Lotus shows the driving position of the Emira

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Known at first as the Lotus Type 131, Hethel's latest combustion sports car and successor to the Elise is showing more detail.

Since the beginning of this 2021, even much earlier, the arrival of a replacement for the veteran and beloved sports car Lotus Elise and his brothers has been anticipating. One that will also serve to transition the new Geely Lotus towards the ultimate goal of being a 100% electric brand.

Thus, in recent months, Lotus anticipated the arrival of three new models to replace the Elise, Exige, and Evora, and one of them would be the Lotus Type 131, already presented as the last model with internal combustion mechanics in the history of Lotus. Now, at last, the Hethel brand has revealed the definitive name of this substitute for its current light sports cars: it will be called Lotus Emira and we will officially meet it on July 6 .

Its characteristics include a driving position with very complete digital instrumentation and a steering wheel that already anticipates that we are facing a 100% sporty model.

Relying on the Toyota V6 engine And AMG?

Lotus does not hide that this car will mark a before and after because it presents it as its latest model with a combustion engine, in fact, it has already begun to give details about the mechanics, or rather mechanics, that it will equip. As a substitute for three great sports cars such as the Elise, Exige, and Evora, it has a great responsibility although purists who love light sports cars do not have to worry, since despite some rumors the brand itself has clarified that this model will not have a mechanic hybrid, but will be 100% combustion like its predecessors.

Moreover, the Lotus Managing Director himself has confirmed to our colleagues at Road & Track that they will continue to rely on Toyota's V6 engine. We love the V6. It is a fantastic engine, and I think that in the United States it also loves it he assured also confirming that this engine will be available with both manual and automatic gearboxes.

However, it seems that the Emira will have more engines in its range and although here Windle has not wanted to release much garment, it has discarded the initial idea of ​​using a Geely engine, such as that of a Volvo for this Lotus. The idea is to find a high-performance engine that offers the character and sporty behavior of a Lotus and here it does give some details: I can confirm that we will not use the mechanics of any Geely model or any of the group's brands. We are here. working with a well-known engine supplier who will provide us with a very efficient high-performance engine. It is not unique to us, but I can say that it is a four-cylinder engine.

This confirmation according to some could mean that Lotus could install in its Emira the powerful AMG M139 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the most powerful block in its class that currently equips the Mercedes A45 and CLA45 where it reaches up to 421 hp and 500 Nm of torque. In fact, this association of Lotus with AMG would not be unreasonable considering that Geely currently has a small stake in Mercedes.

The question is which of these two very different engines will be the top of the range because AMG's seemingly smaller engine boasts more power than Toyota's V6, so it will be interesting to see how Lotus differentiates them in its range.

The essence of the Elise with the design of the Evija

In any case, the new Emira will be born from a new aluminum chassis built with the same techniques that were applied in the Elise 25 years ago, although adapted to the present, thus confirming that we will continue to be in front of a light sports car. Windle promises that there will be a significant improvement in construction quality when it comes to producing it and also a reduction in cost thanks to the financial support that being within the Geely group means to obtain different components, which they assure will affect the price at the same time. client. To all this will be added an exterior and interior design that will take good note of what is applied in the electric hypercarLotus Evija.

As we say, the debut of this Lotus Emira will arrive on July 6, a presentation that will be followed by a premiere in motion at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​2021 just two days later.