Lotus says goodbye to Toyota and AMG — and bets on an engine almost nobody has heard of
The British sports car will swap both current engines for a 3.0-litre V6 W30 from Horse Powertrain — a Geely and Renault joint venture.
Lotus Emira may be on the verge of one of the most important technical updates in its short history. According to Autocar, the British sports car will lose both of its current engines: Toyota’s 3.5-litre V6 and the 2.0-litre “turbo four” from Mercedes-AMG. In their place comes an engine whose name will mean very little to most Lotus fans.
It is a 3.0-litre V6 W30 from Horse Powertrain — a joint venture between Geely and Renault. Geely also owns Lotus, so the switch fits neatly into the group’s new corporate logic.
On paper, the engine looks promising. Horse claims up to 536 hp and 700 Nm even before any hybrid boost. Weight is just 160 kg. The company calls it the lightest and most compact hybrid V6 in the world, roughly 10 kg less than its closest rivals.
The W30 has been built around electrification from day one. It can work as a mild or full hybrid and can also act as a generator in series-hybrid layouts. It is paired with a four-speed hybrid transmission with integrated electric motors, although Lotus fans are likely to want something more emotional. The reason for the switch is simple: customers still want combustion.
Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng admitted that buyers in the United States in particular love a V6, and the six-cylinder Emira has become the brand’s bestseller in that market. The new engine is expected to land in the updated Emira around 2028. For Lotus, it is a chance to keep the character of a compact sports car alive while meeting stricter emissions rules and cutting its dependence on outside suppliers Toyota and AMG.
The story does not stop with the Emira. Lotus is also preparing a new hybrid supercar that could bring back the Esprit name. It is expected to use a V8 from the same family and, with electric assistance, to deliver more than 1,000 hp. An important detail for fans of the brand: both the Emira and the upcoming Esprit are set to be built in Hethel, on the historic Lotus site in the UK.
Lotus once promised an all-electric future, but the market quickly reminded it that with sports cars emotion matters more than tidy strategy. The new Horse V6 is a compromise between regulations, corporate economics and customers’ desire to hear an engine behind their backs. The main thing is that, together with a new engine supplier, Lotus does not lose what people have loved it for over the decades.