I think there is also a difference with the side intakes behind the doors, they're partly covered in mesh which I believe isn't on the V6 intakes and there may also be a difference with the structure within them. Not really a major differentiator but more something that you could spot if you know to look for it but probably wouldn't even realise if you didn't.
-
📸 We've added a new feature to the site, the Showcase! You can check it out at this link: EmiraForum.com Showcase
🖼️ You can read a bit more at the announcement thread as well: Showcase -- an upgraded Journal
i4 wih 400HP - post from another Lotus Forum
- Thread starter Emira Fan
- Start date
I noticed that from someone's X post and am wondering if the part can be used on a V6 Emira...
x.com
x.com
Nick in Sydney
Emira Fanatic
If it's true that Lotus is no longer calling it the i4 for legal reasons, then rebranding it as the Lotus Emira Turbo would actually be quite smart.
Current references of i4 are FE edition; lightest form would address stripped down Base i4 version, yes?
There were concerns reported about heat dissipation issues and implications on cooling and the turbos. Also that a special underbody air scoop was devised to assist cooling. How that works adjacent to hot asphalt is a mystery to me. The engine cover is more sealed (again, air flow) while the v6 engine is beautifully exposed.
How this plays out in hot climates or intense driving remains to be known.
My 2001 twin Turbo Esprit had surges of power ..... and Turbo lag. It was a different time.
The i4 is lighter than the v6 and sits differently (foward slightly) than the v6. Purists feel these advantages overtake ( I avoided saying outweigh) the supercharged v6. I'm curious how the v6 Auto performs against the i4 Auto. Fans railing how the i4 is more 'tunable' haven't been paying attention to the mods attested to in this forum. The GT4 is v6 based. As was the Evora. Yet the future beckons.
If MT is a must, the v6 is the choice. If any type of dynamic performance is important, the Emira is the choice.
That's the big question for those wanting an Auto. I watched countless Emira reviews and non of them had a side by side review on both V6 Auto & I4 Auto. I prefered the V6 engine, but have a feeling the I4 DCT will be the better performance transmission.
- Thread starter
- #150
Last year I drove the V6 Auto in DC. Car sounded great- trans was snappy no complaints, just as fast as my non-DCT AMG cars. I haven't driven a CLA45s AMG (I need too) expecting shifts to be very fast.
If you're looking to track the car; the Turbo will be better. Slightly lighter | Engine sits a bit lower | 8 speed gearbox vs 6 | Faster shifts | Biggest diff is 45 lb-ft of extra torque. Last, this is a big 'maybe', AMG cars with this engine pump out 416-421 hp.
Watched a Chinese Video, showing the dynamic display stating 419 HP ( yes, I know the readout is computed garbage) but, big but; the car might have a bit more than 400 hp.
However, going back to the sound ; if 99% of the time your just tooling around town the V6 Auto is very nice.
For myself I have several AMG car and a Mercedes mechanic that works on my cars a my home, the Lotus with an AMG was a natural choice.
China get's pretty hot in the summer with many cities running in the high 90s -100 and the 400hp i4 been there for over a year now.
Agree, When I test drove a V6 MT the sound was fantastic. Unfortunately I just missed the order cut off on V6 autos. As you mentioned I believe the I4 will offer some nice benefits.
Has Lotus Cars actually ever officially called the 2.0 liter 4-cylinder turbocharged version “i4”
I wonder what was the origin of calling it “i4”? Because I think in the beginning the 4-cylinder 2.0 liter car was simply called “Emira” because this was the originally planned only new model.
Later, a decision was made to also manufacture a version with the identical V6 Supercharged engine and Aisin 6-speed manual (or Aisin 6-speed auto) just like in the Evora. It proved both to be technically easier and straightforward for Lotus Cars to produce this “Evora-version” of the Emira, and it also proved beneficial for their marketing.
As a result, the development of the truly new Emira took more time, as manufacturing the V6 took priority.
