2025 Lotus Emeya Photos, engines & full specs

Lotus needed more than three decades to launch a new go-fast four-door sedan on the market, and when it did, the new model had a lower top speed than its predecessor, but it was electric.

In the late '80s, Lotus was owned by GM, and the American automaker pushed the British car manufacturer to create a super-sedan based on a mundane family car made by Vauxhall and Opel in Europe, the Vauxhall Carlton/Opel Omega. The result was an amazing four-door sports sedan that could get up to 176 MPH (283 kph) and did the 0 to 60 MPH (0-97 kph) run in a mere 5.2 seconds. That happened in 1990, and the car was produced for just two years. After that, Lotus never made another sedan until 2023, when it made the Emeya GT. But this time, it was completely different. The car was made on a Lotus-owned platform that was not shared with a regular sedan.

Lotus developed the Emeya to be a contender in the fast-growing super-sedans market. Its design was made in-house, and the car looked like it wanted to break speed records. At the front, there were two pairs of slim LED headlights above the bumper. Underneath them, the automaker installed the side scoops that improved the car's aerodynamics and cooled the front rotors as well. A trapezoidal air intake took center stage in the air dam, creating an even more aggressive look for the vehicle. From its profile, the curved lines of the bodywork and greenhouse looked similar to those from the Lotus Eletre, the company's first SUV. At the back, the sloped-down rear windscreen and the short rear deck emphasized the car's dynamic look. One particular detail of this car was that it didn't have door mirrors.

Inside, the automaker created a minimalist design for the cabin with a straight dashboard. Lotus installed a small digital instrument cluster in front of the driver with a small visor above it, while a landscape-mode touchscreen covered the area for the center stack. Two additional screens showed the images from the exterior side-mounted cameras that replaced the door mirrors. Like any other Lotus, the Emeya featured a pair of sports seats at the front. These featured high-bolstered areas to keep their occupants in place during high-speed cornering maneuvers. Between them, the automaker mounted a center console that housed the buttons for drive modes and a pair of cup holders. In the back, the Emeya featured two individual sports seats for their occupants.

Lotus installed two motors to power the car, one for each axle. While the one from the front featured a single-speed, the one in the back was a two-speed one for increased energy efficiency at higher speeds. The electrical system used a 102 kWh battery pack that owners could replenish at 350 kW DC chargers. In around 18 minutes, the car could get up to 80% of the battery recharged, and it could get 93 miles (150 km) of range in around five minutes. As for the performance, Lotus limited the Emeya's top speed to 155 MPH (250 kph), which was slower than the Lotus Carlton. Still, the four-door electric super-sedan could reach 60 mph (97 kph) from zero in 2.8 seconds, about 2.4 seconds quicker than its gasoline-powered predecessor.