Video: 2022 Lotus Emira First Look Reveals an Amazing Car, for an Amazing Price

Set to cost less than £60,000 ($82,807) a pop in the UK when it goes on sale next year, with the U.S. to follow toward the end of 2022, the Emira is kind of big compared to the original Elise. In fact, it weighs about twice as much, and with a width of nearly 1.9 meters (~75 mm), it is almost as wide as the third-gen Bentley Continental GT.

An aluminum chassis was used as the foundation stone, and the car has a transverse mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Customers will be able to spec it with one of the two power units available, with the Mercedes-AMG’s 2.0-liter turbo-four being the standard offering. Some state that it’s been lifted from the A 35, while others claim that it comes either from the A 45 or A 45 S, so the output and torque figures remain unknown for the moment.

A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission channels the thrust to the rear wheels, but a six-speed manual is available with the 3.5-liter V6, alongside a six-speed auto ‘box. The Toyota engine is derived from the mill powering the Exige and Evora, and develops 395 HP and 317 lb-ft (430 Nm) of torque, allowing it to top out at 180 mph (290 kph), Lotus claims.

The British carmaker has yet to allow journalists to drive the Emira, be it on the road or at the racetrack. Nevertheless, some have already had the chance to check it out first-hand, including Top Gear, whose impressions are only a mouse-click away, so you know what to do.