We propose a new bilinear Hirota equation for τ-functions associated with the E 8 root lattice, that provides a "lens" generalisation of the τ-functions for the elliptic discrete Painlevé equation. Our equations are characterized by a positive integer r in addition to the usual elliptic parameters, and involve a mixture of continuous variables with additional discrete variables, the latter taking values on the E 8 root lattice. We construct explicit W(E 7 )-invariant hypergeometric solutions of this bilinear Hirota equation, which are given in terms of elliptic hypergeometric sum/integrals. 14 5.2. Decomposition of τ-function 16 6. Hypergeometric τ-Function 18 6.