To test the Lotus Emira V-6, we first battled British build quality

Pros

1. Sublime to drive
2. Steering reminds us how good hydraulic assist can be
3. More comfortable and luxurious than past Lotus cars

Cons

1. Shifter balks at fast gear changes
2. Narrow pedal box makes correct pedal usage a challenge
3. Build quality is as bad as you expect a British car to be

Any time we get a Lotus at MotorTrend, there are bound to be a few jokes about British build quality. But when the all-new 2024 Lotus Emira V-6 came in for performance testing, we found life imitating art. After several tries, we finally got numbers out of the Emira, and in terms of build quality, it proved itself to be quite Brih-ish.

Emira stops — then stops

Our drive out to the testing grounds was uneventful, and our first evaluation that day happened to be brake testing — which, in the case of the Lotus Emira, turned out to be its last test. On the initial run, we brought the Emira up to speed as our procedure requires then got hard on the brake pedal. The Emira scuttled to a halt, and when we reached for the shift lever to shift back into first and pull around for another run, it had gone limp. Seems the lever was no longer attached to the gearbox, which was now stuck in fourth gear as a result.

Oops.

Peeking through the mesh that shows off the shift linkage, we could see what appeared to be a loose cable hanging down below the metal bits. With only fourth gear available, we figured the Emira was hardly in any condition to make a decent acceleration run, so we called Lotus to pick up the stricken sportster. The same Emira was back to us a few days later; the problem, it turns out, was a nut that had come loose in the shift linkage (as opposed to MotorTrend’s usual problem, when a nut gets loose behind the steering wheel).

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Pop goes the Lotus

With the Emira repaired, we got right back at it, this time combining acceleration and brake testing (since any time we speed up, we also need to slow down). Our first two launches, at 3,500 and 4,000 rpm respectively, caused the Emira to bog down. Our third launch at 5,000 rpm showed promise, but we fumbled the 3–4 upshift before hitting the quarter-mile mark. The Emira’s shifter, while boasting a very satisfying mechanical action, has long throws and narrowly spaced gates, a weird combination that makes it easy to miss a shift when you’re trying to row quickly. 

We decided to try 5,500 rpm for our fourth launch. We wound up the motor, let the clutch in, and — POP! That’s not a noise one wants to hear when trying to get a manual-transmission car into motion (or when already in motion, or, you know what, it’s just not something you want to hear in a car generally), a state the Emira was most definitely not achieving. 

Another phone call to Lotus and another flat-bed rescue ensued. The problem? According to Lotus, “An axle snapped.” No more detail was forthcoming, but we assume a halfshaft left go. 

Oops, Mark II.

Let’s try this somewhere else

For our third attempt, rather than repair the car and return it to our California crew, Lotus sent another Emira to our satellite office in Michigan. You know what the cliché says about the third time, right? This Emira finally made it through testing, with all significant parts still in operation before and after the process. So how did this latest Lotus do?

First, acceleration: Wary of our high-rpm experience, we kept our launch rpm between 4,500 and 4,700. This time, our issue was with the rev limiter and what appears to be some lag in the tachometer: The engine should rev to 6,800, yet we kept hitting the limiter at an indicated 6,000 rpm, which caused us to botch our initial 1–2 shifts. 

Once we got the dance steps down, the 400-hp Emira showed us a 0–60 time of 4.2 seconds and ran the quarter mile in 12.6 seconds at 109.7 mph. That’s slightly behind the last version of the Lotus Evora (the Emira’s predecessor) we tested, a 2021 GT model with 416 hp from its version of the supercharged Toyota V-6, which ran to 60 in 4.0 seconds and took the quarter down in 12.4 at 113.3 mph. However, the Emira’s times were a near-exact match for the 400-hp Evora 400 we tested in 2017. Only the trap speed (111.0 mph) differed.

A consistent performance

We found braking tricky but satisfying. It’s tricky because the Emira’s pedal box is small, spacing is tight and the go pedal is narrow. It’s one thing to aim your foot precisely when you're concentrating, but in a panic stop it’s easy to catch the accelerator with the side of your foot. (A few drivers even mistakenly grabbed some clutch, too, because those pedals are identically shaped, respond with the same stiff weighting underfoot and also crowd together.) Braking improved as the tires warmed up, and our best stop from 60 was 100 feet even, 4 feet shorter than the ’17 Evora 400 and 1 foot longer than the ’21 Evora GT. That’s close enough for government work (and, by the way, consistent with the results in our second attempt at testing before the axle broke).

Finally, the test we were waiting for: handling! After all, it is curves, not straight-line driving, that Lotus cars are all about. Only the third Evora made it this far in our testing regimen; if we were conspiracy theorists, we’d whisper among ourselves that perhaps Lotus sabotaged the cars to try to build up the anticipation.

First, some raw numbers: The Emira V-6 circled the skidpad with 1.06 g of lateral grip. We don’t think we need to tell you, Constant Readers, that anything above 1.00 g is supercar territory. (Our highest-ever recorded grip was 1.19 g, by three versions of the Porsche 911 GT3.) And yes, the Emira out-gripped the Evora GT by a little (1.04 g) and the Evora 400 by a lot (0.97 g).

Better times with a better shifter?

We use the figure eight as our measure of handling, as it combines grip, response and speed. The Emira set a 24.0-second lap time at an average of 0.84 g. That made it a bit slower than the 2021 Evora GT, which had a best lap of 23.6 seconds with similar recorded grip. (We did not record a figure-eight time for the 2017 Evora 400.) Such a time puts it on par with previous-gen versions of the Aston Martin Vantage and BMW M2 CS — not unobtanium-quick, but good company among the sorts of cars bought by in-the-know enthusiasts.

That said, we think we could have shaved a tenth or two had the shifter not been so reluctant to do its business. From the drivers’ notes: “For as good as this car is to drive, the shifter totally ruins the experience. It’s the most mechanical, analog part of the car and also the worst part of it. Too high of effort, too long of throws.”

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Beyond the numbers, the Emira is awesome

Why were we so frustrated? Because of what the numbers can’t tell you, which is how sublime the Emira feels. As good as electric steering has become, there is a difference, and the Emira’s hydraulically assisted steering does feel unique among today’s performance cars, with no shortage of useful communication. The Emira’s chassis balance reminds us of the reason to stick the engine in the middle of the car. There’s a fine line between under- and oversteer in the Emira, and Lotus makes it easy to flirt with the line or lean into one side or the other with easy control and correction.

As we’ve discussed in past Emira stories, the big question for the Emira was whether it could maintain that Lotus driving magic while presenting a more spacious, luxurious and better-quality cabin compared to the Evora (and relatively speaking compared to other cars, of course; this is still a Lotus). The answer, mostly, is yes: The Emira is a nicer car than the Evora it replaces, and our instrumented testing shows it to be just as strong a performer and handler. 

Sadly, build quality is apparently still an issue. Sure, MotorTrend’s instrumented testing is rough on the cars, but it’s something to which we subject every vehicle we can, from Versas to Veyrons, and few of them break with the same persistence and zeal as the Emira. We love the Emira and what it can do, but don’t expect those jokes about British build quality to stop any time soon.

Photos by William Walker