Lotus Rediscovers the Art of the ROOOOAR – And It’s Got Eight Cylinders!

There was a time when buying a Lotus meant accepting a few compromises. You got sublime handling, a chassis that could embarrass considerably more expensive machinery, and an engine that occasionally sounded as though it was working considerably harder than it really was. Well, it seems those days are over. Lotus is putting the OOMPH back into ROOOOAR!

Meet the new HORSE W40, the beating heart of what is expected to become the new Lotus Esprit, currently known by its development designation Type 135. And what a heart it promises to be. Four litres, eight cylinders, twin turbochargers and a rather healthy 670bhp. That’s right, a proper V8. Not another battery-powered washing machine with a fancy badge.

The turbos sit in a ‘hot-V’ configuration, nestled between the cylinder banks, producing a rather impressive 800Nm of torque. Weighing just 200kg, this is a seriously compact and potent piece of engineering. And if you’re wondering who on earth HORSE is, it’s a joint venture between Renault, Geely and Saudi oil giant Aramco. Despite the rather unfortunate name, these people clearly know a thing or two about building engines.

But here’s the really interesting bit. Lotus is owned by Chinese giant Geely, a company that has enthusiastically embraced electrification across much of its portfolio. Yet here we have a Chinese-owned sports car manufacturer investing in a twin-turbo V8. Even better, the plan is to combine it with an eight-speed hybrid transmission, taking total output to more than 1,000bhp. Apparently, even Geely understands that sometimes the best way to move forward is to look backwards – preferably with eight cylinders firing.

Expected in 2028, the new Esprit could finally give Lotus a genuine Ferrari and McLaren rival.

And perhaps that’s the most encouraging part of this announcement. While much of the industry seems determined to convince us that the future of performance motoring involves increasingly complicated batteries and artificially generated engine noises, Lotus is remembering something rather important.

People actually like engines.

Eight cylinders, two turbos and a thousand horsepower. Now that’s what I call a sustainable argument for keeping the petrolhead alive!