The fact that Lotus has already launched its new Emeya sedan in China is a two-pronged reminder of how important that market is to luxury car brands and that the legendary British sports car firm is now owned by China’s Geely. But now it’s time for Lotus to roll out the Porsche Taycan fighter in the West. The configurator is live and European prices are out (U.S. prices come later), giving us a chance to see how it stacks up on paper against its German nemesis.
Standing proud at the top of the Emeya line, at least for now, is the £129,950 (€150,990) Emeya R. That price and the R’s 905 hp (918 PS / 675 kW) bi-motor setup is going to look strong to anyone who has just been checking out the facelifted Taycan in their local Porsche dealership. The Taycan Turbo costs £134,100 (€173,600) and makes 697 hp (707 PS / 520 kW) or 872 hp (884 PS / 650 kW) during overboost. The Turbo is claimed to be good for a 2.7-second 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) run, though Lotus will only say that the Emeya R gets to 62 mph in under 2.8 seconds leaving us to speculate on the exact figure.
Porsche does have a Taycan that makes more power than the Emeya R, but that Turbo R costs £161,400 ($209,000). It kicks out a hefty 764 hp (775 PS / 570 kW) in normal driving and 939 hp (952 PS / 700 kW) in overboost situations, but we imagine Lotus will have an answer to that before long.
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Doing its best to thwart our comparisons is Lotus’s decision not to reveal the power and performance numbers of the entry-level car (simply badged ‘Emeya’) and the mid-spec S. But we do know that they cost £94,950 (€106,400) and £107,450 (€126,950), and if, as is expected, they both get the same 603 hp (611 PS / 450 kW), all-wheel drive powertrains as the equivalent models in the Eletre SUV lineup, they’re again going to stand up to on-paper scrutiny against the Porsches.
The Taycan starts at £86,500 in the UK ($99,400 in the U.S.), but that only gets you a single-motor, rear-wheel drive car with 402 hp (408 PS / 300 kW). The £95,900 Taycan 4S that more accurately matches the Emeya on price does feature two motors and all-wheel drive, but it still only makes 456 hp (462 PS / 340 kW), or 537 hp (544 PS / 400 kW) on overboost.
Like its Eletre big brother, the Emeya features a huge 102 kWh (net) battery across the range. Porsche has just introduced a new 97 kWh battery for the Taycan that’s standard on the Turbo cars, but the base and 4S make do with an 83.6 kWh version. The rangiest Taycan, the base, RWD car with the Performance Battery Plus option is rated at 421 miles WLTP (678 km), but the 4S can only do 348 miles (560 km), while Lotus claims 379 miles (610 km). On paper at least, it looks like we’re going to see a good fight between the two.
