Australian 2023 Lotus Emira deliveries to begin, orders for Emira and Eletre exceed expectations

The Lotus brand in Australia is on the march to be busier than ever, with hundreds of orders for the new Lotus Emira sports car set to be filled over the course of 2023.

With Lotus having delivered around 60 cars to customers annually for the last few years, the 2023 Lotus Emira is set to change the game for the relatively niche British brand, which is preparing to take the leap into electrification.

Before that, however, the last combustion-engined Lotus sports car, the Emira, is due to show up in Australia in the hundreds as almost 300 customer orders are waiting to be filled.

Read More About Lotus Emira

Lotus Evija revealed Best sports cars arriving in 2023 Toyota's reborn MR2: What we know about new all-electric Porsche, Lotus, Maserati and Alpine rival

Lotus Cars Australia chief operating officer Richard Gibbs told CarsGuide the first batch of 20 customer cars is on course to land in January 2023, with the majority of First Edition versions of the Emira due to be delivered in the first half of the year.

The order books are full enough that any new orders for an Emira placed after now will likely be delivered in early 2024.

Of the orders currently awaiting delivery, approximately 260 are First Edition cars, and just over half of those are the V6 version of the Emira.

Available with either six-speed manual or six-speed auto, the 3.5-litre V6 Emira First Edition was priced from $184,990 or $188,990 respectively before on-road costs, each making 298kW and 430Nm. 

Both are now sold out, but the standard Emira is available from $155,990 in base model four-cylinder guise with an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, or from $169,990 for a base model V6 with a six-speed manual.

Mr Gibbs said he expected to see uptake of the four-cylinder model, which is powered by a 268kW/430Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre unit from AMG, overtake that of the V6 given the broader appeal of the Emira compared to previous Lotus models.

In the recent past, V6 versions of the Evora and especially Exige had collectively been more popular than the classic Lotus Elise.

On top of the Emira, Mr Gibbs said interest in the Lotus Eletre SUV “has surpassed expectations”. 

Without specifying a figure, Mr Gibbs said the interest has been very encouraging, and expects to see the electric SUV make up a significant portion of Lotus’ Australian sales in the future.

This is before final pricing and specification has even been confirmed for Australia, so interest is expected to increase once details are finalised.