Lotus Emira: A New Direction
Hethel’s new replacement to all that came before. Is this the start of a new era for sports cars?
I’m actually a pretty big Lotus fanboy. I can’t claim any love for the heritage or pretend to know anything about the F1 team, but something about the name, the brand, and the lightweight ethos has always fired it up the ladder of my good books. I’ve driven every iteration of Lotus’s refresh since 2015, from the Evora 400 to the Exige 430 Cup, and every version has given me this debilitating lust for small, tight, raw, race car excellence that you just don’t get in most modern cars anymore. So I think it’s fair to say I’m well versed in most things E named, watching the growth of its identity from superlight to something with more dexterity. This year we are introduced finally to the new era of Lotus, with the design language of its mass-produced models taken from the all-electric hypercar; the Evija.
Now we have the Emira, meaning “leader” which I’m guessing is derived from the Arabic word ‘Emir’ of similar meaning. Don’t quote me on that though, I haven’t done enough research to gauge whether that’s true or not but I’m not ready to shy away from my inherent genius. Leader is a great segway into what Lotus has actually just done to the market. It’s carved a new path much like Mclaren’s 720s did to the supercar world and upped the standard by which the sports car segment should be perceived. Why do I say this? Well, there are loads of reasons, but let's kick things off with the price because that teensy weensy detail floored me when the car was first unveiled. Starting in just shy of $83,000, the Lotus Emira is way too cheap for how it looks inside and out. It should be noted that eighty-three grand is the starting price that comes with a Mercedes A45 AMG four-pot motor. It’s probably the best turbocharged four-cylinder around don’t get me wrong, but I’m sure you'll have to get into the hundred thousand dollar region if you want the proper supercharged Toyota V6 with some options on it. Power ranges from 350 to 400 hp depending on the powertrain and has two gearbox options as well. ‘God save the queen’ is all I can think to say when I see that Lotus is still implementing the open linkage manual as an option to the V6 powered cars. Manual equals great, open linkage manual equals I need ten seconds of alone time. Apparently, it stands to take on the Alpine A110S in Europe and the Porsche 718 everywhere else but when you look at the shape it's more than surprising to learn that this car is not AT LEAST a six-figure car. Speaking of Porsches, the new GT3 that was unveiled earlier this year was praised mightily for incorporating a front-end double-wishbone suspension setup for the first time. Well, the Emira has just put its big boy pants on and unsettle the one percent by unleashing all-round double-wishbone suspension. I mean talk about bang for a buck eh?
If looks could kill this would send you straight to heaven. I will say just briefly on the looks, whilst I do absolutely adore the approach, I think it misses out on a bit of length that the Evija really benefits from, the shape looks a bit squashed to my eye, would definitely be a supercar rival looks-wise if it was a bit elongated. I also miss the rounded taillight design that felt core to the Lotus identity and will take some getting used to the sharpened light bar. But looks are subjective and I think the majority will argue that it’s a real honey to look at. One last thing, that over-glossed Miami blue-esque launch color smoothed out my perception of the lines a bit too much, so I don't think it would hurt to see it in person, possibly in a flatter more metallic shade.
The interior is the most surprising thing about the whole car to me though. It finally looks properly manufactured now as a real industry player, not like it’s been fitted with a cheap aftermarket Panasonic stereo and paper cut-out gauges designed by a five-year-old like Lotuses of old. Lotuses? Lotusi? Fuel for thought I guess. Anyway, if you could identify one area of this car that defines it as a supercar I would argue that it’s in the finishing of the interior over the exterior. Yeah, it looks good from the outside but it does still have the shorter wheelbase and stubbier curves of a sports car but the interior, however, looks like it's been stolen from a spacecraft from a planet that speaks in gurgly growls lightyears away. There's a switchgear cover for the ignition like an Aventador and two beautifully placed screens that aren’t overly large or riddled with confusing buttons below or between. The steering wheel is shaped perfectly it looks to the right size and bottoms out both at the top and beneath setting it off with a squarish look. I think it's a tricky thing to make a car look driver focused with a digital-oriented cabin, it’s often overdone, but this has the trademark simplicity that we know and love from Lotus, paired with new-age technology and finishing that really makes that cockpit feel like a special place to be.
Finally, Lotus is branching out to selling the Emira as their flagship vehicle in more places outside of Europe and for the first time in what seems like yonks ago, the car will be sold in numbers in the United States. I really hope the new era of Lotus does well as it embodies what I think are the essentials of a driving experience, sure this new one is a bit heavier clocking in at just over 1400kg whereas the Lotus Exige was in the ballpark of 1100kg depending on trim, but I genuinely think that other than its rivals at Porsche, there are few manufacturers aiming to deliver a true driving experience like this. I may have to seriously consider cancelling the GT4 and hold out for this one.
