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The V8 for Lotus's Type 135 Supercar Is Revealed: Horse Powertrain's 4.0-Litre W40
Horse Powertrain has shown the twin-turbo V8 that will power the Lotus Type 135, due in 2028. What has been confirmed, and what is still unknown.
Lotus’s next supercar now has an engine. On 10 November, Horse Powertrain revealed the W40, a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, and confirmed that it will power the Lotus Type 135, the hybrid supercar Lotus set out in its Focus 2030 strategy earlier this year and plans to launch in 2028.
What has been confirmed
According to the figures reported by evo and Motor1, the W40 makes more than 500 kW (about 670 bhp) and 800 Nm on its own. It has direct injection and its two turbochargers sit between the cylinder banks in a “hot vee” layout, the arrangement Mercedes-AMG uses on its 4.0-litre V8. Horse quotes a weight of about 200 kg for the engine and describes it as “hybrid-first”.
It will be paired with a new Horse eight-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox, the 8LDCT, rated for up to 1,050 Nm and quoted with shift times under 20 milliseconds. Horse describes it as a hybrid transmission.
Horse Powertrain is owned by Renault Group and Geely (45 per cent each) and Aramco (10 per cent). Geely is also Lotus’s majority owner, so this is an engine from within the same wider group. Lotus said it was excited to bring the V8 to the Type 135.
What is not known yet
The electric side of the car has not been detailed. Lotus has said the Type 135 will be a hybrid, and Motor1 reports it will be a conventional hybrid rather than a plug-in. Combined output figures and the layout of any electric motors are still unconfirmed. Lotus has also not confirmed a name, although much of the press expects the car to revive the Esprit badge. Evo reports that it will be built at Hethel, which Lotus has been reworking as a more flexible production site this year (the Hethel and Norfolk loop passes the factory gates).
Why it matters to owners
The Type 135 number was first attached to an all-electric sports car. Switching to a V8 hybrid is a large change of course, and it would make the Type 135 the first V8 Lotus road car since the Esprit V8 left production in 2004. The original Esprit’s story is told in our Lotus history guide.
For current owners, the same Horse family matters closer to home. A twin-turbo Horse V6 shown earlier this year is expected to find its way into the Emira, which currently uses Toyota and AMG engines. Lotus has not yet given dates for that change.
We will report on the Type 135 again when Lotus releases more confirmed detail.