i4 wih 400HP - post from another Lotus Forum

[Wiz33]

Source? I know Toyota has dropped the engine from their cars, but I thought it was still being used in the Lexus. I haven't seen an announcement that they are actually closing the factory lines.

You have to google search in Japanese. Also, someone visiting Hethel in April ask if the V6 is ending production in 2026 and was told much sooner than that.

 

[kitkat]

It’s just gonna be 400hp for all US cars. They needed the sales and product differentiation initially. I think no longer selling the V6 is a strong possibility. Either way I’m happy for our AMG brothers, nobody wanted them to have a lesser power engine.

 

[Nova]

Is it possible that First edition i4's will be 360 BHP or "KA" engine.

Since the base configurator is to be launched - could we see the Base Emira with 360 BHP and Emira S @ 400 BHP? I feel like this is more likely and falls in line with Eletre nomenclature.

Big question is what happens to V6? - Final edition???

The engine code for the I4 is "M". The "K" stands for first edition. I have seen the M engine code used for all I4 cars to date, including ones sold in China with 400HP.

I am not sure if Lotus would release a 360HP version for the base model - I guess that's possible. But if I had to guess, they probably will just stick with a single engine choice and possibly release a "full fat" 416HP version on a hotter model like the S or R.

Edit: I would love to see a dyno of I4 cars delivered to Japan and Australia.

 

[Lotustoronto]

So confusing - Uk / EU already have received Emira F/E's and they were all 360 BHP. Now they are going to release different BHP First Editions i4's to North America. Even though it is still being advertised as 360 and customers ordered assuming this. Not that anyone would complain with the extra bump - but this all seems so odd and also very Lotus - so it is possible . I get why Chinese i4's were 400, since no one would buy the V6 due to ridiculous taxation.

I still think the most likely course is Emira Base (first edition) @ 360 BHP and Emira S at 400 BHP. Both i4's.

V6 manual is most likely gone. Perhaps 1 model year of a limited base run.

 

[Emira Fan]

KitKat and Wiz33 - appreciate you sharing your insight. Releasing the i4 with 400HP in US should really make the car more competitive and in the sweet spot of performance in 2025 (0-60 under 4 sec - high 11's in 1/4). I've been contemplating canceling my i4 order and waiting for an S or R variant.

 

[Emiro]

It’s just gonna be 400hp for all US cars. They needed the sales and product differentiation initially. I think no longer selling the V6 is a strong possibility. Either way I’m happy for our AMG brothers, nobody wanted them to have a lesser power engine.

Spot on. I have a V6 and would like the car as a whole to succeed in the general market, independent of the powertrain, and 400 hp I4 would please a lot more people and have less critics and bs comments such as that the car is not powerful enough and not as fast as xyzzy...

 

[Wiz33]

KitKat and Wiz33 - appreciate you sharing your insight. Releasing the i4 with 400HP in US should really make the car more competitive and in the sweet spot of performance in 2025 (0-60 under 4 sec - high 11's in 1/4). I've been contemplating canceling my i4 order and waiting for an S or R variant.

Unlike the Evora which has a 10+ year production run. The Emira will not last long enough for evolutionary upgrades. All that R and S stood for is pre-packaged options. Likely one will touring suspension and one with sport.

 

[seriously]

V6 manual is most likely gone. Perhaps 1 model year of a limited base run.

Wouldn’t be a bad thing.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Lotus cracks me up . . . their communication is so woeful that even their closest followers (this forum, dealers, etc) aren't certain if they're still selling their highest volume product, the V6 Emira. You couldn't make this stuff up.

 

[Fasttoys]

all unconfirm except that Toyota have announced that they're closing down the V6 production line now that it's no longer being used in any of they own vehicles. (last was some 2023 model that was only sold in a few countries). I assumed that they did give all the OEM user a heads up but it seems that Toyota is allocating the remaining production volume to varies OEM customer rather than allowing them to place additional orders.

I heard the Port injection V6 is over, this motor is the older V6 not the direct injection they use in other Toyota’s. Lotus has to use the port injection because of the supercharger that fit on top, port injection is not as clean and controlled as direct injection. The Direct injection cannot accommodate the supercharger and is the only version that was going in other Toyota’s. I can confirm that I heard the USA I4 will have 400 HP from a reliable source.. I have not said anything because I wanted to see if it comes true because even though it was reliable source it’s still LOTUS.

