New Lotus Emira Teased Ahead Of July 6 Debut As Brand’s Last Gas Engine Model

Lotus has confirmed the name of its upcoming sports car as the Emira, releasing along the way the first bits of information and the obligatory teaser images; the new model will debut on July  6 and will be the brand’s last model to be powered by a combustion engine.

The new Lotus Emira, previously known as the Type 131, is going to bridge the gap between the outgoing Elise, Exige, and Evora and the all-electric Evija hypercar before the British carmaker transforms into a pure EV brand.

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Contrary to previous reports, the new Lotus Emira will not use a hybrid powertrain but will be offered with a range of internal combustion engines. This will include a new turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit paired to a dual-clutch automatic transmission, as well as a further developed version of the supercharged 3.5-liter Toyota V6, which will retain the option for a manual gearbox in addition to an automatic one.

Lotus didn’t reveal any technical details just yet, but according to Car & Driver, the new 2.0-liter engine will be sourced from a new partner that’s not Geely or Volvo, making more than 300 HP. This could mean that the more powerful V6 engine will offer even more power than the current 416 HP it makes in the Evora.

Just by looking at the teaser images, you can clearly see that the inspiration behind the new Emira’s styling comes from the Evija. Under the skin, the new mid-engine sports car will use a heavily reworked version of Evora’s bonded aluminum architecture, which will be simply called ‘Sports Car platform’.

“It’s the most accomplished Lotus for generations – the perfectly packaged, powered, and formed sports car,” said Matt Windle, Lotus Managing Director. “Beautifully proportioned, shrink-wrapped, but with comfort, technology and ergonomics built in. With a design inspired by the Evija all-electric hypercar, it’s a game-changing Lotus sports car.”

The new Lotus Emira will be fully revealed on July 6 and will make its dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 8.

Four New Platforms For The Future Lotus Models

In addition, Lotus revealed more details about its future strategy; it’s no secret that the Geely-owned carmaker is looking to expand its model range beyond sports cars, and to do so they are going to use four platforms.

The new Lotus Emira will be based on the aforementioned Sports Car platform, while the all-electric Evija is built upon the self-explanatory ‘Hypercar’ platform. The third one is called ‘Evolution’ and will be used for “an all-new range of lifestyle vehicles”, including the long-rumored Lotus SUV.  “Building on the launch of the Emira, these cars will catapult Lotus into a new era of higher retail volumes and significant revenues,” the company said in its release.

The fourth platform will be an electric sports car architecture, the product from the partnership between Lotus and Alpine, known internally as ‘E-Sports’. The electric sports car platform will be used for future Lotus and Alpine models.

“The E-Sports architecture will be flexible and modular, and will generate an exciting new sports car for the Lotus brand, with contemporary styling, class-leading ride and handling, explosive performance and that unmistakable Lotus character – a pure dynamic experience that is ‘For The Drivers’. I have challenged our teams to target the same weight as our latest combustion engine sports cars,” Windle said.