Lotus Emira V6 SE & Emira Turbo

Lotus Expands The Emira Line-Up With The V6 SE & Emira Turbo

Despite only being a few years old, the Lotus Emira has already solidified itself as one of the best sports cars of its generation. And, it’s about to get even better, as Lotus has unveiled an expansion of the Emira family to encompass a brand-new top-spec model, the ‘V6 SE’, and a new entry-level car, the ‘Turbo’. It’s an exciting time to be alive as a Lotus fan, and especially for fans with deeper pockets, as the Emira V6 SE takes everything that you know and love about the Emira and takes it up a notch, starting with that 3.5-litre V6 supercharged engine.

This beloved engine actually remains mostly unchanged versus the regular Emira, and thus, it puts out a healthy 400 hp and sends power through a lovely 6-speed manual transmission (or an optional automatic gearbox), with a limited-slip differential included as standard. Still, the Emira V6 SE does feature one major difference: a new compression mount for the manual box that helps to sharpen feedback and offer more precise gear shifts. All in all, this gains you a 0 to 62 mph time of around 4.3 seconds, before it then (electronically) tops out at 180 mph.

Lotus Emira V6 SE & Emira Turbo

Expanding The Emira Upwards & Downwards

Of course, a slightly tighter gearbox won’t be enough, and thankfully, there’s more! The Lotus Emira V6 SE has two new chassis and suspension settings – ‘Tour’ for more compliant rides for when you’re daily driving, and ‘Sport’ to get you firmer suspension tuning and a more dynamic feel. Elsewhere, the new V6 SE model gets bundled with revised damper calibration and subtle tweaks to the wheel alignment, which should help deliver crisper turn-in. Additionally, you get the same old hydraulic steering rack, which retains the original Emira’s tactile feedback.

Looking past the exclusive styling updates and cosmetic add-ons that you get in the V6 SE, it’ll also feature a wide range of technical updates and improvements over the regular Emira. One notable example is the improved cooling system (including the transmission oil cooler and the radiator) and enhanced thermal management, in addition to a retuned thermostat that ought to warm your car up quicker, and further refinement to the dual-clutch (auto) transmission to give you even smoother engagement, faster gear shifts, and far improved shift quality.

Lotus Emira V6 SE & Emira Turbo

Supercharged & Turbocharged Smiles For Miles

Sadly, the new Emira V6 SE is out of most folks’ budgets, with its eye-watering starting price of £96,500! Nevertheless, for a tiny bit less, starting from £79,500, you could instead get the also-new Lotus Emira Turbo. This particular model comes with an AMG-sourced 2.0-litre turbo-four, which puts out a fairly meaty 360 hp (Turbo) or 400 hp (Turbo SE), which is then mated to an 8-speed DCT automatic transmission. While it might have two fewer cylinders, the Emira Turbo is no slouch, sprinting from 0 to 62 mph in a mere 4.4 seconds (Turbo) or 4.0 seconds (Turbo SE).

On that note, the new Emira Turbo and Turbo SE max out at similar top speeds to the Emira V6 SE, at 171 mph and 181 mph, respectively. Underneath, you’ll find a slightly different set-up compared to the Emira V6 SE, featuring double-wishbone suspension front and rear, as well as an integrated rear spoiler, and electro-hydraulic steering. You don’t get nearly as many unique styling changes on the Turbo, but you do get a surprising number of ADAS systems and a bunch of other creature comforts, with order books open now and deliveries starting in September.

Lotus Emira V6 SE & Emira Turbo

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