Lotus Emeya review

It was the downshifting that gave it away. Up until that point we weren’t sure how hard the Ferrari F8 Tributo driver had been trying. We’d been following along a derestricted autobahn for perhaps 10 miles during which time there was always traffic ahead, so neither of us could give it full beans. Not for more than a couple of seconds at any rate.

But whoever was behind the wheel of the Ferrari was clearly on it and seeking to prove a point. So when the time came and the traffic cleared to reveal a stretch of autobahn that was empty for a good couple of miles, we could hear the downshifts. And at that precise moment the game, as they say, was on.

In the event the F8 driver dropped two gears and gave it absolutely everything from about 75mph, the screaming exhaust note clearly audible above the rustling wind and background tyre hum that was filling our Lotus Emeya R’s otherwise silent cabin. The F8 driver then kept his or her toe in and went back up three gears until some form of sense and/or morality made them back off at around 160mph.