The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The critically acclaimed and award-winning Lotus Emira V6 has secured its rightful place as the most accomplished Lotus sports car ever made. With striking design, astonishing performance and benchmark ride and handling, its supercharged 3.5-litre powerplant matched to a choice of six-speed manual and automatic transmissions delivers a driving experience that could only be from Lotus.
The appeal of this mid-engine two-seater is further enhanced by the addition of a four-cylinder engine which features state-of-the-art technologies to deliver incredible performance and remarkable efficiency. Supplied by technical partner Mercedes-AMG, the all-aluminium, turbocharged 2.0-litre unit is based on the world’s most powerful four-cylinder in series production.
Badged for launch as the Emira First Edition, it has been further developed by Lotus with new intake and exhaust systems, plus a bespoke calibration matched to new transmission shift-mapping. Developing 360bhp (365PS) and 430Nm, this makes it a perfect match to the Emira’s lightweight, strong, stiff, bonded and extruded aluminium chassis structure and aligns to the Lotus ethos of delivering higher performance by reducing mass.
It’s also fitting that, as the final mainstream combustion engine Lotus two-seater, the Emira is the most powerful four-cylinder from Lotus in a rich bloodline of iconic models including the Elise, Esprit, Europa, Elan and Elite. And, at 180bhp/litre, it also has the highest specific power output in the Emira range.
Like the renowned 400bhp supercharged V6, the four-cylinder car delivers all the performance and responsiveness that drivers expect – 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in just 4.4 seconds and a 180mph (290km/h) maximum speed – while bringing its own unique character to the Emira range. That character is enhanced by the inherent day-to-day usability and comfort of the smooth and rapid shifting dual-clutch transmission. It also offers the added advantages of lower fuel consumption and a target CO2 emissions figure of 208g/km (WLTP combined).
Mike Johnstone, Group Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer, Lotus, said: “The Emira V6 has already proved incredibly successful, with many thousands of orders received from around the world. Now, with the four-cylinder Emira joining the range, we’re adding a new dimension to the car’s breadth of capability and appeal, offering new levels of efficiency and accessibility while continuing to offer all the performance and agility that our customers expect.”