420 Sport officially teased on social media, full reveal on 26 May 2026
- Thread starter hoho
- Start date
Add transport, taxes and dealer fees?
Maybe? but usually they quote a build MSRP from a configurator. Still seems way off. I got to about 150Kish USD with all options checked.
Canadian Configurator is now live - Most options checked off and the MSRP is $213K. With Lux Tax and HST $265,000 CAD!!! WOW
That's insane right? 265k cad is ~190k USD.. That's ~$100k more than the loaded first editions 1.0 pricing. IIRC, my order was ~$93k.
So almost $200k for an automatic 4 cylinder? I'd rather have a Supra, Golf R, Civic Type R, and $50k in cash left over.
Yes, it is fairly odd CAD pricing for the 420 Sport. Since the 2027 Configurator is now updated for the V6SE, my current DV Spec First Edition today would cost 161K + Taxes. So about 50K increase. Not crazy, but a lot still. The original MSRP FE in Canada was 109K for V1
They now added more options like removable roof on the manual and clear taillights etc. - With all options ticked off on the 2027 V6 SE in Canada would be about 180K + Taxes (over 200K all in!). - but this does have many differences to the First Editions. (EOS green paint, sunroof, wheels etc.)
This pricing is insane. It simply doesn't have the power to justify those kinds of prices. Except for the removable roof, you can pretty much do everything that's in this model for about $20k U.S. above whatever you pay for a used V6 Emira.
So I was interested in this question, and well the same 265K CAD car sold in Washington state would be approx 190K USD Tax in. In CAD that is about 268K - So about the same crazy price as us?! - Very expensive for a 4 cylinder Emira IMO. However, if you choose options carefully and don't go for Tangelo exterior paint, it can be had for a lot less. Some of the options are pricey and unnecessary.
I think so too. Reasonably specced (lightweight package but not all the carbon bits) its about 15k more than my V6 SE. But then again its a 4 banger. Would not spend that kind of money for 4 cylinders. Very happy with my V6 SE.
Before I drove the i4, I would have agreed with that
All in all, driving a Lotus will probably never be cheap.
It was always one of the issues of the Esprit, a fantastic driving car with modern looks. But dismissed by many potential buyers for its small 4 cylinder engine - regardless of how it drove, "Huh? It's not a V8?"
I remember it in Supercar Top Trumps from when I was a kids - it was a card you struggled with as on specs it lost to nearly everything else apart from weight. If it had a power to weight (or handling) stat it would have been a great card.
I remember it in Supercar Top Trumps from when I was a kids - it was a card you struggled with as on specs it lost to nearly everything else apart from weight. If it had a power to weight (or handling) stat it would have been a great card.
The Emira GT4? I believe that was ~$220k IIRC.
You'd think Lotus would learned from their mistakes, but they seem intent on making them over and over again.
This wasn't a technical mistake in the Esprit, maybe a mistake in marketing, especially in the US. It was deliberate - why put in a heavier V8 when it doesn't add more to the car? Focus on being lightweight and on the handling. Same to some extent with the Emira (and the new 296, probably the best modern Ferrari).
You appear to be overlooking the Esprit twin-turbo v8 which is the lighter & lower spiritual ancester of the Emira.
Wasn't the V8 lighter? its just too bad that came out too late int he Esprit's life. Another major misstep by Lotus. That V8 should have been outputting 400+ HP at launch with a new sleeker body style. Instead in typical Lotus fashion they let the gearbox hamstring them into 350HP and don't redesign the car enough from the 4 cylinder version.
The reality is you really can't force people to want something on technicalities. That's been one of Lotus's biggest failure all along. Technically Lotus has been right on a lot of things, but a 4 cylinder supercar just doesn't get most people hot and bothered. You want to sell cars you still need to cater to the braggarts and posers as well. Porsche does this great, Lotus is terrible at it.
Either that or you need some amazing ad campaign that somehow convinces those people that a lower powered 4 cylinder sports/super car makes them cooler than someone with a V8. Good luck.
The Emira, while not a supercar, has to go up against V6 Porsche's and V8 Corvettes. Its not even like the I4 is some kind of high-end exotic bespoke I4 that Lotus developed/modified that makes some crazy HP numbers. They are literally taking an AMG I4 and and plopping it in the back. Maybe they do some programming, but as far as I know they don't modify the engine in anyway of significance. So they had to do almost no R&D on an engine, the most expensive part of developing a car, but think charging $140k for a 416HP I4 car is appropriate? I am not even sure Porsche could do that.
Listen I agree with you to a certain extent, I always thought it was cool that the 4 cylinder Espirit could compete with the V8s of the time, but I am not a normal sports/supercar buyer (that's why I am on Lotus forums and have owned 3 of them). Unfortunately as time goes on I can kind of understand, as the price of the Emira creeps to mid $100ks and with with the other options out there its kind of hard for to consider when you can get a Z06 for basically the same money. Lotus fans used to mock the Corvette saying "its not mid-engined", "you can't get it in manual anymore", or "its too heavy". Well here we are you can get a 670HP NA V8 Z06 or a 416HP Turbo I4 Emira for around the same money. The 'vette now is mid-engined and the Lotus no longer offers a manual (in the highest spec) and lets be honest the Emira is hardly lightweight. Sure IMO the Emira looks better and while I haven't' driven one (but I have owned 2 Evoras), it probably drives a bit better, but in the end spending that kind of money on a Lotus with those specs and no manual seems crazy, even to me.
At least in the past you could say Lotus was catering to the hardcore sportscar buyers. At this point it doesn't seem like they are catering to anyone.
I'm not overlooking, just discounting it as it wasn't the ethos of the early cars. The V8s came out much later in the Esprit's life cycle. For the first 20 the Esprit did not come with a V8, only for the last 8 years and in the (kind of) S4 cars. So maybe we'll have the Emira V8 in 2042?
- Jul 8, 2026
- 18
- 13
- Status:
- Emira on order
- My Specs:
- Emira I4
Was Just notified my car is in the process of being built. Delivery end of November
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