It’s always hard to say goodbye, including for fans of internal-combustion models now facing extinction. British marque Lotus is softening the blow with the Emira, its claimed swan song to conventional power trains. Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s famed axiom was “simplify, then add lightness," so it’s no surprise that the Emira was the closest thing to a go-kart in our field of contenders. The sports car’s raucous power delivery is owed to the most potent four-cylinder engine the automaker has ever used, sourced from AMG. As for the Emira’s place in the COTY lineup, Jeff Haber thought it presented “tremendous value for that level of performance," while Xing Yuan called it “the most memorable raw driving experience" and “by far the most fun." Abandoning preconceived notions, Andrew Adams admitted, “I was prepared to hate this car, and it really surprised me: amazing handling and acceleration." Charles Veth thought it “handles as well as any street-legal car."
While the vast majority of comments were positive, Richard Vanderbrook felt the engine “sounds busy and overworked," while Julie Schwalbe felt—well, very little. “This car left me flat," she said. “It’s cute, but that’s about where it stopped." Scott Powell bemoaned the “very slow acceleration," while David Mosteller’s only comment was a question: “Not sure why it’s here?"
There was no such confusion for Joe Fath, though, who found that the model “stays true to the founding principles of Colin Chapman… This should be at least in your stable of track cars versus being your daily driver." Also mindful of the manufacturer’s ethos, Carl Nolet gave it a ringing endorsement as “best of the best for Lotus—hits all the marks the company stands for." Of course, that’s with batteries not included.
Engine: AMG 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four
Power: 400 hp
0-60 MPH: 3.8 sec
Top Speed: 181 mph
Base Price: $99,900
As Tested: $102,780
From the article by Viju Mathew and Robert Ross
