![Lotus Emeya R](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097908_17206968746640_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqu9_BIzKUt5rM5gub5np78ltYfMQV21VuWBVZNDzjZhI.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Lotus Emeya R review: ‘Certainly exhilarating but never relaxing, a bit like owning a menacing pet’
This electric GT is extremely fast and seats four, but can it eclipse Porsche while maintaining the marque’s prowess for ride and handling?
![Lotus Emeya R](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097908_17206968746640_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqu9_BIzKUt5rM5gub5np78ltYfMQV21VuWBVZNDzjZhI.jpeg?imwidth=680)
“We’ll need to cut this short, I’ve got to get back to the car,” I said, 15 minutes into a WhatsApp editorial meeting. I was somewhere south of Munich in the foothills of the Alps.
“I thought you said it was charging,” retorted my editor.
“It is, but it’s a 350kW charger…”
Sure enough, this 905bhp Lotus super GT, the Emeya R, was already brimming with charge. Its Catl prismatic-cell 102kW lithium-ion NMC battery might not boast the latest special-brew 811 cathode chemistry like that of sister Geely-owned company Polestar, but the Emeya’s NMC 622 chemistry and attention to cell cooling allows it to charge at a peak of 350kW for longer.
In short, that means a 10 to 80 per cent fill using a 400kW DC charger will be at an average of 331kW, meaning the whole operation will take only 14 minutes.
I have to say, that’s the way to do it, but the reality is that Britain lags a long way behind the excellent German charging infrastructure.
Living it large
“Simplicate and just add lightness,” said Lotus founder Colin Chapman quoting Gordon Hooton, a designer who worked with Ford design executive William Stout. The Emeya is very far from either.
Why is this four/five-seat GT hatchback so huge? It’s 2.59 tonnes in weight, 5,139mm long, 2,123mm with the electronic rear-view mirrors (we’ll come back to these), 1,459mm high and has a 3,069mm wheelbase. In the lemon yellow of the test cars, it almost blots out the sun.
![Side of Lotus Emeya](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097910_17206973391080_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqdNLuJDSj-bduoIdVkVeVweke0g5LxqQrTg40OKSSYjc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The answer lies in the range, the proportions and what’s gone before. Given its top speed of 159mph, with 0-62mph acceleration in 2.8 seconds, the WLTP 270-mile range requires a large battery – and 102kWh is really large. But the design proportions require a low roof to give the svelte looks required, along with a low seating position so drivers feel they’ve been strapped into some sort of ground-based jet fighter.
To combine those aims you need a thin battery with cells spread out more, combined with cooling taken off the bottom and run along the centre, which further reduces the height but spreads the plan area. In short, this dictates a wider and longer wheelbase to cram it all in.
And why is this a GT hatchback? Mainly because the Porsche Taycan came here first, along with the similar Audi e-Tron GT. Lotus is too small to make a market for itself and after last year’s Eletre SUV this is the next most obvious model. Under Chinese owner Geely Lotus has to make EVs and profits, particularly in China where the Emeya is already on sale. It is strongly rumoured that there is an estate/shooting brake of this car on the way; just like Porsche, then.
The Chapman effect
Would Chapman have gone down this route? Who knows what he would have done. He had vision and imagination enough to make Elon Musk look like the village idiot, so perhaps EV tech would have inspired him?
Lotus did have the decency to show some of its famous four-seaters including the Lotus Carlton and the Elan Plus 2. Recall also the Elites 75 and 83, the Éclat and the Excel.
While these cars lie in the past, Lotus’s traditional financial turmoil is still with us. Last year it produced the most cars in its history (6,790 since you ask) but also made the biggest loss, at $750 million. Despite that, there’s no shortage of ambition; Lotus wants to sell 150,000 cars a year by 2028.
![Lotus Emeya rear view](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097913_17207123787710_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq9ZgHWGWfvdgN-PUV7CBULcbHf4DfgeegiUIPq8ZyLgk.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The company is now effectively in two parts. Lotus Technology makes EVs designed in Coventry, engineered in Germany and built in Wuhan, China, while Lotus Cars headed by Matt Windle is the bit that makes the petrol-engined Emira sports coupé at the firm’s traditional HQ at Hethel in Norfolk.
Since the Initial Public Offering of Lotus Technology on the Nasdaq, the stock has plummeted and the departure of commercial director Mike Johnson in April after only 18 months will not have raised confidence among workers or investors. The design office in Hethel was recently closed and the co-operation deal to build a small sports car with Renault-owned Alpine has been abandoned.
As ever with Lotus, there’s seldom less than trouble at t’ mill.
The range
This £129,950 monster is the top model in the Emeya range. It has two motors, the front one rated at 225kW (301bhp) and the rear rated at 450kW (603bhp). Like the Porsche Taycan, each motor has a two-speed transmission to allow a higher top speed while maintaining some efficiency.
