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Lotus has finally built the Emira it promised four years ago. After years of delays, confusing trim levels, rising prices, and driving dynamics that never quite lived up to the badge, the new 2027 Lotus Emira 420S transforms the company's stunning mid-engine sports car into the driver's machine enthusiasts have been waiting for. We drove it on the legendary Hethel test track and the rough British back roads where Lotus develops its cars—and came away convinced the Emira has finally become the sports car it always should have been.
Time flies, though, and a lot has changed in the world since then. Almost moreso, even, in the automotive world: Since 2021, supercars went off-roading with the Lamborghini Sterrato, Porsche’s 911 went hybrid, a seemingly imminent EV future got put on the backburner, and even the Emira’s direct competitor, the Boxster and Cayman siblings, completely ended production.
Now, as Lotus debuts a new Emira 420S for 2027, by my count, the total number of unique variants sits at an almost hilarious count of nine. For numerology fans (and teenagers), 420S might sound like more of an auspicious number. But in more serious terms, the media trip of a lifetime to visit one of the most hallowed halls of motorsport at Hethel answered a ton of questions about prior Emiras, alongside time on road and track with the new car. And happily, while trying to untangle the mysteries, I can report that Lotus—at long last—finally fixed the overhyped and underbaked Emira.
How Lotus Finally Fixed the Emira
The fact that Lotus invited me to the Emira 420S launch came as a bit of a surprise, if only because I spent much of the past few years complaining loudly about my disappointment in every previous variant that I experienced. From the ungainly suspension to the loose steering, disconcerting alignment, and powertrain woes, I believed engineering simply failed to live up to the spectacular design—which in fairness, both inside and out, absolutely hit the nail on the head.
Perhaps confidence in the new 420S came into play, or maybe I need to set the ego aside and accept that they never cared about my feedback in the first place (likely the latter). Regardless, the new model steps up in power, with a lowered ride height for improved handling, more aero for cooling and downforce alongside a higher top speed, as well as an unexpected bit of huge news: an optional set of Multimatic dampers that absolutely change the game.
The power gains shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, since the 420S (for now) only comes with the AMG-sourced inline-four 2.0-liter engine. As the name suggests, up to 420 DIN horsepower translates to 416 SAE in a neat match to AMG’s own figures for the A 45 that uses the same powertrain in European hot hatch form. At Hethel, Director of Attributes and Product Integrity Gavan Kershaw explained that matching AMG required figuring out how to meet stringent emissions standards—especially because since 2021, the rules changed and now every car needs to pass testing in every drive mode, including Track. That means with the new titanium exhaust system wide open, and with the dual-clutch gearbox holding gears to higher revs.
The Emira’s intake and post-catalytic converter exhaust setup do not carryover from AMG. And simply tuning for more boost can’t do the trick. Hence, perhaps, the delay in reaching the engine’s full potential. Though Kershaw also told me the 420S always fit into the product planning calendar from the start…
Supporting that bump, airflow enhancements through a redesigned front grille, larger side scoops to feed the original strakes, and a tiny rear ducktail all work in concert for greater cooling efficiency at higher loads, to allow for more torque under the dyno curve along with the top-end horsepower. Almost more importantly than a four percent peak increase, though, the suspension setup and specifically. From the jump, those Multimatics took center stage in my mind.
I first learned about Multimatic on Chevy’s ZR2 lineup of pickup trucks, but this little Canadian company also lends dampers to the Ferrari Purosangue, Ford Mustang GTD, and a huge range of race cars from Pikes Peak specials to genuine WEC and IMSA chassis. In this case, Lotus specced dampers straight from GT4 racing, with manual adjustments that quite literally click up to 11 as another semi-numerological joke. To complement the Multimatics, the 420S specs more camber front and rear, while using the same steering components.
First Drive: Pushing the Lotus Emira 420S at Hethel
Obviously, power gains make headlines, so to best show off the 420S’s newfound grunt, Lotus promptly shoved me out onto Hethel’s 2.2-mile test track. The session started in Tour mode, as a nonchalant engineer in the passenger seat pointed out a few tricky sections where risky angles and braking lines might catch me out. At the very least, I hit full throttle as much as possible and immediately, incontrovertibly felt a much more serious punch of torque throughout the rev range.
Building turbo boost still provided that thrilling rush right up to redline, all as the titanium exhaust hit a newfound bass note and high-end trill that almost entirely eliminated the commuter car impressions of the original Emira Turbo. Soon enough, I thumbed the center console toggle into Sport and popped the gearshifter sideways into manual mode, which combined to allow a bit more rotation from the traction and stability control settings under both friction and engine braking, while opening up the exhaust note even further.
