FIRST DRIVE: Lotus Emira With AMG Power! | Top Gear

Say hello to Lotus’ entry-level Emira. It uses the same turbocharged ‘M139’ four-cylinder lunatic of an engine that powers AMG’s hottest hatch. Except, whereas it makes 415bhp in the A45 S, here it’s reined in to a sensible 360bhp. But, despite being entry-level, it is not a cheap and cheerful door to Lotus ownership. Right now Lotus will only sell you a kitted out ‘First Edition’ model, and it’s priced from a chunky £81,495. That’s £4,500 less than the adjusted pricing for the V6 ‘First Edition’. It’s gone from dicing with the basic, brilliant Alpine A110 to asking well-seasoned Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 money. You could buy a BMW M2 manual – or the car that the Emira owes its engine to – and save £10,000. So, is this the Emira to have? Top Gear Magazine’s Ollie Kew finds out. Subscribe to Top Gear for more videos: WATCH MORE TOP GEAR: First Looks:   First Drives: