The 2023 Lotus Emira is finally here! Arriving now in limited quantities after multiple supply-chain delays, this V6-powered First Edition gets 400 horsepower out of its supercharged Toyota engine, which is mated to an old-fashioned, six-speed manual transmission. The engine's mounted in the middle -- right where you want it -- and the whole package weighs about 3,200 pounds with a half a tank of gas. The Emira effectively replaces all three of the brand's previous gasoline-powered sports coupes but borrows most heavily from the Evora, which was also offered with a Toyota V6. It's fast, fun and reasonably easy to live with, so long as you don't plan to bring along anything more than a weekend bag and some snacks. As track cars go, it's hard to beat.
TranscriptBYRON HURD: Hey, everybody. It's Byron. And I'm going to be talking through a smile this week because we've got a really fun car in the Autoblog garage. This is the 2023 Lotus Emira V6 manual transmission first edition. There are very few of these in the country. They were delayed by COVID, but here they are finally.
It has 400 horsepower. The engine is in the middle. It's a 3.5 liter Toyota V6 with a supercharger on it. It's got hydraulic steering, not electric steering, so you feel everything. It's got a tiny little pedal box, so you can heel toe. Even if you don't know how, you'll do it by accident.
This is one of the best enthusiast sports cars on the planet. I cannot stress that enough. If you like driving, you will love this car. It is perfection.
All right, now before we get into the mechanicals and all the greasy stuff that makes this thing move, let's talk about the body because this thing was designed from the ground up to be fast. This thing is designed for grip, whether it's mechanical grip that you get from the suspension or aero grip. And as you can see, aero was a huge component of the exterior design of this car.
You have the massive intakes in the front, brake ducts on the sides. We have air extractors here under the hood that both pull air from the ground to keep the car planted and pull air out of the cooling systems that are under the front. Remember, the engine's not up there, it's in the middle.
Coming to the side, we have the lightweight wheels, the big brakes as you can see, slotted rotors looking pretty. Moving back the very deeply scalloped side here. Kind of hides the fact that you still have to climb over a pretty big ledge to get into the car. We'll show you that when we get inside.
Moving a little farther back. We're here at the intakes. These feed air into the engine. The big Toyota V6 is right here. You can hear that supercharger from the inside of the car. They also feed the brake ducts and the aero elements in the rear, forcing air out the back.
The whole point is keeping the car on the ground. Remember, this has very little in the way of electronic assistance. This car is about being manually driven. Hydraulic steering, not electric. No nannies, nothing like that.
The whole point is to give you the tools you need to drive the car really fast around a racetrack. Look at the nice sleek profile here. The air pushes down on the spoiler, keeping the rear end planted when you're going in high speed. Everything about this car is about going fast. Everything about this car is wonderful.
All right, so we've been talking about how this car is purpose built for speed and fun. But you do have to make some concessions to practicality because it's still a car. It's still a utility device. It's a piece of transportation.
This does have a trunk. That's right. The Lotus Emira has a real trunk in the back. It's probably big enough to fit a set of golf clubs. I'd have to ask my boss. I don't play myself.
But there's no cargo storage in the front, it's all back here. And the tiny little bit of cubby space that you get behind the seats inside, which we will jump in a minute and take a look. So we'll come back to this engine in just a couple of minutes because we definitely want to talk about that. But for now, let's hop inside.
One thing I'll point out, though, is you actually have to go on a bit of an adventure to get inside this thing. Just because the body is so wide, you have to step over this huge ledge. It's a lot like the Alfa 4C and previous Lotuses. So even for a short guy like me, it's a bit of a swing to get inside.
All right. So now we're inside the 2023 Lotus Emira first edition. And as you can see, it is nice in here, but there's really not a ton of feature content in the strictest sense. So let's start right here with really the most important piece in this entire car, it is a six-speed manual transmission that's standard with the V6. There is a four cylinder coming next year that will come with a Mercedes dual clutch because it's a Mercedes four cylinder.
Moving out from that we've got this neat little cover on the start/stop button. Kind of a fighter jet ignition switch cover there. Moving back you can see very simple, interactive stuff here. A few buttons, not a ton of controls. But that is for everything.
You don't have to go menu diving. There is navigation. There is Apple CarPlay. There is Android auto. Those features do exist. But outside of that, there's not a whole lot going on here. You're not getting augmented reality, you're not getting self-driving, you're not even really getting any driver aids. There are some parking sensors in front so that you don't hit anything when you park it, but that's about it.
You got a big chunky steering wheel here. Remember, it's hydraulic steering, not manual steering. So the effort is not incredibly high, but it is very precise and there is a lot of feedback. See you've got a nice digital cluster display in there too. And there are some little nice things kind of scattered around the cabin. We've got the leather and leather look stuff here on the seats and center console.
This is a real metal or at least a metal veneer on the center. And over here on the speaker guard on the door, there are even memory positions for the driver's side power adjustable seat. So it's not completely lacking in features, but it's very clear from the moment you step in that the whole point of this car is driving fast. And when you put your feet into that tiny little pedal box down there, you know it was built so that you can heel toe. This is a track car, first and foremost, a comfortable GT, a second or third at best.
All right. Enough about all that stuff. Let's get to the beating heart of this beast. Now, this is not a new engine. Nothing about this is particularly modern or fancy. It's a 3.5 liter V6 sourced from Toyota. It has a supercharger on it, 400 horsepower.
So what you're getting here is a car that weighs a little bit less than a Nissan Z and has basically the same power. So what's so cool about it? Well, everything else. The engines in the middle, which provides amazing balance. Allows the car to rotate really aggressively, both getting in and off the throttle, which is dangerous if you're not very good at driving.
But when you're not spinning out, you'll be having a wonderful time. This thing is all about driver focus. And this really says it all. They're saying you don't need a brand new modern engine with a ton of electronics just to go fast. This thing we'll do it just fine. It gives you more than enough power to move this thing around because it only weighs about 3,200 pounds.
That's amazing for such a large, sporty vehicle. So it's kind of old-fashioned, sort of like my outfit. But it's fast, it's fun, it's incredibly well-balanced. And it tells you everything that's happening all the time. If you enjoy driving, you really can't beat this.
All right, folks, that is the 2023 Lotus Emira first edition V6 manual. Sets you back about $100,000. The chances are you can't get one because they're pretty much all spoken for thanks to the reservation system that we all know and love. But you might get to see a few on the road and that's a very special treat.
So thanks for watching. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe. And let us know what you think about the Emira and anything else for driving in the comments below.
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