Aside from the electric Emeya, Lotus Cars Malaysia (LCM) also brought along the Emira Turbo to its showcase at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. The company took orders for the four-cylinder sports car last August, but production delays have pushed back deliveries to such a degree that it is only now making its first local appearance here, ahead of a relaunch at the same time as its sedan sibling.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room first. As you may have surmised from the headline, the car has lost the “i4” tag, which we can only assume has been caused by BMW selling a car with the same name. The car is still simply badged the Emira, but Lotus now uses the Emira Turbo name in official documentation to differentiate it from the V6 model.
Nothing else about the car has changed, including the RM1,095,000 price tag for this First Edition model – the RM998,800 introductory price has since been exhausted. Neither has the engine, which remains the M139 2.0 litre turbocharged four-pot from the Mercedes-AMG A45, here sending 360 hp and 430 Nm of torque to the rear wheels.
Also donated by Affalterbach is a eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, which is the sole gearbox option (no manual here, unfortunately). Despite being down 40 hp over the V6, the four-banger is only two tenths of a second slower from zero to 100 km/h (4.4 seconds), while its top speed is identical at 290 km/h.
Built on the same bonded aluminium Lotus Sports Car Architecture as the V6, the Turbo gets a new, lighter aluminium rear subframe to accommodate the Merc engine. Despite this – and the lopping off of two cylinders – the extra weight of the turbocharged setup means the car weighs just 12 kg less than the V6.
The Turbo continues to ride on all-round double wishbone suspension with Eibach springs and passive Bilstein monotube dampers, available in a regular Tour setup with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport tyres or in a fast-road Sport tune (fitted here) with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber. No matter which version you go for, you’ll get 20-inch V-spoke forged alloy wheels hiding AP Racing brakes with four-piston front callipers.
Adapting the Emira to the turbo engine are a recalibrated stability control system (with brake-activated torque vectoring in lieu of the V6’s limited-slip differential) and bespoke anti-roll bars. The continued fitment of electro-hydraulic power steering means the car retains some semblance of feel through the rim.
Belying the comprehensive reengineering underneath is an unchanged exterior that retains the sculpted design language first seen on the Evija – replete with large front and side air intakes and rear bumper cutouts that are reminiscent of the electric hypercar’s gaping “pass-through” aero ducting. Highlights include vertical LED headlights, hourglass-shaped bonnet cutouts, an upswept window line, small trapezoidal taillights and large rear diffuser.
Inside, you’ll find a no-nonsense cabin with a flat-bottomed steering wheel, 12-way power-adjustable sports seats and a “floating” centre console. The latter features a fighter jet-style flip-up cover for the starter button and is topped by the same gearlever as the V6 automatic which – unusually for a sports car – uses a left-right (instead of up-down) sequential shifter also found in the Proton S70.
Other items Proton owners will be familiar with are the 12.3-inch instrument display and 10.25-inch freestanding infotainment touchscreen. These use bespoke Lotus software, however, with their own display designs and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (thankfully). A 12-speaker KEF sound system is standard.
The First Edition moniker on this car affords it four equipment packs which are otherwise offered as options. These include a Lower Black Pack that adds a gloss black finish to the front splitter, aero blade inserts in the corner air intakes, side skirts and rear diffuser. There’s also the Design Pack that throws on sports pedals, black Alcantara headlining and an Emira-branded strip on the floor mats.
Also fitted are the Lotus Drivers Pack with a Track Mode for the stability control (plus a track-specific instrument screen) and a Convenience Pack, the latter coming with front parking sensors, a reverse camera, auto wipers, auto-dimming mirrors and a rear luggage storage net. The car you see here also has the full Black Pack that covers the roof, door mirror caps and satin-finish tailpipe finishers.
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