Lotus has announced its new Focus 2030 strategy, which includes the development of a 1000-hp V-8 hybrid supercar. The car, codenamed Type 135, will have more than 986 horsepower and will be manufactured in Europe. Lotus has released a rendered teaser image of the rear end of the proposed supercar, showing what appear to be twin exhausts and a large diffuser.
The company also confirms it plans to keep the Emira sports car in production beyond the point at which sales were originally meant to stop in 2027. Lotus promises it will be unveiling an updated version soon, set to be the “most powerful and lightest Emira”—meaning it will have more than 416 horsepower and weigh less than 3200 pounds.
View Price on AmazonLotus will also be selling the gas-electric version of the formerly-EV-only Eletre SUV in Europe, this using a range-extended battery pack that works in conjunction with a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine; there is no mechanical transmission, so all drive is electrical. The Eletre X-Hybrid is already on sale in China where it is known as the Eletre For Me, where the company claims 1000 “pre-orders” were placed before deliveries started.
However, prohibitively high tariff rates for Chinese-made vehicles in the U.S. means there is minimal chance the range-extended Eletre will come here, or indeed, any more examples of the full EV version or its Emeya sedan sibling. Lotus says its North America strategy is “anchored in sports cars, with [a] new SUV market opportunity in Canada.”
Lotus is also set to reunify its corporate structure, after splitting the EV-making side of the business into a separate entity called Lotus Technology. Lotus Technology currently trades on the Nasdaq, where the stock has fallen from $13.80 at the time it was launched in 2024 to $1.16 at market close yesterday. Lotus now says it wants to integrate Lotus UK—the sports car side of the business based at Hethel—with Lotus Technology “into a single entity.”
Source: roadandtrack.com
