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At the beginning of the year, Lotus made headlines after announcing the imminent end for its Elise, Exige and Evora models as it prepares itself for a brand new series of sports cars.
The time has now come, the Norfolk-based supercar maker has lifted the veil off its all-new mid-engined sports car dubbed Emira and it’s developed entirely on a new lightweight-bonded aluminium chassis, the all-new Lotus Emira is 4,412 mm long, 1,895 mm wide and has a height of just 1,225 mm.
The new Lotus Emira is powered by a choice of two petrol engines; a 2.0-litre and a supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine. The V6 is sourced from Toyota and also powers the now-defunct Exige and Evora models, while the inline four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine is the same M139 power unit that lurks in the current-gen Mercedes-AMG 45 models.
Although Lotus isn’t making any mention of the power figures produced by the AMG-sourced engine, Lotus is said to be working hand in hand with AMG as a technical partner for the first time, so expect significant changes to be made to the powertrain.
However, Lotus promises that the Emira stable’s power output will range between 268 kW and 298 kW with a maximum torque of 430 Nm.
The Emira will be available with a manual, automatic and Dual Clutch Transmission that send power entirely to the rear axle enabling it to hurtle from a standstill to 100 km/h in less than 4.5 seconds before reaching a top speed of 290 km/h.
On the outside, the new Lotus Emira features standard vertical all-LED headlights and a wing-inspired twin blade design. It runs on 20” alloy wheels as standard shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport tyres. Buyers can optionally upgrade the rubbers to Michelin Sport Cup 2 in conjunction with the Lotus Drivers Pack.
Inside, the Emira is fitted with a high-tech dashboard that houses a 12.3” fully-digital driver’s display plus a 10.25” touchscreen infotainment system that accepts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. The Emira is fitted with key-less go, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, electric folding door mirrors, rear parking sensors (with front sensors as an option), auto-dimming rear-view mirror, curtain airbags, launch control (as part of optional Lotus Drivers Pack), and a stolen vehicle tracker.
The Advanced Driver Assistance Systems list comprises adaptive cruise control, anti-collision system, fatigue alert, road sign information, vehicle speed limiter, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, and lane-change assist.
Deliveries of the new Lotus Emira are earmarked to begin in 2022, with pricing set to start at “less than £60 000” – about R1,188,752 at current exchange rates excluding taxes.
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