2010 Lotus Evora on 2040-cars

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Lotus runs the Emira hard - and sideways - on track

Lotus sent Gavin Kershaw – the British automaker's attributes and product integrity director – out on track with an Emira and a camera crew. In between reminding us that manual transmissions are wonderful and getting the Emira increasingly sideways, Kershaw's job was to explain how the last ICE-powered Lotus is still a Lotus. In this extended teaser, Kershaw offers us a look at a fresh new tidbit, that being the car's four driving modes. "Tour" mode will handle everyday driving, programmed for "maximum stability and control." "Sport" does what we all expect "Sport" to do, tightening responses and loosening slip angles. "Race" opens up even more slip angle, and changes the gauge cluster to display racy dials like the performance tachometer. Then there's the wonderfully named "Fully Off," which shuts down every nanny save the ABS. And remember, the Emira will be offered with two suspensions, either standard Tour or stiffer Sport, and will only come with hydraulic steering. Sounds like Lotus has delivered on its quest to make the Emira "for the drivers."  The engine in the V6 First Edition is the same Toyota-sourced supercharged 3.5-liter V6 found in the Evora, producing 400 horsepower and 310 or 317 pound-feet of torque depending on transmission — the automatic gets the greater torque, but why would you do that? This one comes just about fully loaded, graced with the Driver's Pack, Lower Black Pack, Design Pack, and Convenience Pack, plus optional 20-inch wheels with diamond-cut two-tone finish and two-piece brake discs with branded calipers. It won't cost anything to swap the wheels for silver or black versions. The only other big-time options we know about so far are the $1,400 Extended Black Pack, which adds more black accents in places like the roof, mirror caps, and exhaust finishers, and the $2,150 six-speed automatic to replace the six-speed manual.  Next year's base model will run with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder procured from AMG, producing 360 hp and shifting through a dual-clutch transmission.  While you wait, the Emira V6 First Edition configurator is online and ready for flights of fancy. To get in one when they begin arriving Stateside, the V6 First Edition opens up the bidding in early 2022 at $93,900. Late 2022 brings a base four-cylinder Emira that starts at $74,900. Neither of those prices includes destination. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

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 Advanced Performance offers hints about special projects

Four months ago, Lotus teased the creation of an Advanced Performance division. The legendary sports car maker divulged that the department would build "ultra-exclusive and unique vehicles" outside of the firm's regular-production lineup, developing Lotus race cars, manage Lotus motorsports programs, work on customer commissions and create customer experiences from Hethel production tours and track days to global driving academies and "money can't buy" opportunities. In further comments to Autocar and Auto Express, the head of Lotus Advanced Performance (LAP), Simon Lane, gave clues about what's coming. Lane suggested a number of creations, but the part we're most excited about is "while wider Lotus Group moves towards full-on electrification, LAP is 'reserving the right to still play with combustion engines.'" These ICE powerplants could be slated for coming restomod projects based on plans and technical drawings for Lotus products in the 1960s and 1970s that were never produced. Lane said his 15-person team is "well advanced" on work on what he calls "scratch build" vehicles that will hearken to vintage wares but be "easier to drive and maybe [have] a better power-to-weight ratio and better brakes." We love our electric cars here at Autoblog, but the idea of lightweight revivals recalling Lotus' best years with classic lines, small-displacement engines and maybe even manual transmissions would be glorious. These won't be continuation cars, but all-new products with production runs said to be smaller than anyone would expect.    It's possible we could see something this year, 2022 being the 50th anniversary of Emerson Fittipaldi and Lotus winning the 1972 Formula 1 Driver's and Constructor's Championships in the Lotus-Ford 72D. That might explain the teaser image from February, if not the colors of the car in the teaser. Know what other momentous Lotus moment occurred in 1972? The Esprit concept debuted at the Turin Motor Show. Lane, who comes from service in Aston Martin's Q division, calls LAP "the most all-encompassing special operations department" among automakers. That means there will be work done on the electric side, too, potential services being electric drivetrain conversions of traditional Lotus cars, and creating new bodywork for the new range of battery-electric cars.