Lotus Emira V8 in Testing & Other News

Okay so today's Lotus Technology group investor call happened this morning.

Here are some updates:

- Hybrid Plugin Macan Competitor 2026Q1 China, Q3 ROW
- Facelift 2027 Lotus Emira I4 with power increase
- Lotus Emira V6 Discontinued
- Lotus Emira V8 Manual Euro 7 Compliant powertrain in investigation/testing/development.

Thanks @Lotustoronto for being our live discord blogger


Disclaimer: I'm basing this off recollections from someone else from the call, I haven't had time to listen to the full call myself, but some things may be inaccurate, and a lot of info has been missed too, I recommend you listen to the call yourself, the QA starts at 21 minutes in.

 

[Lotustoronto]

@kitkat I was definitely blogging away during the investors call...lol. I have since re-visited to the Q&A piece. The question came from a California dealer (non-lotus?) that was interested in if the Emira V6 will be upped to compete with Porsche GT3 series, since they are clearly in high demand. The directors from Lotus did confirm a V8 powertrain was in development / testing to replace the V6 as it would be Euro 7 compliant. V6 is not and they confirmed no increased power / development to the V6 powertrain will exist.

There needs to be some reading in-between the lines with the answer as I felt they accidentally revealed the V8 powertrain. Emira is due for a refresh in 2027, this is confirmed and they also confirmed more power. The question was directed if Lotus was going to make an Emira that competes with the GT3 and it seems that yes, this will be coming.

If you guys are wondering about pricing, I think it is safe to assume a GT3 competitor will carry a GT3 competitor pricing.

Emira i4 = Cayman GT4 competitor
Emira V8 = GT3 competitor

The call itself seemed very low on information and also looks like Type 134 ( EV Sports Car ) has been axed, but not confirmed.

Lotus itself only sold 1,300 vehicles the first 3 months of 2025 - a large decrease. If they are not going to be profitable via volume, expect Lotus to continue going up market with its sports cars. There was little discussion on tariffs. I mostly turned in to see if there would be a question regarding Lotus and F1, alas no-one asked about motor racing.

I personally feel that Type 134 (EV sportscar) has been axed and replaced with Lotus Theory 1. I won't go into detail on why I have this opinion, but it does fit the narrative of if they can not pump out 10K sports cars per year, than they will try to sell 1,000 super cars (Theory 1) for 500K USD. I think this is the pivot from the EV perspective.

Expect the hybrid Macan rival to be the big seller out of china and if done right probably will be. We will know by end of the year.

Here is the presentation deck - https://ir.group-lotus.com/static-files/91ab80c3-98c4-44d8-be8f-f0905cb221c9

 

[VL3X]

In the call they also said due to American interest they are looking into putting the Emira on a diet and will throw carbon fiber at the car.

Good.

 

[boisecrawfords]

Things are getting spicy with Geely having to pivot away from Ev.

Why do they 'have' to?

 

[Foxy87]

I dont know. Do I really want a V8? It will be heavy and somehow I think it doesnt fit the Emira… the V6 on the other hand fits perfectly I think.

 

[kitkat]

If you guys are wondering about pricing, I think it is safe to assume a GT3 competitor will carry a GT3 competitor pricing.

Emira i4 = Cayman GT4 competitor
Emira V8 = GT3 competitor

Agreed there, and anyone who is saying they don't want the heavy V8 in the Emira, please cope harder

 

[DriverMod]

Heavy V8? How about a V6 with a heavy supercharger on top of it with all the associated cooling parts and fluid weights?

 

[Foxy87]

i would like to testdrive it there is no doubt. But my dad has a F-Pace SVR with a V8 and honestly I like the V6 of the Emira better (yeah I know, I am probably in the minority here).

I am not biased though as I dont own an Emira just yet it surely does fuc* up my Emira plans though

 

[Foxy87]

Heavy V8? How about a V6 with a heavy supercharger on top of it with all the associated cooling parts and fluid weights?