Even in the owners handbooks that are downloadable from Lotus (or we receive them on thumb drives), it says Emira 4-cylinder and Emira V6 (no mention of “i4”)
Much more recently I have seen the 4-cylinder version named (by Lotus distributors in various countries) as “Lotus Emira Turbo First Edition”
I do personally agree that this is a better naming convention. So it boils down to a choice between “Supercharged” or “Turbocharged” - pick your choice. (Yes, I know the pesky “3-pedal” question
)
Another issue is for us who 3 years ago chose the 2.0 Turbocharged version over the 3.5 Supercharged, but we were told that the originally 415 hp plus engine in the Mercedes AMG A45S would be limited to 360 -365 hp in the Lotus Emira application. Now we have waited for 3 years for our cars, and many of us has still not taken delivery. And before we receive our 360 - 365 hp cars, Lotus Cars announce that they magically have achieved 400 hp from the same engine that first was delivered to Chinese customers, and from now also to US customers. The rumors are that probably all future 2.0 Turbocharged cars will receive this 400 hp tune. And there is no word that our early order cars also will receive this update. (Unless we have them tuned by a third party.)
I wonder what was the origin of calling it “i4”? Because I think in the beginning the 4-cylinder 2.0 liter car was simply called “Emira” because this was the originally planned only new model.
Later, a decision was made to also manufacture a version with the identical V6 Supercharged engine and Aisin 6-speed manual (or Aisin 6-speed auto) just like in the Evora. It proved both to be technically easier and straightforward for Lotus Cars to produce this “Evora-version” of the Emira, and it also proved beneficial for their marketing.
As a result, the development of the truly new Emira took more time, as manufacturing the V6 took priority.
Even in the owners handbooks that are downloadable from Lotus (or we receive them on thumb drives), it says Emira 4-cylinder and Emira V6 (no mention of “i4”)
Much more recently I have seen the 4-cylinder version named (by Lotus distributors in various countries) as “Lotus Emira Turbo First Edition”
I do personally agree that this is a better naming convention. So it boils down to a choice between “Supercharged” or “Turbocharged” - pick your choice. (Yes, I know the pesky “3-pedal” question
)Another issue is for us who 3 years ago chose the 2.0 Turbocharged version over the 3.5 Supercharged, but we were told that the originally 415 hp plus engine in the Mercedes AMG A45S would be limited to 360 -365 hp in the Lotus Emira application. Now we have waited for 3 years for our cars, and many of us has still not taken delivery. And before we receive our 360 - 365 hp cars, Lotus Cars announce that they magically have achieved 400 hp from the same engine that first was delivered to Chinese customers, and from now also to US customers. The rumors are that probably all future 2.0 Turbocharged cars will receive this 400 hp tune. And there is no word that our early order cars also will receive this update. (Unless we have them tuned by a third party.)
Last edited:
Lotustoronto
Emira Addict
You have to imagine that Lotus will allow the free upgrade to 400 BHP for the people that got the 365 BHP versions. Mclaren did this with the Artura. They bumped the power, but allowed previously sold versions to receive the ECU upgrade for free.Has Lotus Cars actually ever officially called the 2.0 liter 4-cylinder turbocharged version “i4”
I wonder what was the origin of calling it “i4”? Because I think in the beginning the 4-cylinder 2.0 liter car was simply called “Emira” because this was the originally planned only new model.
Later, a decision was made to also manufacture a version with the identical V6 Supercharged engine and Aisin 6-speed manual (or Aisin 6-speed auto) just like in the Evora. It proved both to be technically easier and straightforward for Lotus Cars to produce this “Evora-version” of the Emira, and it also proved beneficial for their marketing.
As a result, the development of the truly new Emira took more time, as manufacturing the V6 took priority.
Even in the owners handbooks that are downloadable from Lotus (or we receive them on thumb drives), it says Emira 4-cylinder and Emira V6 (no mention of “i4”)
Much more recently I have seen the 4-cylinder version named (by Lotus distributors in various countries) as “Lotus Emira Turbo First Edition”
I do personally agree that this is a better naming convention. So it boils down to a choice between “Supercharged” or “Turbocharged” - pick your choice. (Yes, I know the pesky “3-pedal” question
Another issue is for us who 3 years ago chose the 2.0 Turbocharged version over the 3.5 Supercharged, but we were told that the originally 415 hp plus engine in the Mercedes AMG A45S would be limited to 360 -365 hp in the Lotus Emira application. Now we have waited for 3 years for our cars, and many of us has still not taken delivery. And before we receive our 360 - 365 hp cars, Lotus Cars announce that they magically have achieved 400 hp from the same engine that first was delivered to Chinese customers, and from now also to US customers. The rumors are that probably all future 2.0 Turbocharged cars will receive this 400 hp tune. And there is no word that our early order cars also will receive this update. (Unless we have them tuned by a third party.)
