The Lotus Emira could be the company’s last combustion sports car.
Lotus has claimed that the Emira will be its last internal combustion powered car, with plans to go all-electric by 2028. There are some rumors that this move may be delayed, but the overall trajectory has not changed, especially given the focus of the Chinese parent company Geely. But the Lotus’s hallmark is sportiness through low weight rather than outright power, which is the exact opposite of heavy battery-charged electric cars. So I took the Lotus Emira for an extended test drive to find out exactly what the company needs to reproduce in electric form.
Test Driving The Lotus Emira
The Lotus Emira you’re supposed to want is Toyota’s 3.5-litre supercharged V6 with a manual gearbox, which has been raved about as one of the best driving cars from the marque ever. However, I deliberately chose the one you shouldn’t like, which has a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine. The differences in power and performance are not that great. The V6 has 400 horsepower, while the I4 has 360 horsepower. That means the V6 takes 4.2 seconds to hit 60 mph, while the I4 takes 4.3 seconds. Top speeds are 180 mph and 171 mph respectively.
However, the I4 is only available with an automatic transmission, which is the main reason purists say you should go for the V6. It’s an eight-speed dual-clutch system, sourced from AMG like the I4 engine itself (it’s the same as the Mercedes A45, but with slightly less power). The reason I chose this was to get a more EV-like driving experience. No EV will have a manual gearbox – it makes no sense considering the torque curve of electric motors. Some electric vehicles, notably the Porsche Taycan, have a second gear to promote efficiency at speed. But we’ll have to say goodbye to shifting gears, rev matching, and moving feet in the EV. It is inevitable.
Emira has classic mid-engine sports car lines. Wonderful.
Those who plan to do a lot of track days will have more fun with the manual V6 version of the Emira. But it always feels like a waste to have a nice car that you rarely use. Having owned a classic manual sports car with a heavy clutch for about 13 years, they are not ideal for London traffic, although the left ankle will be significantly strengthened. I regret to admit that one of the things I love about the EVs I regularly drive and own is how little you have to do to make it go fast. On one level, it’s less involved, but leaves your attention available to focus on other aspects of driving. It also makes opportunistic overtaking a doddle.
Whichever Emira you choose, it doesn’t change the fact that this car is great. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Lotus sports car that doesn’t look good, but the Emira is one of the best, even among its celebrity peers. A sleek, mid-engined profile with open rear wheel arches lends classic Lotus looks, with a sharp nose accentuated by gaps on either side of the front fascia (or hood for US readers). You’re not meant to open this panel under normal circumstances because there’s no engine here (of course) and no luggage space. You do get minimal space in the back (151 litres), but it can also get warm, so it won’t be ideal for your next shopping trip to the cheese shop, although it could benefit from getting groceries for food.
Lotus has gone against the grain with the interior as well. While the exteriors of the Lotus have never disappointed in looks, the interiors have been a different story. Generally collected from other manufacturers’ parts bins, they often felt cheap and unsuitable for cars this fast. Not even Emira. This is still a fairly minimalistic cabin, but it feels modern (some argue more so than competitors like the Porsche Cayman) and includes a decent infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay.
In other words, the Emira is a fun car to get into rather than something that endures because it’s fun to drive. Despite the lack of a gear, there’s still plenty of fun to be had with the automatic too. You can have a manual “flappy paddle” experience with the Emira i4, throwing down the gear for an overtaking. There are also three driving modes – Touring, Sport and Track. These adjust the handling, suspension and engine, with the Touring softening the springs and damping, with a lower center of gravity for stability. Sport stiffens the springs and dampers, with increased camber and toe angles for grip. Throttle response is increased, with a higher rev limit, and the exhaust is (noticeably) louder. Track mode is basically “more of the same” but also lets you disable ESC and traction control. If you want to get maximum acceleration, you will need to use this mode.
Emira has also taken Lotus to another level with its sense of quality.
For everyday driving on British roads, it’s an excellent set of options. Cruise around town or on the highway in Touring mode for greater quietness and efficiency. Dial Sport for an A-road with dry weather turns. And if you hit the track, there’s a way to enhance that experience, too. I didn’t try the Track option much (it’s quite noisy for the passengers), but when I did, it was a lot of fun. The gearbox and drive setup aren’t quite as good as in the Maserati MC20, but it’s up there. The only real criticism I have is that the Emira i4 is a bit slow to reverse, which makes parking a bit more of a pain than it should be.
