The biggest downside is that the lower redline makes it too easy to bump into the fuel cutoff when accelerating from a stop, though I assume an owner would get accustomed to the shift points quickly. Throttle response is instantaneous – jot one for supercharging instead of turbos – and the Emira never feels flat-footed or unprepared to lunge forward. This kind of pelvic stimulation is usually reserved for far more illicit activities, but the Emira encourages it at every opportunity.Īnd the downrated powertrain doesn’t feel like a sacrifice in this kind of running. And it all gets transmitted directly to the base of your spine with every turn of the steering wheel. The revised seating position also places you perfectly between the four corners of the double-wishbone suspension, making you feel like a stressed member of the chassis and giving you plenty of intel on the road surface. But as on that theoretically harder-core vehicle (a car that didn’t even come with full carpeting, for heaven’s sake), the Emira communicated its every intention with incredible fidelity, allowing me to build confidence with little delay. As on the Evora GT I drove in 2020, I approached the Emira with a healthy sense of respect for its capabilities, recognizing that I likely wouldn’t have half the talent needed to exploit them on a public road. And each detail is functional, providing downforce and reducing drag underneath the car so it sneaks through the wind like a little nymph.Īny sense of daintiness blew right out the tailpipes once it was time to stop looking and start driving. The mini-hypercar look might give the Emira short, squat proportions, but it’s still a pretty little thing. Ditto the large, triangular side intakes and rear bumper air outlets that draw turbulent air away from tires. The gracefully curved front and rear fenders give the Lotus some genuine beauty instead of merely purposeful styling, and the fixed hood's double-arch motif borrows liberally from the Evija. Making matters worse, the 3,257-pound Emira weighs about 75 more than its predecessor, and as a result, the new Lotus is a bit slower than the model it replaces, hitting 60 in 4.2 seconds instead of 3.8.īut I didn’t have any of those numbers in my head the first time I gave the Emira a once-over. Blame a lower rev limit – 6,800 rpm under very specific conditions, versus the Evora’s 7,200 – which is intended to keep the valves from floating away in hard running. If you’re keeping score, that’s actually less power than the outgoing Evora, which made 416 ponies from its mechanically similar engine.
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