However, this is Lotus..... So maybe wishful thinking.
All depends on the countries regulations and if they need to get the car recertify for Smog and such.
Really hope they do give early customers the option to tune up for free, otherwise it does seem disadvantageous to be an early depositor in non-China/US markets.
That being said I may still stick to 360hp as I am a worrier about long-term reliability and durability.
That being said I may still stick to 360hp as I am a worrier about long-term reliability and durability.
Lotus have indeed previously called it the i4 (for inline-4), the chap I was speaking to on the Lotus stand at Goodwood confirmed that it was a BMW complaint that caused them to move away from it.Has Lotus Cars actually ever officially called the 2.0 liter 4-cylinder turbocharged version “i4”
I wonder what was the origin of calling it “i4”? Because I think in the beginning the 4-cylinder 2.0 liter car was simply called “Emira” because this was the originally planned only new model.
Later, a decision was made to also manufacture a version with the identical V6 Supercharged engine and Aisin 6-speed manual (or Aisin 6-speed auto) just like in the Evora. It proved both to be technically easier and straightforward for Lotus Cars to produce this “Evora-version” of the Emira, and it also proved beneficial for their marketing.
As a result, the development of the truly new Emira took more time, as manufacturing the V6 took priority.
Even in the owners handbooks that are downloadable from Lotus (or we receive them on thumb drives), it says Emira 4-cylinder and Emira V6 (no mention of “i4”)
Much more recently I have seen the 4-cylinder version named (by Lotus distributors in various countries) as “Lotus Emira Turbo First Edition”
I do personally agree that this is a better naming convention. So it boils down to a choice between “Supercharged” or “Turbocharged” - pick your choice. (Yes, I know the pesky “3-pedal” question
Another issue is for us who 3 years ago chose the 2.0 Turbocharged version over the 3.5 Supercharged, but we were told that the originally 415 hp plus engine in the Mercedes AMG A45S would be limited to 360 -365 hp in the Lotus Emira application. Now we have waited for 3 years for our cars, and many of us has still not taken delivery. And before we receive our 360 - 365 hp cars, Lotus Cars announce that they magically have achieved 400 hp from the same engine that first was delivered to Chinese customers, and from now also to US customers. The rumors are that probably all future 2.0 Turbocharged cars will receive this 400 hp tune. And there is no word that our early order cars also will receive this update. (Unless we have them tuned by a third party.)
An example of prior use, screenshot from my (May '23) order confirmation e-mail:
I guess the reason for using it initially is that i4 is a snappier designation than 4-cylinder when comparing to v6. Also, if they had called it Emira Turbo from the off this may have drawn comparisons with the 911 Turbo which may not have been good for expectation management, it's easier to transition now to including Turbo in the designation now the car is a known quantity.
Originally I was OK with the 360bhp but now it's starting to feel a bit "poverty spec" in hindsight. It now seems 400bhp is becoming more the like the default than just a perk for the Chinese market. I know it's not a "numbers car" but it would be a shame if early i4 adopters get left in a small minority in the longer term.
Sadly it would be a very lotus thing to do though. I have just reserved a car that is new in stock from Colchester and the 360hp thing did give me pause. I do wonder though if the uk cars have been running the 400hp mp all along and they have just been downgrading the numbers to differentiate it from the v6.
The i4 I tested felt faster than the v6
Lotustoronto
Emira Addict
It is certainly is a bit odd that UK/EU gets 360 and North America and China get 400? I know the Chinese market i4's are considerably more expensive than the 360 BHP version. Perhaps when the base configurator goes live we will get a better understanding of Emira power vs price?
Create an account or login to comment
Join now to leave a comment enjoy browsing the site ad-free!
Create account
Create an account on our community. It's easy!
Log in
Already have an account? Log in here.
Emira Forum Images
Emira Forum Images
Similar threads
