Lotus Emeya review

Prices for the base Emeya 600 now start at £84,990, which is actually almost £1,000 cheaper than before the recent trim level shake up. Still huge money of course, but every little helps. It also means the Emeya now undercuts the cheapest Porsche Taycan by over £3k. A significant saving.

What kit do I get for that cash?

That 'entry-level' car comes with the 603bhp powertrain, LED Matrix headlights, active air suspension, 20in wheels, four-pot front brakes and more driver assistance systems than you could possibly imagine. Seriously, it's initialism overload on the spec sheet.

There's also active aero in the front grille, wireless CarPlay, wireless phone charging, a KEF audio system, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a heat pump, electrically adjustable air vents (oh dear), white ambient lighting and an 8.0in screen for rear seat occupants.  

What if I want to spend more money?

The configurator offers some four-figure shades of white, grey or black paint and you can spend £500 to upgrade the black fabric seats to light grey in the base-spec Emeya 600. Other options include £2k on the cameras for mirrors, £2k on an active rear spoiler, £3.5k for an active rear diffuser and a whopping £4.25k for LiDAR to "future proof your vehicle for autonomous driving".

Plenty of ways to spend lots of cash, then. Or you could upgrade to the £89,990 600 GT. That adds bigger six-pot front brakes, 21in wheels and things like the 'Highway Pack' and 'Parking Pack'. It also brings up the option of spending an extra £1,950 on yellow paint or £4,500 on orange Nappa leather seats. We would advise against ticking both of these boxes on the same car.

The 600 GT SE trim is the first in the range to offer the fancy panoramic roof as standard, as well as configurable ambient lighting and a whopper of a stereo system. That'll set you back £94,990.

The final 603bhp car is the 600 Sport SE. That costs another £10k to tip well into six figures, but adds the active aero bits, rear-wheel steering, a 'dynamic handling pack' and more comfortable seats with ventilation and a massage function.

How much for the full 905bhp?  

The 900 Sport introduces a two-speed transmission to the Emeya to cope with all that power. There are 21in forged wheels too, plus all the badging is blacked out and you can have 'Fireglow Orange' paint for nearly £2k extra.

The range-topper is now the 900 Sport Carbon, complete with, erm... a 'full exterior carbon pack' and an 'extended interior carbon pack'. Sounds about right. That'll cost you a huge £139,990.

Any spec advice?

Well, we'd argue you could ignore most of what we've just told you and buy the base spec car. Or you could spend a little bit more and pick the 600 GT if you want to splash out on some fun yellow paint. That would still come in cheaper than a Porsche Taycan 4S.