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Lotus Emira V6 First Edition finally being delivered to customers

In July 2021, Lotus revealed the Emira, its final ICE-powered sports car before flipping to an all-electric lineup. By the time we got to drive it in December 2023, our Zac Palmer wrote, "you can’t spend $105,900 on a single car that would be more fun than the V6 First Edition I drove. There just isnÂ’t another option out there that drives like the Emira, putting it in a class of its own for the enthusiast who wants the most unfiltered experience possible." The problem for Emira buyers reading that — the ones sitting on reservations more than two years old — was that none of them had their cars. Last March, Gator Motorsports' franchise Indy Lotus in Indianapolis sent a letter to reservation holders explaining the holdup as U.S. certification, specifically certification by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). At the same time, CarBuzz reported that Emira V6 First Edition units destined for the U.S. would land here last summer but wouldn't be released to customers until between mid-October and mid-December. Except Lotus dealers then had to explain to buyers in January of this year that cars here were getting a software update, likely for certification purposes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had given the Emira its blessing, but Lotus didn't want to deliver units that couldn't be registered in the 14 states that adhere to CARB mandates, so it held all of them (and perhaps prevented some car-flipping). At the end of last month, the Californians approved of what Lotus had done with its engine programming, freeing the Emira to head to good homes. At one point, Lotus planned to have cars here in time to get into the 2022 model year, now it's a 2024. On the Emira Forum, in a thread about USA and Canadian delivery that's grown to more than 500 pages, someone posted the CARB approval on March 2, page 461 of the thread. The first response from a forum member in Stage 4 of the Five Stages of Grief — mentioned just four posts earlier — was, "Is this legit? This isn't something you did as a joke on the forum?" It's no joke, other forum posters are reporting that they are receiving their cars. Nay, twas not a joke. What's also serious is a higher price for the eventual entry-level trim, the Emira First Edition powered by an AMG-sourced turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.

2022 Lotus Emira packages and colors detailed along with European pricing

Lotus just dropped all the nitty gritty details on the Emira First Edition, and it even provided European pricing. Unfortunately, we’re being told to wait for official U.S. pricing information, but this gives us a general idea of what to expect. WeÂ’ll start this off by letting you know that an Emira First Edition is fully loaded up with options, making it extra expensive. Europeans will be paying ˆ95,995 for the model, and in case youÂ’re in the U.K., your price is GBP75,995. The Euro equivalent is $112,000 at todayÂ’s exchange rates, while the pound sterling equivalent is about $104,000. Without U.S.-specific pricing available yet, itÂ’s impossible to nail down an exact figure. That said, expect it to be around $100,000 or a little more for the Emira First Edition here. Lotus tells us what you get for your First Edition money, too. It specifies that this model is the “V6 First Edition,” because a not-yet-detailed “i4” First Edition is coming late next year to launch the AMG-sourced four-cylinder model. The V6 comes with the six-speed manual transmission standard. It also adds the available 20-inch forged alloy wheels with a diamond-cut two-tone finish and two-piece brake discs with branded calipers. A bunch of optional packages are fitted as standard with the First Edition. You get the Lower Black Pack, which gives you a glossy black paint finish for the front bumper air blades, front splitter, side sills and rear diffuser. The Drivers Pack gives you the choice between the Tour or Sport suspension (Sport is slightly stiffer). Tour comes with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport tires, and Sport comes with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. The standard Design Pack adds privacy glass, sports pedals, Lotus-branded floor mats, a black Alcantara headliner and the choice of brake calipers in a few different colors. The Convenience Pack then adds front parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers with aero blades, auto-dimming mirrors and a rear luggage storage set. In Europe, this last pack also adds a reverse camera, but that will be standard equipment in the U.S. by law. You can add even more money to the Emira First EditionÂ’s price by opting for the full Black Pack (an extra GBP1,200 or ˆ1,370). This coats a number of other exterior parts in glossy black paint including the roof, mirrors, Lotus badge and exhaust finisher. Lastly, an automatic transmission is available for GBP1,800 or ˆ2,600, but thatÂ’s one you should skip.

Lotus 3-Eleven may be the quickest track weapon you can buy

Germany's Sport Auto magazine routinely takes world-beating supercars around the short circuit at the Hockenheimring: Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis... the works. But the top of the leaderboard has now been claimed by something altogether smaller and less powerful in the form of the new Lotus 3-Eleven. The most extreme expression of the Elise/Exige platform to date, the 3-Eleven is a track-focused machine of the highest caliber. At its heart sits a relatively humble 3.5-liter supercharged V6, tuned to produce 460 horsepower. But with composite body panels and a low curb weight, it rockets to 60 in under 3.0 seconds flat, and more poignantly laps the company's own test track ten seconds ahead of the Evora 400. Now it's clocked a lap around Hockenheim – sometimes host of the German Grand Prix – in just 1:06.2, just edging out the previous record held by a Porsche 918 Spyder. It also bests the Gumpert Apollo, and the similarly track-focused Radical SR3 SL... not to mention everything else Sport Auto has ever taken to the track. What's even more impressive is that the magazine's road test editor Christian Gebhardt completed the lap on stock rubber and on a cold track that didn't get any warmer than 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Just imagine what it'd do on even semi-slicks and a warm track surface. Related Video: 'HYPERCAR-KILLING' LOTUS 3-ELEVEN SETS HOCKENHEIMRING LAP RECORD - Lotus 3-Eleven raises the bar by establishing a new "sport auto" production car lap record around Hockenheimring - Lotus 3-Eleven now heads the lap time list which features exotic hyper cars and track-focused supercars from some of the world's most prestigious manufacturers - Lap record set by "sport auto" magazine's top road tester Christian Gebhardt The Lotus 3-Eleven, the quickest series production car to come from Lotus' Hethel Headquarters, has set the fastest lap time ever recorded by the leading and highly-respected German car magazine, "sport auto". Driven by Christian Gebhardt, a highly accomplished driver and Road Test Editor for "sport auto", the Lotus 3-Eleven lapped the Hockenheimring short Circuit in an incredible 1 minute 06.2 seconds. This time was even more impressive considering that the 3-Eleven was on standard road tyres and the fastest lap was completed in less than perfect weather, where temperatures did not get higher than 8 degrees Celsius. Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc said, "Christian set a fabulous lap in less than ideal conditions.