Colin Chapman’s famous doctrine — simplify, then add lightness — defined Lotus for decades. That ethos makes the brand’s next move all the more striking. Lotus is reportedly building a near-1,000-horsepower hybrid supercar, internally called the Type 135, and widely expected to revive the Esprit nameplate — though Lotus has not formally confirmed that name. On November 10, 2026, Horse Powertrain confirmed it is supplying the powertrain. According to secondary reporting from Car and Driver and Road & Track, the launch target is 2028.
The Engine That Makes This Real
The Horse W40 brings serious combustion credentials before the hybrid system adds anything at all.
Sitting at the heart of the Type 135 is the Horse W40 — a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V-8 producing more than 670 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque from the combustion engine alone. The W40 uses a hot-V layout, meaning the turbochargers sit between the cylinder banks rather than mounted outside them — a configuration intended to support shorter intake paths and more compact packaging. The whole unit weighs approximately 441 pounds. For that output, that is a remarkably lean figure.
Powertrain highlights at a glance:
- Combustion output: 670+ hp, 590 lb-ft torque
- Full hybrid system output: at least 986 hp (reported by Lotus)
- Transmission: 8-speed wet dual-clutch (8LDCT); sub-20-millisecond shifts; rated to 774 lb-ft
- Engine weight: approximately 441 lbs
- Launch target: 2028 (reported target)
Almost 1,000 Horsepower, and a Very Long List of Unknowns
The hybrid system pushes the Type 135 into Ferrari and Lamborghini territory — on paper, at least.
Add the electric motors, and the planned hybrid system is reported to produce at least 986 horsepower — the tier occupied by the Ferrari 296 GTB and Lamborghini Temerario. The Type 135 appears aimed squarely at both. The transmission is Horse’s 8LDCT, a wet dual-clutch unit — meaning it operates in an oil bath, designed to manage high torque loads and deliver durability under hard use. Horse claims shift responses of under 20 milliseconds, with the unit rated to handle 774 pound-feet of torque.
Lotus CEO Feng Qingfeng described the W40 and 8LDCT as “significant advances in powertrain engineering” that combine “exceptional power and torque density with a highly integrated design.”
Horse Powertrain is a joint venture between Renault Group, Geely, and Saudi Aramco — providing the powertrain for what could become a new British flagship.
What remains publicly unconfirmed:
- The Esprit name itself
- Battery configuration
- Electric-motor layout
- Acceleration figures
- Pricing and production details
Lotus has also said it intends to combine this powertrain with its expertise in lightweight engineering — suggesting the Type 135 may chase both horsepower and the kind of agility Chapman would have recognized.
Chapman probably had opinions about 1,000-horsepower hybrids. If the Type 135 delivers on its reported numbers, Lotus may be proving that lightness and power are no longer mutually exclusive.
