Lotus has just revealed the new Emira GT4 race car, which is eligible to compete in the GT4 class around the world, including in the United States.
Say what you like about your various racing series worldwide—F1, NASCAR, monster trucks—but the drivers in GT4 may be having the most fun of anyone. Entries include track versions of everything from the Aston Martin Vantage and Audi R8 LMS to the BMW M4, Ford Mustang, McLaren 570S, Mercedes-AMG GT4, Nissan Z, Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, and the Toyota GR Supra. That sounds like a fun grid.
The Emira is the last internal-combustion car line from Lotus, to be followed by all-electric cars starting in 2028 built through a joint venture between Lotus parent company Geely and the Alpine performance car division of the big Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi juggernaut. So enjoy ICE while you can.
The Emira GT4 is “upgraded” over the version that premiered a year ago. Like the Evora that preceded it, the Emira is powered by a Toyota V6, in this case a dry sump, supercharged version of the Toyota 2GR-FE V6 making a track-stomping 455 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. That’s mated to an all-new six-speed sequential Hewland transmission and a limited-slip diff. All that sits in an extruded and bonded aluminum chassis wrapped in composite body panels with a total listed weight of just 2998 pounds.
Sounds like fun.
The Emira GT4 packs 455 hp into a sub-3000-pound body.
Lotus
That 455 hp is a 10% improvement over the car revealed last year, while aero has likewise been “optimized to suit both tight/twisty and fast/flowing circuits,” Lotus says. Further enhancements went to the brakes, springs, dampers, and cooling packs.
“The Emira road car was such an excellent starting point for a GT4, and we’ve now further refined and tuned the package with the team at RML (where the cars are all hand-built) to create what we believe is a highly competitive and performance-oriented race car,” said Gavan Kershaw, Director of Vehicle Attributes at Lotus, himself a former British GT Championship winner. “We know our customers are keen to get behind the wheel and we’re looking forward to seeing their results.”
Lotus says those interested in purchasing an Emira GT4 should contact Russell Gibbons at [email protected]. If you really want to see one right away, fuel up the G650 and fly to the Snetterton Circuit in the UK this coming weekend, where you could also take in a round of the British GT Championship. Lovely weekend, that.
Mark Vaughn
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed Ford, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
Keyword: Is the New Lotus Emira GT4 the Most Fun You Can Have in a Race Car?