The treatment is, of course, sublime. My test car had the Tour rather than the Sport chassis. While the latter is the choice if you want to go to the track a lot, the Tour option is much easier to live with on a daily basis, and still more than good enough for an engaging experience. Driving in Emira is incredibly safe and responsive. Unless you turn off traction and ESC, road holding is about as safe as it gets. The feeling that the Emira will do what you ask and go where you drive it is among the best of any car I’ve driven.
Another amazing feature of the I4 is how economical it is. During my test drive, which remained British road-legal but generally lively, the car still delivered 38mpg (32 miles per US gallon) across a mix of motorway, A-road and urban driving. That’s an amazing result considering how fast this car is and that it doesn’t have a hybrid system. Prices start at £81,495 ($99,000), which isn’t as low as first expected, but about the same as the Porsche Cayman equivalent.
The weight problem for a Lotus electric Emira
The Lotus Emira is a remarkable sports car, a pinnacle of engineering excellence that demonstrates the validity of trying to keep weight down with a combustion-powered vehicle. But how can Lotus replicate this joyous experience in the electric age, where two tons are more the norm? So far, the Lotus electric range consists of the Evija hypercar, the Eletre SUV and the much-lauded Emeya luxury sedan. It’s clear why none of these are the lightweight cars epitomized by the legendary Elise. This has not been possible with current battery technology. The original Tesla Roadster was over 1,200 kg, compared to the 700-800 kg of the Elise on which it was based.
Theory 1 shows the direction Lotus intends to take in the electric age.
Lotus has teased its new direction with the Theory 1, though this is much more of a concept than anything we’ll see on the road. The target is “under 1,600kg” for this car, but that’s still double what most Elises have weighed during their 25-year production run. Theory 1 also seems to be more in Evija than Elise territory. Last year, Lotus said its first electric sports car would arrive in 2027, with a price rumored to be around £75,000. This is Type 135 (actual name not yet revealed – Emira is Type 131). However, Lotus has recently said that this timeframe could slip depending on battery technology.
The Emira is already considered quite heavy at 1,446 kg (the V6 is still slightly heavier). But making a fully equipped EV even that weight using current technology is problematic. The stylish and desirable MG Cyberster is relentlessly quick in a straight line, but the single-engine version weighs 1,850kg and the twin-engine 1,984kg. This is a great car for daily or long-distance driving, but it’s not a focused sports car like the Emira.
The Caterham EV Seven is a 700kg electric sports car with a 51kWh battery, but it’s mainly intended for track use. Caterham has also recently shown off a more road-oriented coupe using XING Mobility’s IMMERSIO CTP technology, called the Project V. This will reportedly have a 55kWh battery and weigh just 1,190kg. That’s more what Lotus should be aiming for with the Type 135, but to have the Emira’s GT capabilities, it will need a bigger battery and at least 300 miles of range.
It may be a few years before we see an electric Lotus that can do everything the Emira can.
There is, of course, the sub-1000kg McMurtry Spéirling, clearly intended for track use only. Rimac’s Nevera is the most exciting EV I’ve driven, but it’s a $2 million hypercar that can accelerate to 60 mph in 1.8 seconds. It also weighs 2300kg, which it handles remarkably well around a track. But that’s not what a Lotus sports car is all about. It’s meant to be great on the road, but with the ability to get you there and back too, and not priced like a hypercar.
When will we see an electric Lotus Emira?
The question is not just when Lotus can replicate a car like the Emira in electric form, but whether it will be possible at all. The battery in a Tesla Model 3 Long Range weighs about 480 kg. While electric motors tend to be significantly lighter than internal combustion engines, this is not enough to tell the difference. A full tank of 52.5 liters of fuel in the Emira is less than 40 kg.
In other words, we’d probably need the battery’s energy density to increase nearly tenfold before an electric version of the current Lotus Emira could offer similar handling to the combustion version. Until then, the choice will be similar dynamics but without the huge touring range, or the ability to offer longer distances but not the same versatility. Both can be great experiences, but you won’t get both at the same time, which shows just how much automotive electrification is disrupting norms and presenting tough choices for carmakers.