I think if you have a V6 manual this would be a great thing, it makes our cars more rare, which will help resales verses Lotus making more V6 manuals. That my 2 cents we will know the truth in time.

 

[EMIRADILEMMA]

It’s just gonna be 400hp for all US cars. They needed the sales and product differentiation initially. I think no longer selling the V6 is a strong possibility. Either way I’m happy for our AMG brothers, nobody wanted them to have a lesser power engine.

Is it just the US that will be getting this power boost or will it apply to i4s across all other markets as well?

 

[Nova]

So confusing - Uk / EU already have received Emira F/E's and they were all 360 BHP. Now they are going to release different BHP First Editions i4's to North America. Even though it is still being advertised as 360 and customers ordered assuming this. Not that anyone would complain with the extra bump - but this all seems so odd and also very Lotus - so it is possible . I get why Chinese i4's were 400, since no one would buy the V6 due to ridiculous taxation.

I still think the most likely course is Emira Base (first edition) @ 360 BHP and Emira S at 400 BHP. Both i4's.

V6 manual is most likely gone. Perhaps 1 model year of a limited base run.

It has just been sooooo loooong for the US I4 cars, over 3 years since the July 2021 Goodwood show that saw the first large flood of orders. At this point none of the V6 owners would feel strongly about being "misled" if the I4 has 400HP, and the original purpose of the I4 being reduced to 360HP no longer exists. Instead of the I4 being an additional engine selection, it is more or less now the replacement of the V6 for the US, with some production overlap.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Instead of the I4 being an additional engine selection, it is more or less now the replacement of the V6 for the US, with some production overlap.

There's been no official communication from Lotus saying that V6 production is finishing this year. Nothing. So far it's all just gossip and rumours.

Toyota has only been manufacturing the 2GR-FE engine for use by Lotus for several years, so eliminating the V6 (mostly the 2GR-FKS and 7GR-FKS) from Toyota's model lineup doesn't necessarily change anything.

 

[DerTheDer]

Typical of lotus to introduce the most confusing buying experience....shame.

 

[675430VME]

The engine code for the I4 is "M". The "K" stands for first edition. I have seen the M engine code used for all I4 cars to date, including ones sold in China with 400HP.

I am not sure if Lotus would release a 360HP version for the base model - I guess that's possible. But if I had to guess, they probably will just stick with a single engine choice and possibly release a "full fat" 416HP version on a hotter model like the S or R.

Edit: I would love to see a dyno of I4 cars delivered to Japan and Australia.

Not Japan or Australia, but sill an I4

 

[Lotustoronto]

Would Lotus really miss the marketing opportunity to send off the last manual Lotus without any marketing or special edition?

It just seems like an easy sell for the "save the manual" crowds. Myself included. Who knows anymore....

 

[seriously]

Would Lotus really miss the marketing opportunity to send off the last manual Lotus without any marketing or special edition?

It just seems like an easy sell for the "save the manual" crowds. Myself included. Who knows anymore....

It’s almost like they can’t market anything properly or with too much precision because they don’t have good control over production and delivery.

I feel like it’s a miracle this car exists and is in my garage.

 

[Emira Fan]

Not Japan or Australia, but sill an I4

NIce dyno run - converting to HP (343) with parasitic loss (15-20% for an Auto) puts the cars pull between 396 and 411 HP. What octane gas is offered in China ?

 

[PsymonR]

The engine code for the I4 is "M". The "K" stands for first edition. I have seen the M engine code used for all I4 cars to date, including ones sold in China with 400HP.

The M engine code has definitely not been used for all i4 cars. My UK car has K as the engine code (SCCLEKK.....)

 

[Tokion]

Absolutely no need for Lotus to push anything. They simply apply the same ECU software as in China market cars. The “push” is to get it past EPA and CARB approval. But since the USA is still in many respects relatively lenient (as compared to the strictest markets), this should not be a problem. We also know that the fully legal and approved Mercedes A45S (not sure about the US market) is at least 415 ps.

I personally think that the most important reason to keep the Emira 2.0 (AMG) to 360/365 ps was to market the 3.5 version more effectively. This older engine actually had more problems with emissions, so it was neccessary to reduce the 430 ps when it was in the Evora to 400 ps in the Emira, and the 2.0 (AMG) had to be reduced further for marketing reasons.

However now, with the 3.5 possibly getting “outlawed” time is right to pull the 2.0 (AMG) back up to 400 ps.

No “push” needed. It’s only a matter of numbers magic.