The Lotus Emira has recently enjoyed its strongest year of sales yet, and keen to keep up that momentum, Lotus has announced a raft of changes and new versions of the car, following on from the new Turbo SE version launched earlier this year.
Headlining the changes is a companion SE version of the V6 Emira. Its 3.5-litre supercharged Toyota-sourced engine is unchanged, remaining hooked up to a standard six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic. It’ll still hit 62mph in 4.3 seconds, and max out at 180mph in manual form.
Lotus Emira V6 SE - interior
That manual, though, gets a new compression mount for greater shift precision. Underneath, the damper calibration and wheel alignment have been given minor tweaks. You can tell it apart by its exterior Black Pack, 20-inch forged alloys, red brake callipers and Alcantara upholstery.
At the other end of the Emira range, there’s a new entry-level four-cylinder Turbo model to sit below the Turbo SE. It’s essentially the return of the old lower-powered First Edition four-cylinder Emira, so it gets a 360bhp version of the 2.0-litre turbocharged Mercedes-AMG engine rather than the 400bhp found in the SE. That means the 0-62mph sprint takes 4.4 seconds, and top speed is 171mph, as opposed to 4.0 seconds and 181mph in the SE.
Lotus Emira Turbo SE Racing Line - front
Elsewhere, both SE models can now be optioned with a Racing Line pack. This is a purely cosmetic thing, introducing a red, yellow or silver pinstripe running around the bottom of the car. The brake callipers, mirror caps and interior accent stitching are then matched to this colour, and a smattering of Racing Line badges and a set of high-gloss black alloys complete the look.
The whole Emira range has been given some light mechanical and software updates, too. The cooling system has been improved with new routing for the coolant pipes, while the four-cylinder’s dual-clutch transmission has been recalibrated for quicker shifts.
Lotus Emira Turbo SE - rear
The new optional Extended Co-Driver Pack packages together a host of driver assist features, including adaptive cruise control on automatic cars. Finally, two new colours, apparently inspired by Mopar’s early ’70s palette, join the range: Eos Green and Purple Haze.
As the new entry point to the range, the 360bhp Emira Turbo kicks off at £79,500. That goes up to £89,500 for the 400bhp Turbo SE, while the V6 SE – currently the only V6 available to order – starts at £96,500. The Racing Line pack, meanwhile, is a £3000 addition to both SE versions.
Mike Bartholomew
The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850. It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit, but it was a start.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get the latest car news, reviews and unmissable promotions from the team direct to your inbox
For more information see our Privacy Policy
Facebook Conversations