That was just an assumption, maybe a false one…? I hardly doubt that a V8 Emira will match the weight of the V6.

 

[kitkat]

i would like to testdrive it there is no doubt. But my dad has a F-Pace SVR with a V8 and honestly I like the V6 of the Emira better (yeah I know, I am probably in the minority here).

I am not biased though as I dont own an Emira just yet it surely does fuc* up my Emira plans though

Keep in mind the V8 plans are only plans. You should get the car you want as soon as you can. Knowing Lotus this plan will change and a lot of other things could go wrong.

 

[Tomwa]

Why do they 'have' to?

Been discussed a bunch, but the EV and battery tariffs on China potentially both in EU and definitely in the US has completely killed the ability for Lotus EV's to be competitive in the market.

 

[Tomwa]

That was just an assumption, maybe a false one…? I hardly doubt that a V8 Emira will match the weight of the V6.

To the point about a Supercharger and associated additional bits for cooling. I actually do think that if you could cast up a new block of the exact same architecture as the V6 and add 1 cyl per bank and could theoretically achieve similar power (or more) to the V6+ supercharger, you would absolutely be at less weight, and the added weight would be low in the car, because the added weight would be in the longer crank, the additional rods, and pistons.

 

[geoffbland]

Ricardo make fairly light-weight V8 engines - only slightly heavier than the V6. They are also British. They may also have some spare capacity as the car maker they normally supply to isn't selling as many cars as expected. Yeah, unlikely I know but it would be nice.

 

[RoryBellows]

I'm not slapped in the face. I'm pumped they arent killing it anymore. The V8 is still years out, maybe even a decade knowing Lotus. Ill have a manual in the mean time and if it comes out Ill find a way to buy it. Hopefully in aubergine.

 

[FST]

I listened to the call. They're "investigating" a Euro-7 compliant V8. "investigating" comes years before sales. It'll be a while.

Finding a V8 engine that’s manual transmission-compatible and Euro 7 compliant is quite challenging, as most V8s are being phased out due to strict emissions regulations—especially under Euro 7.

 

[Racer X]

Ricardo make fairly light-weight V8 engines - only slightly heavier than the V6. They are also British. They may also have some spare capacity as the car maker they normally supply to isn't selling as many cars as expected. Yeah, unlikely I know but it would be nice.

Yes, a non-turbo version of the engine that they supply to McLaren would be great. Who could supply the transmission? The other question would be if the kept the motor transversely mounted, or would they change the rear subframe to mount it longitudinally?

 

[John_Matrix]

I thought exports to the US of anything would be killed stone dead due to tariffs? Or has Donny T had another chance of heart?

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

Yes, a non-turbo version of the engine that they supply to McLaren would be great. Who could supply the transmission? The other question would be if the kept the motor transversely mounted, or would they change the rear subframe to mount it longitudinally?

Don't think there's enough room to stay transverse. The Esprit V8 had the longitudinal position

 

[Lotustoronto]

Aston Martin (who uses Merc AMG engines) has announced developing a manual transmission. Ironically the new Valhalla has a V8 transversely mounted. Remove the turbos and hybrid and I think you will get a 500 BHP+ powertrain. Also helps that Geely has ownership stakes in both AM and Merc. This would be the most likely powertrain, and a damn good one. Also note from the same engine family the Vantage did have a manual transmission a few years ago.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

Aston Martin (who uses Merc AMG engines) has announced developing a manual transmission. Ironically the new Valhalla has a V8 transversely mounted. Remove the turbos and hybrid and I think you will get a 500 BHP+ powertrain. Also helps that Geely has ownership stakes in both AM and Merc. This would be the most likely powertrain, and a damn good one. Also note from the same engine family the Vantage did have a manual transmission a few years ago.

The Valhalla's engine is inline not transverse.

 

[kitkat]

I thought exports to the US of anything would be killed stone dead due to tariffs? Or has Donny T had another chance of heart?

Who knows at this point, also the call mentioned them considering moving some production to USA.