The range starts at £89,500 for the regular Emeya, which has 603bhp/523lb ft and front and rear motors of 301bhp each but lacks the the two-speed transmissions. With the same battery pack, it has a more useful range of 379 miles, with a top speed of 155mph and 0-62mph in 4.2sec.
There’s also a £101,950 Emeya S based on the same drivetrain, with larger brakes featuring six-piston calipers at the front, as well as more equipment.
![Lotus Emeya top view](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097914_17207122864700_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqQDfO_Li8BnuRdRCVfSGXucZep65cP_bgWtqbEQ5fF5Q.jpeg?imwidth=350)
All the cars have the same multi-link front and rear suspension and have twin-chamber air suspension, again like the Taycan. Damping is continuously variable and the road ahead is scanned for bumps so the suspension can be prepared. The steering is an electro-mechanical system.
In addition, the top-of-the-range R gains active anti-roll bars and rear steering, which turns the wheels in the opposite direction to the fronts at low speed to reduce the turning circle and increase manoeuvrability, and in the same direction as the fronts at high speed to increase stability.
They have the same 800-volt operating system which speeds flows in and out of the battery and charging is via a 22kW on-board charger, or the aforementioned up to 350kW DC.
Step inside
You enter a long low-slung world slightly reminiscent of 1960s supercars. Well, you think you do, but in fact the clever proportioning of the transmission tunnel and interior disguise the fact that you are actually sitting quite high, more saloon than sports car. The interior is largely the same as that of the Eletre, with quite nice intersections and proportions, using Alcantara, leather and carbon-fibre. It’s a tiny bit dated, though – and with the cooling vents squirting straight at the back of the steering wheel, the column paddles (left for regenerative braking, right for drive mode) get freezing to the touch.
In the centre is a huge touchscreen, which resembles an afterthought and obscures design details behind. Capable of accepting Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, it uses Geely-based software and is as good and bad as any other. With short-cut buttons, it’s simple to access the most-used functions (and the heater controls are underneath the screen), but it’s not so easy to get to less well-used areas.
![Lotus Emeya interior](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097921_17206972113510_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqA7N2CxnJWnYI3tCbVBgu9T0aesusvN1TE7a0ddd_esI.jpeg?imwidth=350)
There’s the usual mix of simplicity (with a keyless opening and starting system) and complication to set up the car as you want it. Previously saved seat and steering wheel positions are tricky to override and the central gear selector doesn’t always accept your desires. Woe betide those trying to work out where you should be going while reversing, as the camera screen takes over and is reluctant to hand back to the map.
The front seats are comfortable and cosseting enough, but if you have the massage seat function they tighten the bolsters around your kidneys if you switch to the Sport driving mode, which isn’t much fun for those of a fuller figure.
You have to clamber into the rear seats, with a bench that will accommodate three across unless you specify the twin rear seat option. Various upholstery materials are optional, but the grey Alcantara seemed the most common choice in the test cars.
![Lotus seat](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097856_17206974973040_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqA7N2CxnJWnYI3tCbVBgu9T0aesusvN1TE7a0ddd_esI.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The boot swallows 509/1,388 litres with the rearmost seats up/down. There’s also a 31-litre front boot “frunk”.
The optional rear-view cameras display their images on screens on the door tops. Like all these systems there’s a parallax error which renders them useless when parking and difficult to take in what’s going on with a single glance. They also have poor long-distance coverage, so it’s impossible to work out whether there’s a monstrously powerful German saloon approaching at warp speed in the adjacent lane. So, in the interests of safety you dither with the indicator on for a while, which makes the whole “hyper GT” thing a bit redundant…
![Lotus boot](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097967_17206973765220_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqRFbNurFFF81QD1w-F2kAAG_2xREJSpn1XCYHD3V_AIc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
On the road
The screen is already spotted with rain sweeping over the Alps. The roads are damp, but the R is a bit of a pussycat – as long as you aren’t trying to show off. The accelerator has a long travel at first so there’s no danger of spinning the tyres away from the lights. The steering seems well measured if numb and the ride really isn’t bad.
Only a mysterious noisy clatter at low speeds mars progress. At one point it sounded like a dozen colanders falling onto a quarry tile floor. I climbed out, stared underneath, tugged and pushed on all the wheels, but nothing, just wet knees. Perhaps that’s how they’re supposed to sound.
Floor the accelerator pedal and, my giddy aunt, this car goes. The acceleration squeezes your insides, telescopes your vision and the wheels try to spin. Sub-three-second 0-62mph times are unpleasant in any vehicle and so it proves in the Emeya. For that reason alone I’d save money and buy the more measured S model.
And with far too much response crammed into the middle part of the accelerator travel, at medium to fast speeds the delivery can be super-aggressive. At 70mph on a motorway, flooring the pedal resulted in a bit of a moment as all four tyres attempted to spin on the road surface like Scooby Doo and Shaggy running from a janitor dressed as a ghost. It’s certainly exhilarating, but never relaxing, a bit like owning a particularly menacing pet.
