Lotus has designed the Emira so that it does not need active aerodynamics
Lotus has unveiled the Emira, its last petrol-powered sports car, that sports striking design inspired by the Evija hypercar.
To be priced from under £60,000 (Rs. 61.81 lakhs), the mid-engined Emira has been built on a lightweight bonded aluminium chassis.
The first all-new Lotus sports car to be delivered under the brand’s Vision80 plan, the Emira comes with fluid surfaces, crisp feature lines, wide footprint and a cabin that sits low down between its muscular haunches.
Of course, the numerous vents present on the exterior give the vehicle a more purposeful look along with the 20-inch wheels (there are 5 choices), while it also comes with sleek LED lighting and as many as 6 exterior paint colours.
On the inside (where Lotus has been traditionally weak), the cabin is dominated by the 12.3-inch TFT driver’s display and 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, that sit on a minimalist dashboard.
The centre console is placed high and separates the driver and passenger sections and overall, the cabin features a lot of soft-trimmed surfaces and modern technical finishes.
As a bonus, the gear linkage of V6 cars equipped with the manual gearbox will be partly exposed (like in the Elise and Exige) for car fans to geek about.
Unlike previous Lotus cars, the Emira will come with tonnes of features, some of which include smartphone connectivity, electrically adjustable seats, ambient lighting, keyless go, rain-sensing wipers, electric folding ORVMs, auto-dimming rear view mirror, and more.
There is 151 litres of boot space and an additional 208-litre storage behind the seats, making the Emira a very practical sports car. Also, customers can choose from as many as 7 interior colours.
Powering the Lotus Emira will be a choice of 2 petrol engines. The first cars will be available as ‘First Edition’ models powered by a 3.5-litre V6 from Toyota. From summer 2022, a 4-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo petrol sourced from AMG will also be on offer.
Although the exact power figures of the motors have not been revealed, Lotus says they will make between 360 and 400 BHP and 430 Nm of torque.
Thus, they will be able to make the 1405 kg (in its lightest form) sports car do a sub-4.5 seconds 0-100 km/hr sprint and hit a top speed of 290 km/hr.
The gearbox options the Lotus Emira will come with include a manual, automatic (V6) and dual clutch transmission (4-pot). All of them send the engine’s power to the rear wheels.
Thankfully, Lotus has given the car a hydraulic steering and when it comes to chassis and suspension settings, there are 2 modes – Tour and Sports – that are available with the optional Lotus Drivers Pack which also includes launch control.
Even Lotus has joined the list of carmakers equipping their products with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) with the Emira.