Jenson Button Takes The New Lotus Emira For A Lap Around Laguna Seca

The Lotus Emira has officially touched down on U.S. shows and ex-Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button has had the opportunity to test it out on the famed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

This isn’t the first time that Button has driven the new mid-engined sports car as he actually had the chance to drive it in the UK a couple of months ago. The British driver has a close connection to Lotus thanks to his involvement with Radford, which is building a homage to the Lotus 62, and the fact that Lotus Engineering is a technical partner for his JBXE team in the Extreme E championship.

The Emira driven by Button at Laguna Seca was fitted with a six-speed manual transmission, meaning it has the flagship 3.5-liter supercharged Toyota V6 producing 395 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque. This engine is also available with a six-speed automatic ‘box while those who don’t need so much power can also opt for a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder AMG mill with approximately 360 hp. This four-cylinder is paired exclusively with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

In designing the Emira, Lotus took obvious design inspiration from the only other model in its range, the all-electrc Evija hypercar. The body is made from fiberglass and the car has headlights and hood cutouts very similar in shape to those of the Evija. The doors are also a similar shape to those of the Evija and it also has large side air intakes but unlike the Evjia, they are not complex venture tunnels that run through the car and exit out from the rear.

Lotus has not yet announced how much the Emira will cost in the United States but it should start at around $70,000.