![Back of the Lotus Emeya](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385097909_17206976510530_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqP4pV-m6laGcMQMbuKYgJGYOGJS8qYNz7-0VoSyoiuoY.jpeg?imwidth=350)
I came away thinking the R is really just a bit of a thug and far too wide to exploit on any but the widest roads. There’s no nuance and not much balance, just blinding amounts of power. I whizzed around the Alps for a while, then slowed and trundled along listening to the radio.
Another inhibiting factor is the R’s clodhopping active anti-roll bars. They permit some roll into corners, but when they deploy it feels as if the car’s being held up with a puppet’s strings, particularly on adverse camber corners, which makes it difficult to gauge precisely how much grip there is.
While I’m on the subject, the rear steering also dances to its own tune. At moderate speeds and in a straight line it started to steer the back of the car back and forth, which felt like a mother duck settling on her eggs.
The steering has a reasonable on-centre response, but not much feedback, which again inhibits hard driving.
With carbon-ceramic brakes, the stopping is mind-warpingly rapid and the progression between friction and regeneration braking is seamless. As is the two-speed gearbox, which you hear but hardly feel.
The Telegraph verdict
Not hanging around, I achieved an overall efficiency of 2.09 miles per kilowatt hour, against the claim of 3.32m/kWh, which gives a tested range of 213 miles. So while it might be extremely fast, the Emeya R isn’t particularly efficient. Nor is it entirely green. If you factor in the UK generation emissions, it produces CO2 equivalent at a rate of 48.6g/km.
They are fast and sleek, yet I’m not convinced these ultra-quick massive GTs are the future. This is an impressive machine but unusable on all but the widest roads, which is where the forces of law and order like to bag such cars.
The Emeya S is cheaper and more balanced, and as Sylvain Verstraeten, the regional vehicle line director for Group Lotus, puts it: “More analogue.”
I much preferred the supposedly lesser car, but to be frank I’ve had more fun in just about any other Lotus ever built. In future, less speed, reduced size and more traditionally Lotus-like agility would be preferable.
The facts
On test: Lotus Emeya R
Body style: five-door super-performance EV
On sale: now
How much? £129,950 (range from £89,500)
How fast? 159mph, 0-62mph in 2.8sec
How economical? 3.32 miles per kWh (WLTP Combined), 2.09m/kWh on test
Electric powertrain: lithium-ion NMC battery pack with 102kWh gross capacity and 800-volt operating voltage; 22kW AC three-phase onboard charger; all-wheel drive with twin permanent-magnet motors and two-speed transmissions
Electric range: 270 miles (circa 213 miles on test)
Maximum power/torque: 905bhp/726lb ft
CO2 emissions: 0g/km (tailpipe), 48.6g/km (CO2 equivalent well-to-wheel)
VED: £0
Warranty: five-years/100,000-miles, eight years/150,000 miles for battery
The rivals
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
from £186,300
![Porsche Taycan Turbo GT](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000385106512_17206970198970_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq04CEn9U-tFj9s1A1iKsTvlkoYqUH2_PTvnRTVVDFxMA.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Think 1,034bhp, a top speed of 180mph and 0-62mph in 2.3sec, because that’s what the super-GT stakes requires. It is beautifully made, very, very fast and comfortable, with a similar two-speed transmission drivetrain as the Lotus, but it’s too wide. It also comes with a fistful of taxation incentives for those who can afford it. The used market isn’t as impressed – three-year-old, low mileage Taycans are languishing on dealer forecourts at prices below half of the new figure.
Tesla Model S Plaid
from £125,480
![Tesla Model S Plaid](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000345368399_17206970506420_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq91VDfvy0YSoFuv2mS0l6ZVQYArzCZkfUqg3bUYglOXQ.jpeg?imwidth=350)
With its 1,020hp output, a 373-mile range, 0-60mph in 1.9 sec and 200mph top speed, the strangely named Plaid is certainly the acme of the Model S. The body is looking a little long in the tooth these days and some will hate the yoke-style steering wheel, the stark interior and the fact that you can only have it in left-hand drive.
Audi RS e-tron GT Performance
from £147,380
![Audi RS e-tron GT Performance](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2024/07/11/TELEMMGLPICT000253739474_17206970808580_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqu_f8Z5W3pCHDJ2J6d0vclnLwd_TYk6JPIMs7fCzNhJw.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Not on sale yet, but the new range of GT e-tron four doors are much better looking and this top model musters 912bhp on overboost, with four-wheel drive. Up to 320kW fast charging gives a 10-80 per cent charge in the 97kWh battery in 18 minutes, with a total range of up to 333 miles. Fully active suspension should help assuage ride comfort and handling. Before you ask, it delivers a 2.5sec 0-62mph time.