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Lotus Chief Driving the Emira at the Track Makes for a Very Subjective Review

Not many people have had the opportunity to jump in the driver’s seat of the Lotus Emira and put it through its paces. So far, the list is rather short, and includes, among others, Jenson Button, and Harry Metcalfe, and it has been recently expanded by Gavan Kershaw.
Lotus Emira 9 photos
Photo: Lotus
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Who is that, you ask? Well, the brand’s Director for Attributes and Product Integrity, who leads the dynamic development of every Lotus. Mr. Kershaw recently had the chance to thrash the Emira at Hethel, revealing his impressions, and highlighting some of the features of the car.

With the 3.5-liter V6 configuration and the supercharger, you start an acceleration from as low as 1,500 rpm, and the car just pulls, and pulls, and pulls, getting stronger and stronger as the revs increase. This is what a real sports car feels like,” Kershaw said. “The whole package is tuned to give you maximum reward and confidence. It’s ‘For The Drivers’.

The model put to the test by the Lotus official was the Emira V6 First Edition, which will also make its way to the United States, late next year. It will have an MSRP of $93,900, packing a mid-mounted 3.5-liter V6. Sourced from Toyota and equipped with a supercharger, it develops 394 hp (400 ps / 294 kW) and 317 lb-ft (430 Nm) of torque.

Directing the thrust to the wheels is a standard six-speed manual transmission, or an optional six-speed auto, which carries a $2,150 premium. When specified with the latter, the car can hit the 62 mph (100 kph) mark in 4.2 seconds from a standstill, one tenth of a second faster than the stick shift variant. Top speed stands at 180 mph (290 kph) in both models.

Replacing the Evora and gunning for the likes of the Porsche 718 Cayman, the Emira is a last hurrah for the brand’s internal combustion engines, and will also launch with a 2.0-liter four-pot made by Mercedes-AMG.

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Editor's note: Lotus Emira press pictures shared in the gallery, next to a video screenshot.

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About the author: Cristian Gnaticov
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After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s.
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