The forgotten Lotus Eminence
08/10/2025
Even 40 years before the Lotus Emeya sports sedan was launched in 2024, Lotus was already planning to introduce its own representative sedan. As a powerful and lightweight V8 engine was currently under development, this seemed obvious given the prevailing optimistic mood.
The Automobil Revue wrote at the time:
"Another project currently at an - albeit very early - stage of development at Lotus concerns a luxury saloon with the name "Eminence"; it is also to be equipped with the four-litre eight-cylinder engine and the continuously variable automatic transmission; the plastic body is designed as a monocoque, as in the Etna. "
In 1984, Lotus had already given some thought to the competitors of its own luxury sedan and named the Daimler sedan, the Rolls-Royce Camargue, the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Monteverdi luxury sedan (based on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class), the Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL and the Cadillac Fleetwood in the press release of October 9, 1984.
With a wheelbase of almost 356 cm, the Lotus would have been one of the longest, while its external dimensions of 546 x 185 x 150 cm (length x width x height) would have placed it in the middle of the field. With a weight of 1700 kg, only the more compact Mercedes would have been lighter. However, with over 360 hp (with biturbo even over 580 hp), the Lotus Eminence would certainly have been the fastest saloon, and even four-wheel drive - electronically controlled, of course - was planned.
It would have taken just 5.9 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 96 km/h, and a top speed of over 260 km/h (162 MPH) was announced. And all this with reasonable fuel consumption.
Of course, this saloon, which would have boasted a computer-controlled active chassis and other superlatives, would have been very expensive. Probably too expensive, especially as General Motors, the new owner of Lotus from 1986 onwards, had little interest in competing with its own luxury class.
And so, like many others, the project fell into oblivion. All that remains is a very preliminary design drawing ( pictured above) and the press release from October 1984. The Lotus Etna, which originated from the same period, at least made it to the prototype stage, which we recently reported on in detail.
