THE LOTUS POSITION ON PERFORMANCE (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

The Emira is everything a Lotus sportscar should be. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 62

In future years, the Emira might well be remembered as the last true Lotus sports car. Much is different here thanks to new brand owners Geely. But thankfully, much about this car's driver-orientated design is also familiar too. If you're looking for the last gasp of addictive Lotus tyre smoke before the EV era finally dawns upon us, you'll find it here.

Backgroundword count: 147

There will never be another Lotus like this. Like so many others, the marque is heading into an all-electric future, but just before it does, here is the final sign-off; a proper classic sports car in the finest Lotus traditions, the Emira. Think of it as a successor to the brand's old Evora and you won't be far out. Much of the underlying structure is shared with that car and, as with the Evora, you can also get a Toyota-sourced 3.5-litre V6 plumbed-in out back, here supercharged and sounding even better. But the Emira is a much more advanced piece of design, not just to look at but inside (much more day-to-day usable) and technologically (thanks to parts supplied by new Chinese owners Geely). A much more credible competitor then, to the two targeted rivals, Porsche's 718 Cayman and the Alpine A110. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 261

Lotus cars have traditionally been created around a lightweight mantra that persisted all the way through the brand's history right up to the point where the Evora was introduced in 2009. That car couldn't be especially lightweight as its power came from a rather substantial Toyota 3.5-litre V6 and the Emira is equally far away from the current class lightweight champion (the Alpine A110) because it uses basically that same Toyota engine. This features here in supercharged form putting out 400bhp (and 420Nm of torque), which means it's good for 62mph in 4.2s en route to 180mph. There's a choice between a 6-speed manual gearbox (borrowed from the Evora and the Exige) or a 6-speed paddleshift auto transmission. The alternative to that unit is another borrowed engine, this 2.0-litre four cylinder unit sourced from Mercedes-AMG (specifically the A 45 S hot hatch), this powerplant here putting out 360bhp (with 430Nm of torque) and only offered with 8-speed dual clutch auto transmission. Performance of this 'I4' version is quoted at 62mph dispatched in 4.4s en route to 180mph. Either engine is screwed into a typical Lotus extruded and bonded aluminium chassis and there are three driving modes - 'Tour', 'Sport' and 'Track'. Neither of these affects steering (still of the old-tech hydraulic kind) or the suspension (the brand offers a choice of road-orientated 'Tour' suspension or a much firmer track-orientated 'Sport' set-up). Either way, traction through the turns should be awesome - Lotus claims the Emira can corner at up to 1.2g. A V6 GT4 version is offered for track series use.

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