Customers in the UK can now take delivery of their Lotus Emira direct from the factory. Shaan Kodituwakku was the first customer to do so, picking up an Emira V6 First Edition in Hethel Yellow. The Factory Collection Experience is an option available to UK-based Emira customers, which also includes a tour of the company’s overhauled production facility, the Chapman Production Center.
The experience begins with an in-depth tour, giving customers a “truly up-close and personal factory floor experience”. After that, the customer takes delivery of their car, followed by a handover process that includes demonstrating the vehicle’s various features and technologies. Lotus ended the event with a framed photo from Emira’s customer as a souvenir of the day.
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“When I arrived at Hethel I was greeted by a very friendly security guard who knew my name, knew I was picking up an Emira, and congratulated me!” Kodituwakku said. “What a feeling, and well worth the 4am start flying from Edinburgh.”
Lotus reveals Emira in 2021, with US-only details coming out the following year. The Emira V6 First Edition packs a Toyota-sourced 3.5-liter V6 engine that’s supercharged to produce 400 horsepower (298 kilowatts) and 310 pound-feet (420 Newton-meters) of torque with a manual gearbox. Upgrading to automatic increases torque output to 317 lb-ft (430 Nm). The Coupe reaches 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in 4.3 and 4.2 seconds respectively.
Emira is also available with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine sourced from AMG. This mill produced 360 hp (280 kW), much less than made in the AMG A45 S, which produced 416 hp (310 kW). Lotus will offer the four-cylinder Emira as a First Edition model, giving the car 20-inch wheels and a two-tone paint finish.
Emira four-cylinder will be launched next year with the basic version. It will have a starting price of $73,900 in the US, with the V6 First Edition commanding $93,900. Emira is one of the brand’s newest models, but it also owns Eletre, a 600-hp (441-kW) electric SUV.