The track itself surprised me as much as first quick impressions of the 420S, though. Rather than tight and technical—as might seem fitting for a company that prizes lightweight handling—the 2.2-mile circuit includes two long straits, two tight hairpins, and a series of higher speed transitions. In Sport, the left-right-left-right sections started to smooth out into almost rally car slides, while the slip angles entering and apexing the hairpins entirely transformed. I began asking for more from the engine, flipping through gears earlier and earlier on the 420S’s larger carbon-fiber shift paddles, and then hammering the brakes later and later while struggling to nail my liftoff trail braking to prevent the pushing chug of understeer.
Throughout, the Multimatics made searching for that perfect lap an incredibly easy and intuitive process. Rather than firming everything up to rock hard, Lotus set bump at 9 and rebound at 8 for the front, along with 10 and 7 respectively at the rear. These settings purposefully allow for a bit of body roll, squat, and dive, right at the perfect level where shifting mass perfectly reveals tire grip while ripping around a racetrack.
Maybe 20 minutes into my time going full-gas in Sport mode, a little warning popped up on the dash announcing “Traction Control unavailable.” My engineer—by now, my pal—explained that in Sport mode, the TC and ESC do still micropulse the brakes to compensate for any overexuberances, which prevents adequate cooling of the pads and rotors. Maybe that 17 percent of additional airflow from the front grille needed more like 20 percent (regardless, I never began to think the new side scoops helped the profile view, instead detracting from the svelte and muscular form)
In fairness, on a sweeping righthander leading into the highest-speed straightaway, my pal originally told me to expect hitting the bend 90 miles an hour or so. But by the end of that long Sport mode stint, we crested well over 110 mph, occasionally 114 and 115 mph on my better laps… Which only extended the braking zone going into the main chicane further and further. So I slowed down for a cooldown lap and we pulled into the pits. Oh well, Track mode next, after a quick break.
Why Track Mode Changes Everything
A quick discussion of line, braking, and oversteer flew by before I hopped back in the driver’s seat and flipped straight into Track mode. Immediately, the entire car felt happier, more eager to put down power and more predictable in the critical yaw phase—whether under trail braking or unwinding out of corners with a bit of oversteer. My line evolved over a few more laps, as my hands slowed down into a level of calm confidence that no Emira prior ever achieved. Here, allowing smoother inputs and mid-engine balance to outweigh my steering prevented excessive tail wag and nose dive alike.
The track boss called time over a walkie before I remembered to turn ESC fully off—a big bummer, since we’d have needed to stop in the pits again. Oh well, at the very least a quick glance at the onboard accelerometer gauge showed a peak of 1.9 g that I likely hit on the south hairpin, which easily bested my previous record of 1.7 g in an Emira on one of my favorite canyon roads in Malibu. That Turbo also wore Cup 2 tires, and even if mild banking may well make the comparison somewhat irrelevant, the numbers don’t lie.
On the other hand, I can’t truly comment on the aero. I saw more like 140 mph on the straights, so nowhere near 186 mph (a convenient 300 kph, for the highest claimed top speed of any four-cylinder car) where Lotus claims the 25 kilos (55 lbs) of additional downforce. Without the new track data logging app, my seat of the pants can’t measure such precise details.
Similarly, the race track can only reveal so much about any road-legal sports car. I sensed the performance-enhanced potential, but a couple of hours among the gen pop after lunch sounded far more important for sussing out whether the 420S transforms the Emira into the genuine article promised so many years before. Lingering doubts crept in over fish and chips, especially because Kershaw pointed out the Multimatic dampers use spherical joints rather than bushings, and the same 65 N/mm (371 lb/in) front and 140 N/mm (799 lb/in) rear springs as the previous cars. On the chunky British B roads around Norfolk, would the 420S therefore ride as harsh as an Evora GT (or worse) rather than breathing with the road as the previous, almost perfectly tuned 410 variant managed to do?
At first, Norfolk’s horrific asphalt gave me a bit of a headache while trying to negotiate a lefthand-drive Emira between hedges and oncoming traffic. Luckily, the design only expanded two additional inches of track width versus the Evora. Talk about a serious relief in this era of enormous sports cars, a car that can actually take varying lines around a bend! (As another point of reference, the 992-generation 911 now measures longer than a C7 Corvette. Insanity.) At least excellent visibility everywhere other than out the rear through the new carbon-fiber decklid helped me perfectly place the petite Emira through numerous sketchy situations.
Why the New Suspension Changes Everything
The worst ruts, potholes, and dips definitely stressed the Multimatics, despite clicking down to 3 for bump and 4 for rebound in the front, and 6 for bump and 4 for rebound at the rear—all as prescribed for basic road use in the owner’s manual. No worse than any other sports car, though, and better than many! Again as a comp, the most similar reference point would probably be the 911 GT3 Touring with steel brakes and alloy wheels rather than the lighter mag wheels and PCCBs. And the Multimatics can go even softer, for those who live in regions with similarly terrible tarmac.
