Exclusive: Lotus Emira Turbo Bathurst Edition 2026 Review

On the face of it, $250,000 is a lot of money to spend on a two-seat sports car… but in the scheme of things, the 2026 Lotus Emira Turbo Bathurst Edition almost represents good value.

Inspired by Lotus Cars Australia’s long association with production car racing at Mount Panorama over the last 15 years, the Emira Turbo Bathurst Edition sits in its own space in some rarefied air, too.

Consider that the company is referencing the $334,200 Porsche Cayman GT4 as a baseline for this car, and that a base McLaren 540C is $350,000 (plus on-roads), then the Emira Turbo Bathurst Edition makes a bit more sense.

The Chevrolet Corvette 3LT is a cheaper alternative at $222,990, but despite also being a mid-engined two-seater, it’s a different beast.

The Bathurst Edition is based on the Emira Turbo First Edition which costs $199,990 before on-road costs. By way of comparison, the base 2026 Emira Turbo costs $209,990 in 268kW form, and $229,990 in 298kW spec.

The Bathurst Edition’s extra ask nets a set of very trick, very expensive three-way-adjustable Modal dampers with slightly stiffer springs and revised suspension geometry as standard, a bespoke carbon front splitter, a super cool swan neck-mounted carbon rear wing, bespoke badging and decaling.

It also offers up a significant power boost for the AMG-sourced ‘M139’ 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine – found in cars like the A45 AMG – lifting outputs from 268kW/420Nm to a much handier 372kW/600Nm, all sent through the rear wheels.

It’s backed by AMG’s eight-speed automatic transmission which can be left to its own devices or flapped manually via beautifully tactile alloy paddles that turn with the wheel.

The Emira Bathurst Edition inherits the same levels of sensible, well-executed content as the First Edition, including a roomy, comfortable interior with leather and suede-appointed sports bucket seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel, 12.3-inch screen and small digital dash.

It also features cool milled alloy dials for key functions like climate control and a three-grade drive mode system that tweaks exhaust noise and throttle response, as well as traction and stability control intervention.

There’s a bespoke stereo set-up from a company called KEF, and wired Apple CarPlay/Android Auto is standard. There’s a slot to store a phone in centre console, but it’s not equipped with an inductive charger, sadly.

A set of staggered 20-inch alloy rims adorn each corner, with 20x8.5s at the front and 20x10s at the rear shod with 245/35 and 295/30 profile Michelin Cup 2s respectively.

That gorgeous two-door exterior benefits from LED light arrays front and rear, as well as those bold dual exhaust outlets.

Confession time… we weren’t able to wrestle the keys to the Emira Turbo Bathurst Edition from Simply Sports Car motorsport manager Mark O’Connor on this occasion, as he and the team were still fettling the finer points of the car’s shifting map during the company’s annual Mount Panorama track day event.

However, a brace of passenger laps around 6km of Australia’s most fearsome bitumen playground leaves quite the impression.

First up… this thing is seriously, seriously quick up the hill, much more so than the stock Emira Turbo that I drove on the road prior to strapping into the Bathurst Edition.

The urge is linear and relentless all the way through the gearset, with the inline four blaring its head off over my shoulder. It makes a better sound than I was expecting, too – check out the video – but noise was the furthest thing from my mind as turn two rushed up.

The Emira Bathurst Edition’s brakes are unchanged from the stock car, and from my vantage point they worked more than well enough, as Mark leaned on them hard and trail-braked the Emira to the apex before stamping on the loud pedal again.

The car’s suspension settings have been altered in consultation with Sydney-based company Modal, with more camber on the rear axle to induce more turn. And turn it did, with the quick hydraulic power-assisted steering rack leading the way and the rear end simply squatting and rotating in perfect symphony as we rocketed across the top of the course.

It sits perfectly flat as we plunge off Skyline, with no disconcerting wiggle as we drop through The Cutting and smash our way down the hill.

Mount Panorama demands a lot of chassis set-ups, with high-speed direction changes and lots of dive and pitch to control, and the Emira Turbo Bathurst Edition feels balanced, planted and easy to manage right out of the box.

We pull an easy 280km/h-plus as we plunge through The Chase, pulling up straight and true before jinking left then right to complete the lap.

The Emira Bathurst Edition’s upgrades give the stock car the fangs it’s always needed, and the team’s Australia-specific tuning program has netted them a car that would be at as home at a tight and twisty Winton as it is here on the open, flowing Mount Panorama circuit.

The nice thing? Bolt a number plate back on it and it can be driven home afterwards.

From the passenger seat it’s obviously impossible to comment on how the Emira Bathurst Edition’s steering or braking felt, though I was surprised to hear that even the brake pads remain unchanged in the upgrade process.

There’s certainly room under those 20-inch rims for a brake package uptick… though stock Lotus brakes have always been up to the task through the years.

I’d also wager a guess that while the damping quality of the Modal shocks will be well behaved on public roads when wound back, the stiffer spring rates – essentially 20 per cent stiffer than the Touring Pack-based Emira – will make back road bumps a little less pleasant.

And while there is a smattering of badging on the interior, it felt a bit underdone for mine.

Perhaps a big Bathurst map embossed on the seat suede, brightly coloured belts or even an Alcantara-covered wheel with contrasting top-centre stripe could help to tell others just what you’ve bought.

Some will question the logic in dropping a quarter of a million dollars on what essentially is a car from a brand with arguably less cachet than its more fancied European and even American rivals.

But I actually think it’s quite a special buy. Just 15 will be made, and in a decade it will be a very sought-after variant of the last purely petrol-powered Lotus ever made.

It doesn’t hurt that it’s based on an incredibly attractive, relatively practical and easy-to-drive mid-sized sports car that only the discerning drivers among us will recognise as one of the largely unheralded greats.

2026 Lotus Emira Turbo Bathurst Edition at a glance:
Price: $249,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 372kW/600Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.2L/100km
CO2: 243g/km
Safety rating: Not tested

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