This is the Lotus Emira (pronounced “Eh-meer-ah”), the all-new mid-engined sports car from the company that lives by the commandment, “To go fast, add lightness.” It looks like it has everything we’ve come to expect from Lotus: striking design, exotic supercar appeal, speed, technology, and barnacle-like grip. The only real question is: Will this be the last Lotus as we know it"

Winds of Change

Lotus, like anybody else that can do simple math and understand the direction the cultural winds are blowing, knows the days of the internal combustion engine are numbered. They’re a blast, no two ways about that, but they’re poisoning our atmosphere and roasting the planet. So ICE has got to go. And you know Lotus is on the same page.
Look no further than their recent Evija hypercar. It has world-challenging performance numbers, and it’s an EV. The Evija also has more than a passing resemblance to the Emira we’re looking at here. It has the same deep scallops heading towards the tail, the same familiar tail treatment – there’s a lot of the Evija in the Emira, but not in the engine department.

No, in the engine room, you will find some old-style yet thoroughly inspiring powerplants that should move the latest Lotus down the country lane with surprising speed and purpose. Lotus flatly states that this is the “exciting new sports car leading Lotus’ last hurrah with internal combustion engin...