Want an extra 140-horsepower in your flyweight sports car? No problem, but you’re going to have to hop on a very long flight to get it. A company called Simply Sports Cars has just released a 500-hp Lotus Emira Turbo Bathurst Edition, and that name might tip you off as to just how far you’ll have to go.
500 HP From AMG’s Monster I4 Engine
Lotus Emira Bathurst EditionSimply Sports Cars
Simply Sports Cars is the official distributor for Lotus Cars in Australia. It also bills itself as “the only Australian car dealership run by race engineers.” Put the two together – the ultra-light sports cars and racers who love them – and you end up with machines like this latest Emira special edition.
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Naturally, it starts with the weaker of the two standard Emira models. Instead of the 400-horse Toyota-sourced V6, SSC uses the AMG-seasoned 2.0-liter turbo-four. Then the company does its motorsports thing and cranks the engine up from the 360 hp it made when it left Hethel to a whopping 500 hp. The torque figure? “Substantial.”
Lotus Emira Bathurst EditionSimply Sports Cars
AMG’s M139 four-banger is responsible for the most unloved version of the Mercedes-AMG C63 sedan, but ignore the plug-in haters. This engine develops more power per liter than anything else short of a Koenigsegg, even if the Lotus version originally made less power than any AMG. We’re not sure why Lotus went so soft on the engine, but Simply Sports Cars hasn’t. It took the four well beyond the 469 hp it makes in the most powerful AMG to use it.
Simply Sports Cars revealed the Emira Bathurst Edition at the iconic Mount Panorama circuit last week during a Lotus-only track day it organized. The location and the name give you a big hint as to what the car is meant for, and it has other changes to help do it.
Track Ready Suspension And Brakes
Lotus Emira Bathurst EditionSimply Sports Cars
The standard suspension has been binned, and replaced with new three-way adjustable shocks. The car is lower than stock, and it has a more track-focused alignment. It has four-pot AP Racing calipers front and rear, with two-piece vented discs to stand up to Panorama’s brutal braking zones.
Because no good special edition is complete without cosmetic changes, SSC has made some here. There is a Bathurst logo and track decal on the rear quarter. There is also a very 1980s Esprit-like Turbo graphic on the rear wing. Oh, and the wing itself is new, too.
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Simply Sports Cars has been a Bathurst staple for the last 20 years. The dealer has put on track day events there each year since, and has even run Exige models in the Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race. Every buyer of the Bathurst Edition can attend next year’s event, because buying one gives you complimentary entry.
The company told CarExpert that it plans to build 15 of these. The first one is already spoken for, and the price starts from $249,990 (AUD). That’s $50,000 dollary-doos more than a standard Emira Turbo, but only $36,000 more than a V6. Unlike the V6, though, the I4 is auto-only.
Whatever your thoughts, it could be a tough sell. The company only moved 60 Emiras in Australia last year, making this run of 15 a very large part of its total figure.
Source: CarExpert