Lotus Emira review

This is not the same howling error made by McLaren in 2011 when it launched the MP4-12C, which was to put a car into production before it was ready, but something quite different: the car you see here is not so much a pre-production prototype as a pre-pre-production car. And it came with a list of items that didn’t work – like its airbags – or weren’t to production specification, such as its seats and the brightness of its instrument pack.

But in the way that matters for a Lotus – the way it goes, stops and steers – I have no reason to believe it is not absolutely representative of what customers will receive when deliveries start this summer.

The car came with the supercharged 3.5-litre Toyota V6 familiar from the Evora and Exige tied to a six-speed manual gearbox. An auto is available, but it’s a conventional torque converter transmission, not a double clutch. If you want a DCT, you’ll need to choose the 2-litre four-cylinder turbo motor sourced from AMG, but then you lose the option of having a manual. Right now, around 80 per cent of orders received are for the V6 model.

Lotus is not clear on how long the V6 will last, but it won’t pass Euro VII emission legislation that could be introduced as early as 2025, and with a waiting list of already two years and growing, if you want one, I’d suggest you move smartly.

Lotus calls the Emira a brand new car which, of course, it is not. And nor should it be: creating a new car from scratch for just one model before going over to the very different all-electric architecture upon which the future of Lotus has been pinned would be nuts. Instead the start point was the Evora, whose wheelbase and powertrain have survived. But it is such a comprehensive revisiting that the Emira can be considered to be an otherwise essentially new car. It shares no other dimension with the Evora, nor its suspension, steering or other significant sub-assembly. In design terms, inside and out, it is entirely new.

Price wise, the range will start at £59,995 when the four-cylinder Emira arrives soon. It will have 360bhp and, in lightest form, weigh 1430kg. That aims it quite squarely at the Porsche 718 Cayman S which has similar power (345bhp), lower weight (1355kg in standard form before lightweight options) and a slightly lower £57,000 price. Whether Mercedes’ inline four is a preferable powerplant in this application to Porsche’s unlovely flat-four remains to be seen.

At the other end of the range, this fully loaded ‘First Edition’ V6 has 400bhp, costs £75,995 and at 1458kg, adds surprisingly little additional weight. You can buy an identically powerful 718 Cayman GTS for £8000 less complete with its gorgeous 4-litre flat-six motor, but by the time you’ve matched the equipment up, the price gap will almost certainly have disappeared.

And if you can live without the First Edition’s 12-way adjustable heated seats, premium sound system, privacy glass, Alcantara headlining, coloured brake calipers and convenience features like parking sensors, a reversing camera, rain-sensing wipers and so on and on and on, standard V6 models will cost from £64,995 with deliveries starting next year.

It’s a fine looking car, at least to these eyes. I’m still not sure about how the sharp angles of the bonnet and headlights resolve with its otherwise curvaceous shape, but from the side and rear in particular, the Emira has presence, purpose, beauty and a look that suggests a price far beyond what is being asked. The interior is quite minimalist, with one screen for the dials – which are indeed far too dim for now – and another above the gearlever. I’d say the cabin was good enough for the money asked, but no more.

There are two chassis specifications, Sport and Touring, which come with different springs and dampers, with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport tyres on the Touring model and Michelin Cup 2s on the Sport. The car I drove was a Touring, but with an optional limited-slip differential fitted.

It doesn’t look or feel like an Evora, but I’d recognise that sound firing up behind me anywhere. It’s gravelly but characterful and I like it very much, but it’s not as smooth as a Porsche flat-six, nor as classy. Nothing like in fact. But thanks to that supercharger, it has torque in places a 718 Cayman GTS driver couldn’t imagine.

I take it out onto the aforementioned road which forms part of the test route used by all Lotus chassis engineers. And you can see why: it’s quick and challenging, usually smooth but with enough bumps to pull the veil from any shortcomings hidden within the suspension set-up. It’s quiet and a place where you can put some proper loads through the car without taking silly risks in public.

And here, the Emira is outstanding. The steering is still hydraulically assisted and communicates beautifully. Its weighting and gearing are near perfect. The passively sprung and damped suspension is a little firmer than I’d expected of the Touring specification, but its secondary ride is good enough for this kind of car, and its primary body control just blissful: it’s not tied down on its springs, but moves gently, just enough to let the car breathe with the road.

It feels more than fast enough for these surroundings, rapid enough for the surge of acceleration to always be interesting without being so fierce you find yourself busier than you’d like to be. I really like the snarl too: this is not a blue-blooded engine, dripping in class and sophistication, but it has an earthy charm of its own and, my goodness it gets the job done. The gearbox? Entirely adequate and at least a three-pedal option remains, for now. But it is not special.

Back at Hethel and on the famous test track, you are reminded that this is not a light car: with all its First Edition goodies, it is not far off double the weight of an original Elise. Evija hypercar aside, this is the heaviest Lotus to date and it is disappointing given Lotus brand values that it is meaningfully heavier than a 718 Cayman GTS.

But it disguises it well, and in some respects the Emira is absolutely astonishing. Its ability to ride kerbs is right up there with Aladdin’s company carpet, so much so you wonder what active, electronic trickery is at work here; and of course there is none, just a team of chassis engineers who are very, very good at their jobs. So while the car is softly sprung for track work, it rarely feels out of its depth in that environment. And you can tell that proper drivers have set it up, because the pedals could not be more perfectly positioned for heel-and-toe downshifts. The Emira has no auto-blip function (least that I could find), and nor does it need one.

You’re going to want to know what it’s like on and over the limit, but to some extent I’m going to reserve judgement here until I’ve had a go in another one. In the form that I drove it, the car had too much understeer on turn in and did not appreciate a bootful of throttle to sort it out. Treat it a little more respectfully and it would drift amiably enough and sufficiently to keep the photographer happy, but it never felt a natural state for this car, because it isn’t. This is Lotus after all and they like to leave all that stuff to others and focus instead on the purity of their cars’ responses, an approach I applaud.

Even so I suspect the limited-slip differential did the car few favours and I’d be surprised if the car were not better balanced and nicer to drive, albeit less dramatic without it. I expect on Sport suspension with Cup 2 rubber underneath you, you’d probably want the diff back again, but that is pure supposition on my part.

It would be interesting also to try a car with a well-tuned active damper set up. These systems are so good these days, it might well be that a broad middle ground could be found, allowing a driver to have the majority of the benefits brought by both the Sport and Touring set-ups without forcing you to choose between the two. But that’s not going to happen: the Emira is passively damped and will remain that way.

Even so this is a fine new Lotus whose acquaintance I look forward to renewing in fully finished, production form. It is visually appealing, yet those looks make no promise the car cannot fulfil. What it is not is a revolution, as was the Elise in 1996 or, dare I say, the Alpine A110 in 2018; given where it has come from, that is perhaps no great surprise. But as the last Lotus to be powered by an internal combustion engine – how strange it still seems to be writing those words – it is not just fitting a farewell to its past, but an attractive, enjoyable and impressive bridge to its future as well.

Lotus Emira V6 First Edition

Engine: 3456cc, V6, supercharged
Transmission: 6-speed manual, RWD
Power: 400bhp @ 6800rpm
Torque: 310lb ft @ 3500rpm
Weight: 1458kg

Power-to-weight ratio: 274bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 4.3 seconds
Top speed: 180mph
Price: £75,995

Ti rating: 8/10