01 LOTUS EMIRA

Rating 4.5

ENGINE 3456cc V6, DOHC, 24v, s/c

POWER 298kW @6800rpm

TORQUE 420Nm @3500rpm

0-100KM/H 4.2sec (claimed)

WEIGHT 1405kg • PRICE $184,990

LIKE: Promising dynamics; engaging drive; huge grip; interior you can live with

DISLIKE: Could sit lower; no front boot; last of its kind; we need a local drive

I THINK GAVAN Kershaw might be a couple of baguettes short of a luncheon. We’re about five minutes into my first drive in the Emira, tiptoeing through the second-gear hairpin at the far end of Hethel’s test track, when Lotus’s director of attributes pipes up from the passenger seat: “Give the steering a flick and put your foot flat to the floor.” Really? Okay then.

There’s no drama: the V6’s torque delivery is stymied to just the right degree as the stability