Lotus Unveils New Mid-Engine Emira Sports Car

The upcoming Lotus Emira is a svelte, modern roadster by every standard. It might also mark the passing of an era for Lotus. With the all-electric Evija hypercar fast approaching, the Emira may be the last combustion hypercar for the marquee British automaker.

The Emira is set to go on sale in 2022 and will replace the Lotus Elise and Exige hypercars. From 2022 onward, the Emira is slated to be the only Lotus hypercar powered by a combustion engine. The Emira is also the first all-new Lotus for sale since the Evora was unveiled in 2009.

Lotus is expected to unveil more hypercars in the future, of course. But new models will be packing EV power. The Evija will be Lotus’s first EV and is expected to cost north of $2 million. Early reports claim that the Evija will crank out around 2,000 horsepower.

The Emira will likely be quite tame compared to the Evija. The Emira is expected to cost less than 60,000 pounds in the United Kingdom. With a 3.6 liter V6 engine cranking out 360 horsepower, the Emira should hit 60 in about 4.5 seconds, which is perhaps a tad bit slow by modern supercar standards.

Many automakers, including Ford, General Motors, Volvo, Bentley, and Toyota, are increasingly putting their resources into electric vehicles. EV stalwart Tesla is also launching new models, potentially including a $25,000 hatchback, and the blazing-fast Roadster.

Now, Lotus is on track to join the EV ranks, but they’re going out with a combustion bang with the Lotus Emira.