Lotus New Zealand prices the Emira

Wednesday, 13 October 2021

The Lotus Emira is here as the British carmaker's farewell to the combustion engine.

Lotus has priced the Emira, ahead of its 2022 arrival in New Zealand, coming intially in a special First Edition.

Matt Windle, Managing Director, Lotus Cars, commented: “The Emira is the most accomplished Lotus we’ve ever made, and to celebrate and reward our keenest early customers in New Zealand, we want to make the first cars extra special to own. Our design team has carefully selected the features to make for a truly special and distinct First Edition.”

First Edition models get special branded brake calipers behind 20-inch forged alloy wheels, coming in either two-tone finish or silver/gloss black, depending on customer spec.

The Lotus Emira is due in New Zealand next year, sporting a Cayman-baiting price.

They also get one of six colours; Seneca Blue, Magma Red, Hethel Yellow, Dark Verdant, Shadow Grey and Nimbus Grey. More colours will be available during 2022.

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First Edition Emiras will get a special pack that blacks out the lower part of the front end.

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In 2023, the Emira will get the same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder as in the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S.

Other exterior changes include LED lights all ‘round, a titanium exhaust outlet, heated folding door mirrors and rear parking sensors. The Lower Black Pack is fitted as standard, which means the front bumper air blades, front splitter, side sills and rear diffuser are all finished in gloss black.

Seven interior colour choices are available, being red, black, grey and tan Nappa leather, as well as black Alcantara with either red, yellow or grey stitching. Satin chrome trim finishers, white interior mood lighting and Lotus-branded sill kick plates round out the look.

Also featuring inside the Emira is a high-tech dash with a 10.25-inch touchscreen for infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display and a 300W audio system developed with KEF.

Three more option packs are fitted as standard to the car, making four in total. The Drivers Pack gives customers the choice of Tour or Sport suspension with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport tyres, or Sport suspension with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.

The Design Pack adds privacy glass, sports pedals, a black Alcantara headliner, and the choice of black, red, yellow or silver-painted brake callipers. Lotus-branded footwell mats are also included.

Finally, the Convenience Pack adds front parking sensors, a rear reversing camera, rain-sensing wipers with aero blades, auto-dimming mirrors and a rear luggage storage net.

The new sports car will come with a supercharged Toyota-sourced V6 making 298kW and 420Nm of torque with the manual transmission (430Nm with the torque-converter automatic option), mounted behind the occupants.

Eventually, it will get Mercedes-AMG’s epic 2.0-litre turbo four, the same one as in the A 45 S, later in 2023. This engine gets a dual-clutch automatic only.

Pricing starts at $177,000, which puts it slightly above the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS with its 4.0-litre GT4-derived naturally-aspirated boxer six.

Both models produce identical power and torque figures, so, aside from looks and brand loyalty, it boils down to a question of supercharging versus natural aspiration.