After spending three years trekking across 15 countries and two continents, Lotus has finished the testing and development program of the all-electric Emeya sedan. The Emeya follows in the footsteps of the Eletre SUV as the brand’s second battery-electric vehicle and was most recently taken to the Arctic Circle in Ivalo, Finland for a grueling test regime that saw temperatures drop to as low as -25 degrees Celsius. While in Finland, Lotus’s engineers focused on fine-tuning the suspension, steering, brakes, and traction and stability control systems.
In addition, work was done on the bespoke
winter tires the Emeya will be available with and Lotus notes it has engineered
the driver assistance functions to remain functional despite road markings and
signs being obscured by things like snow. It also put the EV into a so-called
automotive ‘freezer’ that allowed it to drop the temperatures down to -40
degrees Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit). Throughout the past three years, the testing
regime for the Emeya has seen it take to the B-roads of the UK, the German
Autobahn, and mountain passes in Mongolia. It has also been tested at the
Nurburgring Nordschleife and the Nardo proving ground.
While the global testing regime for the
Emeya has wrapped up, Lotus will conduct additional local testing in the Middle
East, the U.S., and Australia before deliveries start in these markets. Powering
the Emeya are a pair of electric motors combining to produce up to 905 hp and 985 Nm of torque, allowing it to hit 100 km/h in 2.78
seconds and power through to 265 km/h. Providing the motors with
their juice is a 102 kWh battery back.
