Lotus is reintroducing the Esprit with a new twin-turbo V8 hybrid engine. The Type 135 model, expected to carry the Esprit name, will feature a 4.0-liter engine developed by Horse Powertrain, a joint venture between Renault and Geely, the latter of which also owns Lotus. Earlier this year, Lotus confirmed plans for a combustion-powered supercar by 2028, and the Type 135 is widely anticipated to revive the Esprit badge, last seen in 2002.
The Horse W40 engine delivers over 671 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. With hybrid assistance, the total output could surpass 986 horsepower, as suggested by Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng. This hybrid potential aligns with Lotus’s revised strategy, which now targets a 60% hybrid, 40% EV mix by 2030, a shift from its earlier all-electric ambitions.
Engine Details and Transmission
The W40 employs a hot vee design, positioning the turbochargers within the engine’s V shape to minimize size and weight, resulting in a total of 441 pounds. This keeps the engine compact and lightweight, it weighs just 441 pounds (200 kg), and the intake paths short, improving engine response. Horse has not confirmed whether the engine uses a cross-plane or flat-plane crankshaft, though a flat-plane design is expected for the high-performance Type 135. This engine will be paired with Horse’s 8LDCT, an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. A manual option has not been mentioned.
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Base models of the Type 135 will use a W30 V6 engine, also from Horse, producing 536 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. The twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 generates 536 hp (544 PS) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque, and again, that’s before you’ve added any hybrid assistance. That’s not quite as impressive as the 654 hp (663 PS) Ferrari’s 296 GTB pumps out before you add in its electrical boost, but the V6 Esprit will be much more affordable, and Lotus can upsell power-hungry buyers to the V8 version. This lighter 353-pound engine may enhance handling, despite offering less power than the V8.
While no spy shots of the Type 135 are available, a teaser image from Lotus suggests design cues inspired by the Theory 1 concept, originally conceived as an all-electric vehicle. We’ve yet to see any spy shots of the Type 135 testing, so our best ideas of what the first Esprit since 2002 could look like come from a single teaser image Lotus dropped in May. But the teaser bore a strong resemblance to the Theory 1 concept Lotus revealed in 2024. Lotus has since adjusted its strategy to a 60% hybrid, 40% EV mix by 2030, influenced by slower-than-expected EV sales.
