Lotus Emira to Make US Debut with F1 Racer Jenson Button

Ken Zino of Auto Informed.com on the Lotus Emira

Lotus Emira with F1 driver Jenson Button at the wheel at Laguna Seca.

The Lotus Emira made its first appearance in the USA with aging Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button at Laguna Seca Raceway. Jenson – in California for Monterey Car Week – drove the Radford 62-2 – a reinterpretation of the Lotus Type 62 that recently received its world premiere ahead of making its public debut with the Emira on the Lotus stand at The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering. Jenson Button said after his drive that “This is such a great circuit, most road cars on tracks don’t work, but this does.” (AutoInformed on Renault Group to buy Lotus F1 Team; Alpine and Lotus to Study Joint Development of an Electric Sports Car as Groupe Renault Restructures)

The Emira is an all-new mid-engine sports car that is being marketed on wisps bygone days, a British habit that applies to most British sports car manufacturers. Lotus immodestly claims the Emira has exotic supercar appeal in the sports car segment, with traces from the Lotus Evija hypercar in its surfaces and feature lines. Two petrol, err gas, engines are available, including a new-to-Lotus 2.0-litre turbocharged ‘i4’ from technical partner AMG, as well as the venerable 3.5-liter supercharged V6 from the critically acclaimed Evora GT. (AutoInformed on Chinese, Malaysian owned Lotus Engineering Expands Hethel)

A choice of manual, automatic and Dual Clutch Transmission is available, with power output from 360 to 400 hp at launch. All versions will reach 0-62mph (0-100km/h in metric, not Whitworth) in less than 4.5 seconds.

The Lotus Emira will be joined with the Lotus Evija hypercar and the Radford 62-2 at The Quail: A Motorsport Gathering on Friday the 13th of August. All three will be part of a press conference held at 9.15am PDT (GMT-8) on the Lotus stand.

About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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One Response to Lotus Emira to Make US Debut with F1 Racer Jenson Button

  1. Pingback: Lotus Elise, Exige, Evora Production Ends | AutoInformed

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