If the old time-honored motto of Lotus' founder Colin Chapman "simplify and add lightness," applied to everyday life, every self-help guru would simultaneously be out of a job. But at least in the automotive space, the all-new Lotus Emira still takes this motto to heart. As what's slated to be Lotus' final internal combustion-powered car, the Emira acts as a bookend for the petroleum chapter of their history. At the 2023 New York Auto Show, the Emira has a spot of its own.
Among a whole gaggle of other exotics with their own spot at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Manhattan, the Emira almost gives a vibe it's not quite as special as the twin Koenigseggs, Rimac, and two Lamborghinis on display in the same exotic booth. But don't delude yourself into thinking the new Emira is as basic or simple as the old Elise or Exige. It's a far more complicated animal than just a dedicated track car. In fact, you could almost use the Emira as a daily driver if you really wanted to.
Not that practicality or ease of use and maintenance are exactly selling points for why people should buy a Lotus Emira. Like its Evora father before it and its Elise/Exige grandparents before that, the Emira is a real driver's car. It's not exactly a supercar, mind you. The Emira is far too underpowered to be called that. But that's entirely beside the point. If your end goal is to have more fun behind the wheel than in any other car, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything else brand new that comes close.
From a distance, you can see the Emira takes on a similar iconic silhouette you're liable to see with an Evora, Exige, or an Elise. You could say Lotus has made such dimensions with those instantly recognizable styling lines something of their trademark since the late 1990s. With dimensions of 101.3 inches for a wheelbase and 74.6 inches wide, and a curb weight of just under 3,100 lbs, the Emira is a downside bigger than the Lotus models of the last 20 years.
If anything, that's one of the major selling points of the new Emira. The idea of a certified driver's car being large enough to carry a couple of golf bags while sacrificing as little of the driver's experience as possible is a pretty awesome selling point if you ask us. Traditionally, Lotus vehicles have engines sourced from any number of different places. Be it MG or Toyota, or even Ford way back in the day. It's clear Lotus is better suited to working out suspension geometry than they are building engines.
Photo: Benny Kirk/ autoevolution
The new Emira is no exception. Now that global health crisis-related supply chain issues seem to have been worked out, Lotus appears ready to offer two different engines in the Emira from two very different manufacturers. One is a 2.0-liter turbocharged M139 engine sourced from Mercedes-AMG sporting 360 horsepower or a 3.5-liter supercharged 2GR-FE V6 from Lotus' perennial engine supplier Toyota. This larger V6 jets 400 horsepower (406 ps) and 320 lb-ft (430 Nm) of torque.
In AMG-engined examples of the new Emira, they'll be paired to an eight-speed AMG Speedshift dual-clutch gearbox for that little bit of extra response time under hard acceleration or complicated corners. Meanwhile, Toyota V6 variants will make use of either a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox, both sourced from Aisin. As the sole provider for all of Toyota's transmissions for their vehicle lineup, you can at least trust these gearboxes won't be the first thing to break on these British sports cars.
All the power these drivetrains create will be sent to just the rear wheels, in case you were about to accuse Lotus of going soft with an all-wheel-drive system of some kind. On just performance specs alone, there's a lot to love about the Emira. There's almost a sense it's a more sustainable and economical approach to a low-sprung sports car than we're used to with other brands. Indeed, you have to be a very particular kind of petrolhead to favor the Lotus Emira over other, more powerful competition at the same exotic booth in New York this year.
At a starting U.S. MSRP of $74,900 for the base model and $93,900 for the V6 First Edition before taxes and fees, that's a lot of money to spend on a sports car that doesn't even exceed 400 horsepower. There are SN-95 Mustangs with only the mildest of tunes on them that can make better power figures than that. But don't be fooled. The Emira would walk all but the most powerful and recent Mustangs for the sole reason that lightness beats raw horsepower 99 times out of 100.
Photo: Benny Kirk/ autoevolution
For that reason, the swansong of Lotus ICE vehicles fits wonderfully into the larger mythos of the brand. Before the brand likely goes full electric in the next few years, Lotus fans can look back on these days and remember them as happy ones.
Google News