The entry-level four-cylinder variant of the Lotus Emira might be unveiled on the Goodwood Competition of Velocity, the model has confirmed.
It options the turbocharged M139 engine from Mercedes-AMG, the world’s strongest four-pot and used within the AMG A45, C63 S E Efficiency and the SL 43, amongst others.
Nevertheless, this engine has acquired “basic adjustments” for the Emira, together with a brand new consumption and exhaust, which reduces energy outputs from the 382bhp and 354lb ft of entry-level AMG vehicles to 360bhp and 317lb ft.
An eight-speed dual-clutch automated gearbox is fitted to the AMG unit as commonplace.
In First Version trim, the AMG-engined Emira is £77,795 – £4200 cheaper than one fitted with the supercharged Toyota V6.
For reference, the Japanese engine – which beforehand featured within the Lotus Evora and Lotus Exige – produces 400bhp and 310lb ft and may, crucially, be optioned with a handbook gearbox.
Lotus Emira V6 First Version 2022 UK first drive
Deliveries of the four-pot Emira are anticipated to start within the autumn and a considerably cheaper trim degree – initially pitched at £59,995 however anticipated to price extra on arrival – will go on sale earlier than the top of the yr.
The Emira might be Lotus’s last combustion-engined series-production sports activities automotive. All new fashions will undertake battery-electric powertrains sourced from Lotus’s Geely group dad or mum firm.
The model is ready to radically develop its EV line-up over the subsequent few years, launching a saloon based mostly on the brand new Eletre in 2024. A high-volume rival to the Porsche Macan EV is scheduled to reach by 2028 and is anticipated to contribute roughly 75,000 gross sales a yr to Lotus’s general output.
Such vehicles might be engineered at Lotus’s new manufacturing unit in Wuhan, China. Nevertheless, purist sports activities vehicles within the mould of the Emira, Evora and Elise will proceed to be made in Hethel, Norfolk.
