Customers in the UK can now take delivery of their Lotus Emira straight from the factory. Shaan Kodituwakku was the first customer to do so, picking up his Emira V6 First Edition finished in Hethel Yellow. The Factory Collection experience is an available option for UK-based Emira customers, which also includes a tour of the company’s overhauled production facilities, the Chapman Production Center.
The experience begins with the in-depth tour, giving customers a “true up close and personal factory floor experience.” After that, the customer takes delivery of their car, followed by a handover process that includes demonstrating the vehicle’s various features and technologies. Lotus concludes the event with a framed picture of the customer’s Emira as the day’s souvenir.
Gallery: Lotus Emira Factory Collection
“When I arrived at Hethel, I was greeted by a super-friendly security guard who knew my name, knew I was picking up an Emira, and congratulated me!” said Kodituwakku. “That was such a great feeling, and worth the 4 a.m. start to fly down from Edinburgh.”
Lotus revealed the Emira in 2021, with US-specific details trickling out in the year after. The Emira V6 First Edition packs a Toyota-sourced 3.5-liter V6 engine that’s supercharged to produce 400 horsepower (298 kilowatts) and 310 pound-feet (420 Newton-meters) of torque with the manual gearbox. Upgrading to the auto increases the torque output to 317 lb-ft (430 Nm). The coupe hits 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in 4.3 and 4.2 seconds, respectively.
The Emira is also available with an AMG-sourced turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. This mill makes 360 hp (280 kW), far less than it makes in the AMG A45 S, where it pumps out 416 hp (310 kW). Lotus will offer the four-cylinder Emira as a First Edition model, giving the car 20-inch wheels and a two-tone paint finish.
The four-cylinder Emira will launch next year with a base version. It’ll have a starting price of $73,900 in the US, with the V6 First Edition commanding $93,900. The Emira is one of the brand’s newest models, but it also has the Eletre coming, a 600-hp (441-kW) electric SUV.
