It’s hard to believe the Emira was unveiled three years ago. I remember seeing it and thinking, “Wow, Lotus has really turned it up to 11 for their last hurrah.” Beneath its stunning lines lay the familiar, yet glorious, 3.5-litre supercharged V6. Paired with an ‘exposed’ manual gearbox, the Emira appeared to be the perfect swan song for Lotus’ petrol-powered era.

Lotus packed the First Edition with almost every optional extra, leaving little for the first owner to specify. The only choices were exterior colour, interior trim, wheel finish, and either the sport or touring chassis.

Naturally, other models followed as the First Edition was phased out, leaving the Turbo and Emira V6. The Turbo is propelled by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine from Mercedes-AMG, delivering 360bhp and 317lb-ft (430 Nm) of torque, while the V6 uses a 3.5-litre Toyota engine with 400bhp and 310lb-ft (420Nm) on tap.

Now the model range has been updated, with the introduction of the new Turbo SE. This which sees power and torque increase by 40bhp and 37lb-ft (50Nm) for totals of 400bhp and 354lb-ft (480Nm) over the standard Turbo model. The power figure is on par with the V6 variant, but while the supercharged Emiras can be had with a choice of manual or automatic transmissions, the four-cylinder models come exclusively with the same 8-speed twin-clutch auto as the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S. The top speed of the Turbo SE rises to 182mph, and its 0-62mph time drops to 4.0-seconds.

There’s more to the model than just a power increase; 20" forged Satin Grey wheels, red brake callipers Turbo SE badging, black Lotus branding and black exhaust tips complete the visual upgrades. A new colour Zinc Grey is available for the model. The Turbo SE comes with the Lotus Drivers Pack as standard, adding the Sports suspension setup, uprated cross-drilled and ventilated two-piece brake discs and launch control.

If the SE name sounds familiar, it’s because Lotus has used it before to denote the Special Equipment package, first seen on the Type 14 Elite. The Elan, Cortina, Esprit, Excel, and Europa all offered SE trims, symbolising more power and added standard equipment over the base models.

While originally intended for the Asian market, the Emira Turbo SE will now be coming to the UK, as part of a revised product offering. The entry-level Emira Turbo can be identified by silver 20" 10-spoke alloy wheels, black brake callipers, and Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport tyres that have been developed specially for the car. It uses single-piece brakes and the comfort-oriented Touring suspension setup.

The Emira V6 remains at the top of the range with its 3.5-litre supercharged V6, although it now uses the Touring suspension setup as standard, repositioning the model as the GT of the range. We do not yet know if the Sport chassis will be available as an option, but all manual variants will come with a limited-slip differential.

The addition of the Emira Turbo SE to the UK model range was confirmed by new Lotus Europe CEO, Dan Balmer, who said the new Spring 2025 pricing is yet to be revealed, but we expect them to start around £80,000.