Watch the new Lotus Emira First Edition shredding its tyres on the Hethel track

The new Lotus Emira First Edition hots the test track at Hethel as Lotus’s handling guru shakes it down ahead of production.

The Lotus Emira arrived in public view back in July as the last of a long line of Lotus ICE cars and effectively replacing the entire existing Lotus range.

The promise is for a proper lightweight Lotus and, eventually, models starting from under £60k. But, to start with, the only Emira available will be the First Edition model with added goodies and a starting price of £75,995.

For your £76k you get a new Lotus with a 3.5-litre supercharged V6 with 400bhp, six-speed manual gearbox, hydraulic steering, 20″ ultralight V-spoke alloys and plenty of additional goodies like Climate Cruise, Drive Modes, 12.3″ digital instruments and 10.25″ infotainment.

Now, Lotus has taken the First Edition – well, a prototype – out for a blast on the Hethel track in the hands of Gavan Kershaw, a man with the convoluted title of “Director, Attributes & Product Integrity, Lotus Cars”, to shred some tyres and play with the Tour, Sport, Race and Fully Off modes. Gavan said:

With the 3.5-litre V6 configuration and the supercharger, you start an acceleration from as low as 1,500rpm and the car just pulls and pulls and pulls, getting stronger and stronger as the revs increase. This is what a real sports car feels like.

Enjoy the video.

Lotus Emira on Hethel Track Test Video