Nearly three years after the Emira was first introduced, no one has yet brought it to customers in the United States.
Lotus has announced the Emira First Edition for the US for 2021, but the British sports car offerings are not yet available. Hundreds of units are sitting at dealerships across the US because Lotus has yet to receive emissions certification with the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
News of the Emira’s delayed launch follows years of supply constraints for the sports car brand. But the wait may soon be over. A Lotus spokesperson told Autoмotiʋe News that they have made software updates to the Emira’s powertrain to certify the car with CARB. That process has ended, but environmental regulators have yet to give the final stamp of approval. Now, according to Lotus, potential owners just need to wait until the certification is approved.
Fourteen states currently comply with CARB’s emissions rules, including places like New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Another 36 states follow Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) housing regulations. Lotus does not sell the Emira in EPA-regulated states because buyers can envision flipping the car in CARB-regulated areas where the model’s powertrain does not meet local regulations and therefore Cannot register.
Emira’s six-cylinder ʋersion doesn’t use a particularly exotic engine. The Toyota 2GR-FE 3.5-liter V6 engine with an Edelbrock 1740 supercharger produces 400 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. It’s actually less powerful than the 416-horsepower Eʋora GT, which uses the same Toyota-sourced induction motor. The Emira’s limit is 6,800 rpm, the Eʋora’s is 7,200, to prevent the ʋalʋes from floating during the curing period. Theoretically, it shouldn’t be too difficult for an engine that previously received CARB certification to regain the same certification.
The Toyota V6 is not the only engine that Lotus plans to use in the Emira. The company will offer a four-cylinder Emira in the US later. The Mercedes-AMG-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged engine will produce 360 horsepower and 317 l-ft of torque. Both versions are available to configure on the company’s US website, but there’s no word on when sales of the four-cylinder model will begin, or whether it will comply with the CARB regulations or not.
Unsurprisingly, users on the Lotus Talk forum are unhappy about the Emira situation, seeing as some of them have bookings going well into 2021. Users posted images of rows of cars has a “Sold” sign on it, just waiting for CARB Certification so the delis can get started. Researching Emira on Autotrader shows 186 listings in the US. However, some are marked “For Sale,” so the actual number of cars may be lower. Prices range from $94,062 to $109,150.
