The Lotus Emeya Starts At £94,950

Lotus’ brave new era continues. Following the rollout of the battery-powered Eletre SUV, it’s now announced pricing for the Emeya, its second production-ready EV.

A ‘four-door GT’ (read: low-slung saloon) in the image of the Porsche Taycan, the Emeya was first unveiled last autumn. It launches in three trim levels: the entry-level, 603bhp model starts at £94,950. The S, which adds a few cosmetic tweaks and uprated brakes, will run you £107,450. Finally, the range-topping R, which ups power to 905bhp, begins at £129,950 – a significant drop from its chief rival, the £161,400 Taycan Turbo S.

In top R spec, the dual-motor, all-wheel drive Emeya will hit 62mph in 2.8 seconds, with the less powerful 603bhp versions managing it in 4.2 seconds. Naturally, the tradeoff for the slightly lower performance is an improved range – a quoted figure of 379 miles for the 603bhp cars, versus 301 for the R. The range-topper will hit 159mph, a gain of 4mph over the less powerful versions.

Alongside the pricing announcement, Lotus has also launched an online configurator for the Emeya, although don’t expect it to be too much of a time-killer – currently, you can only configure an R, and have the choice of just five exterior colours and three interior trims.

As well as the recently-updated Taycan, the Emeya will face competition from its sister car, the Audi e-tron GT. There are also plenty of upstarts from the US and China in this growing category of high-end four-door EVs, not least the ageing but still highly competitive Tesla Model S (although that's no longer being built with right-hand drive). Next year, Jaguar will also debut its entry to the class as it prepares for its own electric reinvention.

Under majority ownership by Chinese manufacturer Geely since 2017, Lotus’ sports cars continue to be built at its famous Norfolk headquarters. The Emeya, though, will be built alongside the Eletre by the brand’s Lotus Tech division in Wuhan, China.

The production version launched in China in January, with deliveries for the UK and Europe set for Q3 of this year. It enters a competitive market segment, but Lotus promises it’ll set itself apart with the sort of driving dynamics the brand is known for. We wouldn’t hold our breath for something that feels just like an S1 Elise, but it could certainly give the Taycan a run for its money.