S02E07 Gran Turismo: Lotus Emeya
Lotus was originally known for its lightweight, agile street cars and highly successful race cars. Today, the Chinese-owned factory produces incredibly powerful electric cars, and this time I tried out the Emeya.
The Emeya has an extremely impressive appearance: it is 514 centimeters long, over 2 meters wide, with a wheelbase of 3069 mm, so it is huge. The yellow, coupe-shaped but four-door car weighs 2550 kg, which fundamentally contradicts the philosophy of the brand’s founder, Colin Chapman. He famously said, “Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.”
Lotus Cars has a rich and storied history that dates back to 1948 when it was founded by Colin Chapman and Hazel Chapman in London, UK. Initially, Chapman built his first trials car in a garage, which led to the formation of Lotus Engineering Ltd. in 1952. The company quickly gained a reputation for its innovative and lightweight designs, which became a hallmark of the brand. Lotus made a significant impact in motorsports, particularly in Formula 1. Team Lotus, established in 1954, won the Formula One World Championship seven times. The success on the racetrack helped cement Lotus’s reputation for engineering excellence and innovation. After Colin Chapman’s death in 1982, Lotus faced financial difficulties. The company changed hands several times, being owned by General Motors, Romano Artioli, and DRB-HICOM through its subsidiary Proton. In 2017, Chinese multinational Geely acquired a 51% controlling stake in Lotus, with the remaining 49% owned by Etika Automotive.
Today's Lotus cars share the same speed as their predecessors, but they are built on completely different principles. The Emeya and its SUV variant, the Eletre, are fully electric, with the Geely group putting in their utmost effort to create something outstanding. The tested Emeya S is a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive vehicle with 612 horsepower. (For those who need more, the Emeya R boasts 918 horsepower…) This power comes from a net 98.9 kWh battery pack, which, thanks to various technical wizardry and an 800V platform, can be charged at a maximum power of 350 kW. Charging from 10% to 80% takes just 18 minutes.
These dizzying numbers continue inside. Given its exterior dimensions, it’s no surprise how spacious it is inside. There’s ample room not only in the front but also in the back, where even the tallest passengers can sit comfortably, as much as the sporty seats allow. The trunk is spacious for its category (509 liters), and the rear seats can be folded down to provide 1388 liters of space. This is complemented by one of the smallest frunks I’ve encountered (35 liters), but it can just about hold the charging cables.
The technological arsenal surrounding the passengers is impressive: the high-end hi-fi system (does anyone remember the British brand KEF? The system comes from them) is just the beginning. There’s also a display in front of the front passenger, and the button-operated shading sunroof works astonishingly quickly.
The side mirrors are replaced by cameras and screens (à la Audi Q8 e-tron), which benefits aerodynamics but requires some getting used to. The steering wheel is covered in Alcantara, reminiscent of race cars, and there are plenty of surfaces covered in carbon fiber imitation in the interior. Perhaps the simultaneous presence of several different, individually beautiful materials breaks the harmony, showing that the designers wanted to include everything they could in the car.
What’s it like to drive? First of all, it’s very comfortable – I’ve always found sport seats to be the most comfortable – I could sit in the Emeya’s seats all day. The car is easy to handle, with the gear selector on the center console. You don’t need to turn it on or off, just get in, put it in D, and go.
Despite the Emeya’s power, it’s very easy to drive “normally.” The car’s size (width) might be an issue on narrower streets. However, parking is very easy thanks to the array of cameras surrounding the car. The suspension tuning is a pleasant compromise between comfort and sportiness, in a Gran Turismo style, which is how Lotus positions the Emeya. The performance figures already show that the car can really go when needed: 0-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h, though I didn’t test either.
Considering its size and weight, the Emeya’s consumption is quite good. The WLTP figure of 17.7 kWh per 100 kilometers can only be achieved with great care and under ideal conditions, but around 20 kWh (in the city) is achievable if you don’t frequently test the seat-pressing acceleration. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to test the car on the highway, but based on experiences, the reported 25 kWh/100 km consumption and the real-world range of around 350 km seem realistic, considering the car’s extremely low drag coefficient of 0.21.
Who do I recommend it to? High-end GTs have always had their own customer base. The question is whether Lotus can attract any of them, or if tech millionaires who prefer electric cars will be the ones to jump behind the wheel of the Emeya. The car’s price is beyond the mainstream category, which is not surprising given the technical content. However, it’s certain that the car attracted attention everywhere, and not just because of its color.
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Next week, I’ll introduce another all-American EV, but not a Tesla! Stay tuned.
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Sources of images, graphs and charts: [1] Lotus Cars
Disclaimer: opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer and are not supported by any OEMs.
Global Roaming Manager
4 个月Sad to see that they are lately only building overweight, inefficient SUV. The growth in size of original models toward the current results in The Netherlands even has a name #Autobesitas