The Lotus Emira has been certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and deliveries of the mid-engined sports car can finally commence in the United States.
Lotus has already shipped hundreds of Emiras into the United States but they had been stuck at dealerships waiting for emissions approval. While there are just 14 states in the U.S. that follow CARB standards, Lotus was holding back deliveries of the Emira across the entirety of the U.S. to ensure buyers in those states didn’t flip their vehicles to those residing in CARB states.
In January, Lotus stated that some final checks needed to be done before the car could be approved by CARB but was unable to provide an update at the time. Fast forward six weeks and a member of the Lotus Talk forum got their hands on documentation showing the car received CARB approval on February 29. The document was obtained via a public records request.
Read: Hundreds Of Lotus Emiras Are Trapped In U.S. Dealers Due To Regulatory Issue
The Emira is quite an important car for the brand and effectively replaces the Exige, Elise, and Evora. It will be the final combustion-powered car built by Lotus and has already been on sale in overseas markets for a couple of years. In some markets, it is available with either a Mercedes-AMG-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or a 3.5-liter supercharged V6 from Toyota. It is this V6 model that is the sole offering in the United States.
All up, the U.S. spec Emira is good for 395 hp and 317 lb-ft (430 Nm) of torque, all of which is sent to the rear wheels via either a six-speed torque converter automatic or a six-speed manual transmission.
In January, one Lotus dealership revealed it had taken delivery of more than 100 Emiras and was awaiting CARB approval before it could hand them over to customers.
