Lotus Adds 2.0-liter Four Cylinder To Emira; Starts At $99,000

The Lotus Emira is the swan song of mid-engine ICE-powered cars from the brand.

With the world transitioning its gas-powered vehicles to electric, Lotus was sure to be an exception. But alas, with the launch of the Eletre electric crossover, the brand also would forsake its lightweight low-volume ethos for the electric revolution. Still, the brand came up with the Emira, which will serve as the brand’s last pure ICE car ever. Now, Lotus has released details of its four-cylinder version, which will serve as an entry-level model slotting underneath the V6 model currently on sale.

The Lotus Emira 2.0 will come with a Mercedes-Benz-developed 2.0-liter turbocharged engine good for 360 horsepower, and 316 ft-lbs of torque. That power will be sent to the rear wheels, via an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Sorry, unlike the V6-powered Emira, the 2.0 four-cylinder model won’t have a manual transmission option. The 2.0 still will be able to launch the Emira to 60 MPH in as little as 4.3 seconds.

Interestingly, the 8-speed DCT and 2.0 four-cylinder are about as fast as the Toyota-sourced 3.5-liter V6-equipped car. The manual-equipped V6 car sprints to 60, in a nearly identical 4.2 seconds.

The Emira is already available for build on the Lotus website. It’s available in two states of tune for the chassis; Touring, or Sports. The Touring mode should soften the Emira’s aggressive nature, making it reasonably comfortable in daily traffic.

The Lotus Emira 2.0 will start at $99,000, slightly cheaper than the $105,400 of the V6 manual-powered car.

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