Lotus Emira could use -Mercedes-AMG’s V8 engine to comply with the new Euro 7 rules.
The Lotus Emira is the last Lotus model to feature thermal engines. Customers can choose between the AMG 2.0-liter four-cylinder, 364 PS/430 Nm, or the turbocharged Toyota V6, 405 PS/430 Nm.
But at the end of April, Lotus CEO Qingfeng Feng announced at an investor conference that they would not adapt the Toyota V6 engine to the new Euro 7 standards and were looking for another solution. The base version of the Lotus Emira with the AMG four-cylinder engine has been very well received in the US but customers looking for more power want a multi-cylinder engine. Lotus is therefore looking for a solution and has two alternatives.
Since Lotus wants to keep its cooperation with Toyota with whom it has had a partnership for many years, one of the options could be the 5-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine available in various Lexus models that develops 480 PS.
The second possibility would be the AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine which is available in both conventional as well as mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions with power outputs ranging from 503 to 816 PS.
But this engine is tricky to place in the Emira which has the engines located transversely in a centered position behind the seats. On the one hand, the AMG 4-cylinder and Toyota V6 engines are more compact, while on the other hand, the AMG V8 engine is built for longitudinal placement. Adapting it to a transverse position seems impossible. If Lotus wanted to place it longitudinally, they’d have to modify the Emira quite a bit and there’s probably not enough room especially if they were thinking of the hybrid version.
Lotus sold 5,300 Emira models globally last year and the US is its main market. However, new import tariffs enacted by the Trump administration are creating big difficulties even though Trump has offered special terms to the UK. If the AMG V8 engine could be adapted into the Lotus Emira, it would be the first Lotus since the Esprit to have a V8 engine.