the face of Eletre, albeit slimmer and lower to the ground, to fortify its “hyper stance” vibe that points to plenty of horsepower and speed on tap.
Unfortunately, Lotus failed to reveal the crucial bits like battery capacity, estimated driving range, and the official MSRP (those details are still forthcoming). The good news is Lotus spilled just enough information to keep us on the edge of our seats. Emeya will have two electric motors with up to 905 horsepower, enough to push it from zero to 60 mph in under 2.8 seconds. It’s quicker than the fastest Eletre R, achieving the same feat in about 2.95 seconds.
Lotus claims a 155 mph (250 kph) top speed for the Emeya, less than the Eletre and Eletre R’s 160 mph and 165 mph top speeds. Despite this, the Emeya will become one of the quickest four-door electric sedans when it arrives in 2024, having enough gravitas to hang out with the Porsche Taycan and the rest of the gang in the hyper GT segment.
Lotus Emeya. Photo: Lotus Cars.
Ultra-Fast Charging
Since the new Lotus Emeya has the underpinnings of Eletre, we assume it’ll come with the same 800V architecture, 112 kWh lithium-ion battery, and around 300 miles of range. Lotus said five minutes of DC fast charging with a 350 kW rapid charger adds 93 miles of range, while an 80-percent charge from zero is possible in around 18 minutes.
Air Suspension & Repurposed Fabrics
The Lotus Emeya will feature an electric air suspension with updated sensors to scan the road 1,000 times a second, helping deliver a comfortable yet agile drive. The Lotus brand is renowned for its brilliant engineering, suspension mastery, and even safety technology. It’s clear Lotus intends for Emeya to set new standards in each of those areas.
In addition, Emeya will have an Earth-friendly construction, including an innovative thread derived from repurposed fabrics from the fashion industry. The cabin also features sustainably sourced materials like Alcantara, Ultrafabrics, Nappa leather, and PVD aluminum.
Lotus Emeya MSRP
Lotus will reveal more about its Emeya hyper-electric GT soon. The automaker said production should begin in 2024. We reckon the starting MSRP to be near-identical to the Eletre’s sub-$100,000 base price.
Alvin Reyes is an Automoblog feature columnist and an expert in sports and performance cars. He studied civil aviation, aeronautics, and accountancy in his younger years and is still very much smitten to his former Lancer GSR and Galant SS. He also likes fried chicken, music, and herbal medicine.
Lotus Emeya Gallery
Photos & Source: Lotus Cars.
Original article: Lotus Emeya EV Debuts With Aggressive Styling, Bonkers Performance & Driver-Centric Technology
