Driving The All-Electric Lotus Emeya R – One Of The Fastest Saloons On The Road

Motoring editor Jeremy Taylor and Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby discuss the Lotus Emeya R, a 905bhp flying machine.

Test Drive: Lotus Emeya R

JT-P – Lotus, that conjures up images of Formula One in the 1960s and the glory days of motorsport.

JT – Well, Lotus is a heritage British marque, famed for building svelte sports cars following a ‘simplify, then add lightness’ mantra. The phrase was coined by founder Colin Chapman and helped the company dominate F1 in the mid-1960s.

They did build some fantastic machines. The Lotus Seven and Esprit among them. The latter was famously used in the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).

That was the submarine car driven by Roger Moore. It was nicknamed ‘Wet Nellie’ by the production crew and is probably the second most famous Bond car, after 007’s classic Aston Martin DB5.

Aren’t Lotus based in Norfolk?

And now owned by Chinese firm Geely too! The same company also owns Volvo and Polestar, plus various others that only sell abroad.

And Lotus was super-successful on the track? I remember names like Jim Clark and Graham Hill, father of Damon Hill.

It was in the sixties. Lotus won seven Constructors’ Championships but I do wonder what the late Chapman might have thought of the new Emeya GT we drove – a 2.5-ton EV weighing almost four times as much as his legendary Lotus Elan convertible!

The Elan was the sports car for enthusiasts back in the sixties. Amazing to drive. So, the Emeya is weighed down by batteries?

Despite lashings of lightweight carbon fibre, plus substantial carbon ceramic brakes for extra stopping power, Emeya remains heavy because of that substantial 109 kWh battery, which is stored under the floor.

At least it doesn’t detract from the car’s startling performance? 

Definitely not. Emeya is a serious rival to the rocket Tesla Model S Plaid. Delivering an astonishing 905bhp, the Lotus slingshots from 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds, which is on a par with the new Lamborghini Temerario supercar!

The interior is fantastic. A first-class cabin is driver-centric and loaded with every level of connectivity, thrilling for some but perhaps less so for technophobes. 

The enormous infotainment screen is sometimes fiddly to navigate, while Emeya ditches conventional door mirrors in favour of high-tech cameras, a system that simply don’t work as well. It might make the car look more streamlined but the system doesn’t work as well as a conventional mirror.

Lesser versions of the Emeya are available at a more competitive price but the four-wheel steering R we drove is astonishingly fast and handles like a true Lotus, thanks to 50-50 weight distribution and a low centre of gravity. It’s quite a large car to steer around town but the four-wheel steering does make parking a little easier.

It is certainly a lot of fun to drive. The suspension is firm and sporty, not a luxury limo magic carpet ride like the BMW i7, for example. The Lotus is best on a long motorway journey, with minimal road noise and plenty of power for overtaking.

Agreed. I don’t use cruise control often in this country because our roads are so busy but the adaptive system in the Emeya automatically adjusts speed to keep a safe distance from the car in front.

And on a fast, twisty A-road, the Lotus is very rewarding to drive, although being such a large car, preferably a wide country road if possible!

We also like the spacious back seats and eye-catching styling that gives the Emeya stand-out appeal, compared to more recognisable brands like Porsche, Mercedes or Tesla.

With limited numbers expected to be sold and an estimated £131,000 price tag, the Emeya will be something of a rarity on the road. too. However, this is a lightning-fast saloon with a touch more cache than rivals.

Find out more about the Lotus Emeya R at lotuscars.com

Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby is Director of Programmes at London College of Fashion, studying for a PhD in sustainable e-textile design.