Lotus shows off Emira GT4
The all-new Emira GT4 has been put through its paces at the famous Hethel test track in the UK.
The race car marks the start of an exciting era in performance GT racing for Lotus. It is the first new model from Lotus Advanced Performance, the bespoke vehicle and experiential division of the business launched this year.
The return to world motorsport is a key pillar of the company’s transformation from a UK sports-vehicle company to a global performance-car business and brand.
The event follows last September’s announcement that Lotus would create a GT version of the Emira road car. Order books for the GT4 opened at the time and the car has sold out for the first year of production.
Gavan Kershaw, Lotus’ director of vehicle attributes, says: “We knew we had an excellent starting point for the GT4 because of all the work done to make the road car such a great performer.”
Almost all modern Lotus road cars have had race-ready siblings and the Emira is no exception. Each buyer receives a homologated performance machine, hand-built with lightweight motorsport components and equipment to meet latest safety regulations. The project has been a collaboration with Lotus and RML Group.
The advanced composite bodywork makes the vehicle lightweight, and it is coupled with Toyota’s race-proven 3.5-litre V6 engine and optimised GT4 aerodynamics derived from the road-going Emira’s advanced exterior.
Since last September’s announcement, the Hethel-based development team has focused on precision engineering to deliver high-speed stability.
Hundreds of hours of validation work have taken place at Hethel and, over the northern-hemisphere winter, the Emira GT4 headed to Portimao in Portugal for a week.
In addition to the better weather, it’s one of the most challenging circuits in Europe, making it the perfect destination to validate aero performance and component reliability.
Simon Lane, director of Lotus Advanced Performance, says: “Lotus’ commitment to motorsport is world-renowned and is one of the key elements of enhanced customer engagement within this recently launched division. We have exciting plans. There’s much more to come.”
Lotus has been synonymous with racing success since the Mark I, a trials car hand-built by founder Colin Chapman in 1948, and the company has pioneered many technical innovations that make racing the sport it is today.
Its impressive roll of honours includes seven Formula 1 constructors’ titles and six drivers’ championships, as well as victory in the Indianapolis 500.
Most recently, Lotus has been racing with the Evora GT4. It has won prestigious races and championships including in British GT, the Dubai, Sepang and Barcelona 24 Hours, European GT and the Pirelli World Challenge.
Lotus aims to fulfil customer orders for the Emira GT4 during 2022, increasing production for 2023 in line with global demand.
