2025 Lotus Emeya Electric Sedan Flaunts Double Active Rear Spoiler, Coming September 7

1 year, 2 months ago - 30 August 2023, autoevolution

Codenamed Type 133, the Emeya will debut on September 7 with a double active rear spoiler. An electric sedan that hopes to steal customers from the likes of the commercially successful Porsche Taycan, the British newcomer will be made in China rather than the United Kingdom.

Based on the Electric Premium Architecture of the Eletre sport utility vehicle (a.k.a. Type 132), the Emeya is expected to start production sometime in 2024. Over in the United States, it will be sold as a 2025 model.

Previously believed to be called Envya or Etude, the long-anticipated Emeya sports a rear light bar that looks rather familiar. Porsche didn't invent the rear light bar, and Lotus probably didn't take inspiration from the Taycan for it. We also have to remember that the Eletre has one as well, and the way it's integrated into the liftgate is different from the Cayenne and the Macan.

Described as a hyper-GT, which isn't exactly surprising from the British automaker that advertises its first electric sport utility vehicle as being a hyper-SUV, the Emeya is more than meets the eye. To the point, it's the indirect successor to the Lotus Carlton/Lotus Omega.

Fewer than 1,000 examples were produced in right- and left-hand-drive, sporting the designation Type 104. A completely different animal from the Vauxhall Carlton/Opel Omega, the Lotus-designed sedan is more powerful and torquier than the fourth-gen Corvette ZR-1.

The Emeya, however, plays in a different league altogether. Output numbers are still a mystery at the moment of reporting, but we all know that Lotus will borrow a few bits and pieces from the Eletre. Chief among which the 112-kWh battery and twin-motor setup with anything between 450 kW and 675 kW.

That's 603 mechanical ponies and 905 mechanical ponies, respectively, numbers that are certain to impress from behind the wheel. The Eletre R features a two-speed transmission out back, which the Emeya R is pretty certain to employ as well. Not exactly a coincidence, both the Porsche Taycan and technically similar Audi e-tron GT feature a two-speed transmission.

The sharp-looking Emeya is further expected to sport an 800-volt electrical architecture for ultra-fast charging, as well as circa 400 miles (644 kilometers) of driving range on the WLTP combined test cycle. By comparison, the Eletre and Eletre S offer 373 miles (600 kilometers).

Equipped with flush door handles, the Emeya will be the second-heaviest production Lotus ever. The Eletre tips the scales at 2,490 kilograms (5,490 pounds), and the Emeya is utmost certain to weigh in excess of two metric tons. By comparison, the lightest Taycan boasts 2,050 kilograms (4,519 pounds).

In addition to Porsche's all-electric sedan, the third zero-emission Lotus after the Eletre and Evija will also have to prove itself against the Polestar 5. The Sino-Swedish sedan is also related to the Emeya, for both marques are owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Oh, and by the way, the Lotus Electric Premium Architecture is nothing more than Geely's Sustainable Experience Architecture under a different name. Truth be told, the SEA-S derivative is currently exclusive to Lotus.