The 400bhp Four-Pot Lotus Emira Is Now On Sale In The UK

Last year, a new 400bhp version of the four-cylinder Lotus Emira was launched – but not everywhere. The new version, badged Turbo SE, was initially only available in certain parts of Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, but we were fairly sure it’d eventually come to Europe – not least because the press pics Lotus gave us showed cars on German plates.

Sure enough, the Turbo SE is now available in the country where it’s built, and in fact totally replaces the earlier 360bhp four-pot Emira in the UK. The extra power from its 2.0-litre Mercedes-AMG-sourced engine is complemented by a 37lb ft torque increase to 354lb ft. 

This lifts the top speed from 171 to 180mph and drops the 0-62mph run from 4.4 to 4.0 seconds. That means the Turbo SE not only matches the 3.5-litre supercharged V6 Emira’s top speed, but is two tenths quicker than it to 62mph. An eight-speed DCT remains the sole four-pot gearbox option.

Elsewhere, the Turbo SE has the Lotus Driver’s Pack thrown in as standard, which adds sports suspension, cross-drilled vented brakes and launch control. It can be identified by its 20-inch Satin Grey forged wheels, red brake callipers, black Lotus badging, and, erm, the badges that say Turbo SE.

With the four-pot and V6 now incredibly close in terms of power and performance, the Turbo SE is being pitched as a more outright speed-focused machine, while the V6, with its richer engine note and standard manual gearbox, is aimed at those seeking a more analogue experience.

The arrival of the Turbo SE brings some pricing changes to the lineup too, and, well, we hope you’re sitting down. Now the entry-level Emira, the Turbo SE costs from £89,500, whereas if you want the V6 (and we still do, despite the I4’s extra performance), you’ll now need to find a chunky £92,500. That’s £17k more than a Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, so the question is: does the Lotus do enough to sway you?