Electricity is proving very potent in today’s sportscars and hypercars. But, it’s also making a huge difference in super sedans. For those of us who love to go fast and carry four friends along for a thrill ride, the Porsche Taycan has become hard to beat. But now we’re finally seeing some spy shots of the new Lotus Envya, which is that sportscar maker’s latest electric supersedan – and it looks to be aiming square at the Taycan.

Will the Envya have enough to beat the Taycan?

What is the Lotus Envya?

Lotus makes small, light, fun-to-drive sports cars that follow the ethos of founder Colin Chapman: add lightness. The company’s sports cars handle extremely well because they’re light and stiff. That means you don’t need a huge V8 to achieve massive speeds. Instead, you just need to be able to put up with a few niggles, like manual seats, finicky air conditioning, and seats with padding so thin you’ll swear you’re sitting right on the carbon fiber.

Will that ethos translate to a four-door supercar for Lotus? It’s hard to say, but the Lotus is positioning the Envya in Taycan territory. It seems the company is basing it off the powertrain in the upcoming Eletre SUV, which means that it should have about 600 horsepower in the base model, but a staggering 905 in the R model. However, that means it will have a starting price of around $80,000 and likely north of $100,000 for the R model.  While don’t know a whole lot about the new car, we know that Lotus bakes in fun-to-drive and top-shelf handling into every car (or crossover) it builds.

What makes the Porsche Taycan so good?

Porsche seems to have hit a homerun with the Taycan, its first four-door all-electric car. Porsche offers the Taycan in a variety of flavors, with motors that put out 402 to 750 horsepower, and two battery options. But, but Taycan (like the Envya?) manages to pull off something rare: it looks like a sporty four-door. While it’s no 911, it does have classic Porsche lines that give it the right stance.

Porsche decided that it could make a car that had all of the performance of its iconic 911 or Cayman sportscars if it thought a bit differently about packaging. With no large gasoline motor to stuff in, the stylists were given the freedom to design a practical car. While it does seat five, those seats are low and hard to get in and out of. But, it does have an incredibly useful hatchback and it’s fun to drive.

Will people trade their Taycans for Envyas?

Sure, there are other fast four-door electric supersedans out there like the Tesla Model S Plaid and Lucid Air. But Lotus and Porsche have a longstanding rivalry on racetrack tracks and in enthusiasts’ hearts. Most of the time when you’re driving a Porsche you don’t worry about what’s behind you, but in 2024 when the Envya debuts, Taycan owners may start looking in their mirrors more often.