New 2028 Lotus 'Esprit' supercar to use hybrid V8 from Horse
Lotus will return to the ICE supercar business in 2028 with a new hybrid V8 model expected to be called Esprit that is aimed to rival cars including the Ferrari 849 Testarossa.
The supercar’s hybrid powertrain will be centred around a new V8 engine supplied by Renault-Geely powertrain division Horse. Total power output will exceed 986bhp, confirmed Lotus.
The new supercar will be built alongside the Lotus Emira sports car at Hethel, in a boost for Lotus’s historical base in Norfolk.
This is part of a wider plan to put ICE sports cars back at the heart of Lotus’s future after the company abandoned a plan to go all-electric by 2028.
The new car, which is codenamed Esprit, takes inspiration from 2024's Theory 1 electric supercar concept. A teaser shot of the rear of the production car released by Lotus (below) shows the striking similarity with the concept, with the addition of two massive exhaust pipes.
Lotus has been collaborating with Horse in the development of the turbocharged V8, which is expected to set a new benchmark in power-to-weight ratios.
“Since we will be starting from scratch with this engine, we will make a lot of effort to improve the volume and also the weight of the engine,” Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng said in a statement.
The engine will also be used by another, as-yet-unknown Geely brand for a V8-powered off-roader, improving the economies of scale, Feng said.
The new supercar will be a hybrid rather than a plug-in hybrid in order to save weight, bucking the recent trend to shift to PHEV drivetrains for supercars in cars such as the Aston Martin Valhalla, Lamborghini Temerario and Ferrari 296 GTB. Removing the need to plug in to charge allows Lotus to reduce the size of the battery and not fit charging-related componentry.
Lotus head of design Ben Payne told Autocar that the new supercar will be influenced by the Theory 1, saying: “You make concepts as an exercise to gauge reaction and give a future direction of travel, and [the Theory 1] was very positively received.”
The Esprit name hasn’t been confirmed but is a strong option, Payne confirmed.
“When the Esprit went out of production [in 2004], it had a V8 engine, and it’s something people have asked to come back ever since," he said. "It’s still in the hearts of minds of many of our customers."
The production model could feature the same McLaren F1-style three-seat arrangement as the Theory 1.
“That could be an option," Feng said, "because in the past you needed to develop left-hand drive and right-hand drive, but if you put the driver in the middle, then there is no need.”
The 4490mm-long Theory 1 was designed to be an approachable supercar, rather than a hypercar, like the wild 2011bhp electric Lotus Evija. For example, weight was reduced by using a carbonfibre tub.
At the time, Lotus said 85% of the technology displayed in the model was ready for production.
The news of the V8 supercar is part of a wider shift within Lotus towards a mixed powertrain strategy after the company abandoned its plan to go all-electric by 2028.
Feng said that, based on current trends in the global market, there should not be "a single solution when it comes to power; the power solution should be diversified".
Parent company Geely’s original plan for Lotus was to pivot to EVs only by 2028, but the plan was abandoned in 2024 after it proved harder than expected to convince customers to make the switch.
"In the luxury segment, customers simply enjoy the thrill of driving a car with powerful big engines,” Feng said. “They somehow just don't like the smoothness of the EVs.”
The new supercar has the internal model name Type 135, which was previously reserved from the since cancelled electric sports car due to replace the Emira.
The ICE Emira will continue, with an update later this year promised to produce “the most powerful and lightest Emira built”.
Under Lotus's new plan, sports cars will account for a third of its targeted 30,000 sales per year, up from 6520 sales last year.
With the Evija still being made at Hethel at a rate of around eight to 10 units a year, the 'Esprit' will take over as the ICE halo model.
No price has been revealed, but Feng singled out the 849 Testarossa as its main rival, suggesting a figure close to the Ferrari’s entry price of £407,617.
New ICE supercar will be built alongside Emira at Hethel and will rival the Ferrari 849 Testarossa
www.autocar.co.uk
