Lotus Emira: first details of Norfolk’s new Porsche 911 rival
Lotus has confirmed its upcoming, Porsche 911-rivalling sports car will be called Emira.
The car – previously known as the Type 131 – will be revealed in full in early July, ahead of its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It isn’t a hybrid, but will be the last Lotus powered by an internal combustion engine. After this, every new Lotus will be electric.
Further details are thin on the ground – Lotus says it will be powered by a ‘choice of engines… with a new powertrain partnership’. Styling, meanwhile, is inspired by the Evija electric hypercar.
The launch of the Emira – pronounced ‘E-meer-a’ – comes as Lotus winds down production of its three current sports cars, the Elise, Exige and Evora. In doing so, it closes the book on one chapter and starts a new one under Geely ownership.
The company is developing four new platforms, which will form the basis for all new vehicles going forward: sports car, hypercar, premium car and electric sports car.
The Emira sits on the first of the four platforms, while the 2,000hp Evija sits on the second.
Look away now, Hethel purists, Lotus says the premium platform ‘will be the basis for an all-new range of lifestyle vehicles from the company’. It added that ‘these cars will catapult Lotus into a new era of higher retail volumes and significant revenues’.
Could Lotus do the previously unthinkable and launch an SUV in the coming years? It seems more likely than not.
The fourth platform, meanwhile, will be shared between Lotus and Alpine. Matt Windle, Lotus CEO, says he has “challenged our team to target the same weight as our latest combustion engine sports cars”.
Windle continued: “This year is a pivotal one for Lotus, particularly with our sports cars, as we reach the end of one era and begin another. The spirit and passion that gave the world the Elise, Exige and Evora will live on in the next generation of cars – cars like the all-new Lotus Emira.”
Daniel Puddicombe writes for Motoring Research