Lotus may be preparing an Emira equipped with a V8 engine to replace the current most powerful version featuring a less efficient but more charismatic Toyota-sourced V6 supercharger.
The engine change in the Emira is aimed at the upcoming Euro 7 standards and emissions, which will impose restrictions on engines like the current V6, and thus Lotus will need to find a replacement, with the next engine for the Emira likely to be a V8.
It appears that the new engine may be sourced from Mercedes-AMG, as indicated to “Autocar” by Matt Windle, CEO of Lotus Cars in Europe, who did not confirm the origin or type of engine, but made it clear that “there are some opportunities with the current engine supplier, and we are analyzing the situation.”
It should be noted that AMG already supplies biturbo V8 engines to Aston Martin, in addition to providing inline four-cylinder engines for Lotus, so all signs point to AMG supplying the V8 engine that Lotus needs for the Emira.
Whatever the origin of the new engine, it is already known that the Lotus Emira will be the first sports car from the British brand to adopt a V8 since the Esprit launched in 2004.
However, the most immediate problem for Lotus is to resume exports of the Emira to the U.S. The company halted exports to the U.S. last month following the announcement of tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. Windle told “Autocar” that he was awaiting more details about the recent agreement between the U.S. and the UK to reduce tariffs to 10% before resuming exports to the North American market.
