The mechanical heart of the reborn Lotus Esprit has officially broken cover, with engine specialist Horse Powertrain pulling the wraps off a clean-sheet 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid setup destined for the British marque’s upcoming mid-engined flagship.
Codenamed Type 135 and slated for a global arrival in 2028, the new supercar marks Lotus’s return to mid-mounted V8 muscle after a hiatus of nearly two and a half decades, following the company’s strategic decision to walk back its previous EV-only roadmap. The powertrain has been developed by Horse Powertrain – the global combustion and hybrid joint venture split between Lotus parent company Geely (45 per cent), Renault (45 per cent), and Saudi energy giant Aramco (10 per cent).
Dubbed the Horse W40, the new 4.0-litre bent-eight utilises direct fuel injection and a compact ‘hot-vee’ architecture, nesting its twin turbochargers directly between the cylinder banks. Subjected to extensive weight reduction to suit Lotus’s dynamic brief, the engine tips the scales at a trim 200kg dry. On its own, the combustion unit produces more than 500kW (671bhp) and 800Nm, providing the bulk of the hybrid supercar’s projected 735kW-plus (1000hp) total system output.
Bolted to the back of the V8 is an equally bespoke eight-speed longitudinal dual-clutch automatic transmission, codenamed the 8LDCT. Engineered specifically for high-output hybrid applications with an integrated electric motor, the gearbox is rated to handle up to 1050Nm of torque while delivering hydraulic pre-fill times of less than 50 milliseconds and shift speeds under 20 milliseconds.
Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng confirmed the Type 135 will be the launchpad for both the W40 engine and 8LDCT gearbox, blending the integrated hybrid unit with Lotus’s traditional lightweight chassis engineering.
Alongside the flagship V8, the resurrected Esprit range is also expected to offer a more accessible entry-level variant powered by Horse’s ‘W30’ 3.0-litre twin-turbo hybrid V6. Capable of revving to 8000rpm and producing between 350kW and 400kW (with 600Nm-700Nm of torque) before electrical assistance, that same hybrid V6 is also tipped to replace the Toyota-sourced V6 and Mercedes-AMG four-cylinder engines currently powering the smaller Lotus Emira.