Really, more than overall damping and track weapon status, the 420S needed to change my mind about the Emira’s communicativeness and confidence (or lack thereof). And finally, finally finally, Lotus (finally) got it right. Marginal gains sound silly, but the 5 millimeter lower ride height, impeccable dampers, and alignment specs combine to rediscover the magic of older Lotus models. All while I fit comfortably in the modernist interior, never worrying about tramlining on cracks in the road nor struggling to prevent excessively twitchy reactionary tendencies.
One quibble remained, though, as low-speed braking modulation still caused more than a few lurches as the pads bit hard unexpectedly. Kershaw attributed this again to modern emissions regulations, since Lotus now needs to spec copper-free brakes in order to pass the infamous “shed test” in regions including California. Copper-free pads simply lack that bit of initial bite, and the brake booster then chomps down too hard only a small hit of pedal travel later. For owners, I suspect that swapping in a set of more well-rounded pads will likely help eliminate this specific annoyance.
Is the Lotus Emira 420S Worth the Price?
A hot summer day in England also once again proved just how much I hate glass roofs on sports cars. Just go for the slick top, since the new roof doesn’t seal properly, lacks sufficient tint to prevent glare, and only sits behind the seats in a cheap styrofoam storage block once removed. Luckily the targa top comes as an option, and not just on the 420S—but options also bring up a more serious discussion about price inflation.
As I learned later, the 420S package doesn’t actually include the Multimatic dampers, nor the Antigravity lithium-ion battery, nor the lightweight forged wheels and Cup 2 tires that can all result in a total of 25 kilos (55 lbs) of weight savings. Instead, those key details require selecting the Lightweight Handling Package, which adds $12,900 to the 420S’s starting sticker of $122,900. So in total, throw in a couple of other cosmetic choices and the Emira now almost exactly doubles the original base model’s pricing announcement of $74,900 back in 2021.
Yep, time sure flies, the world changes—no longer needing to worry about losing sales to the Cayman GTS 4.0, for example—but that jump up the ladder still hits hard, and may quite literally cost Lotus mightily among customers out cross shopping other sports cars. One last time, that climbs into legit Porsche 911 territory for a poverty-spec Carrera T, an especially concerning escalation given the lack of a manual transmission option for the 420S.
What Comes Next for Lotus?
Kershaw and other Lotus reps declined to discuss any other potential future Emira variants that may combine the new features into a more appealing or affordable package. But the factory tour sneakily answered many lingering questions. Why do the I4 and V6 Emiras ride so radically different? Because the rear subframe of the Turbo is cast rather than bonded, with completely different wishbone designs. Similarly, the I4 uses an electric pump to feed the same power steering rack, versus the V6’s belt-driven hydraulic pump.
More confusing: Lotus actually buys the V6 and its manual transmission from Toyota separately, rather than sourcing both already bolted together and then flipping the ring and pinion, as so widely assumed. The gearbox actually comes from a diesel truck, and Lotus installs entirely new gear ratios inside before fitting an adapter plate to marry the two together. Hilariously, parts from the engine then get sold back to Toyota.
But this brings up the most inevitable, overarching question of all: Why not do the same for the AMG engine? No Mercedes hatchback comes specs a manual with the boosty little turbo-four, but surely something must work in a similar fashion to the Toyota solution… Similarly, no word about the forthcoming twin-turbo V6 and four-speed automatic Emira, perhaps the strangest bit of news from Hethel lately that most convincingly traces straight back to Geely in China.
Still, despite a few inevitable moments of corporate comms skullduggery, for the most part everyone at Lotus HQ passed the vibe check with ease. The enthusiasm for company heritage, racing success, and technological innovation shone through in spades. Nobody tried to deny any discussion of steady improvements to the flaws of the Elise Series 1, or the later Exige, even the Evora’s questionable build quality or cramped interior. The no-holds-barred factory tour—other than requesting no shared photography—revealed a company still in the midst of modernization, yet adapting steadily to the potential pitfalls of inevitable production shortcomings.
I still suspect that most of the mystery around the first few years of Emira struggles came down to compromises, whether budgetary or simply made necessary by accelerated timelines and pandemic struggles. With the prior unwillingness to share more information about why, exactly, the Emira still needed so thorough of an overhaul so many years later largely out the window, I left with a sense of renewed excitement about what will come next out of Hethel. A potential V8 supercar, hybrid and range-extender solutions to the EV conundrum, perhaps even that twin-turbo Emira with that slushbox V6.
After all, the simple fact that the 420S successfully righted so many wrongs hints at great things on the horizon from one of the automotive industry’s most endearing companies. For now, I just wanted to spend more time in the new 420S, that most critical measure of automotive engagement that no prior Emira ever reached.
2027 Lotus Emira Specs
- Engine: AMG-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four
- Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
- Horsepower/Torque: 416 hp/369 lb-ft
- 0-60: 3.7 seconds
- Top Speed: 186 mph
- MPG: 18 city/26 highway
- Price: From $122,900
