Lotus Emira sports car teased; global debut in July

KUALA LUMPUR: Back in January, Lotus announced that the year 2021 will be the departure year of its three iconic models - Evora, Exige, and Elise as the automaker gears up for entering into a new era of lightweight sports models. The first car of the said era was known as the Type 131 till date as Lotus has now confirmed its name that is ‘EMIRA’. It is an ancient word, which means ‘commander’ or ‘leader.’

Along with confirmation of the name, the British automaker also released a few teaser images of the upcoming Emira. It will be the company’s last combustion-powered model that will bridge the gap between the outgoing cars and the forthcoming all-electric Evija hypercar. The global debut of the Lotus Emira will take place on July 6 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The Emira is based on the brand’s new lightweight aluminum platform known as Elemental and is expected to retain the signature agile handling. About the design, nothing much is revealed in the teaser images, except that the sports car front fascia has an Evija-like styling with differently stacked headlights. 

While keeping all the specific details under the wraps, Lotus said, ”It’s the most accomplished Lotus for generations – the perfectly packaged, powered, and formed sports car. Beautifully proportioned, shrink-wrapped, but with comfort, technology, and ergonomics built in. With a design inspired by the Evija all-electric hypercar, it’s a game-changing Lotus sports car.”

Lotus is likely to offer the upcoming Emira in a range of internal combustion engines. It may include a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder unit coupled with a dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Another mill on offer could be an enhanced version of the supercharged 3.5-litre Toyota V6 with manual or automatic transmission. 

Besides the new sports car, Lotus also detailed its upcoming strategies at the 'Driving Tomorrow' digital event. According to that, the brand is mainly focused on its new performance cars that will be built upon four new platforms - Hypercar, Sports, Premium, and E-Sports. These models will head Lotus’s all-electric future later in the decade.

Also read: Lotus revealed the next-generation EV endurance racer, the E-R9