The brand spanking new Lotus Emira GT4 completed a stealthily but extremely successful global race debut last weekend in the Greater Bay GT Cup GT4 event around Macau’s Guia circuit.
Two cars were fielded by Toro Racing with both cars paying tribute to Lotus’ 75 years of motorsport success sporting a new take on the brand’s classic black and gold livery.
Emerging Chinese GT talent Lou Kailou and Adam Christodoulou would campaign a car apiece and the pair would complete a dream debut weekend for the new Emira.
Locking out the front row of the grid, they led from the start and were in complete control when the race was stopped early following an on-track incident.
Race organisers determined the final positions based on the order before the stoppage, resulting in Luo Kailuo and Adam Christodoulou taking first and second in the GT4 class. Their best lap times 2:31.392 and 2:31.724 respectively.
The Lotus Emira GT4, initially unveiled back in 2022, is powered by a Lotus-tuned 3.5-litre Toyota V6 with Motec engine management and a Harrop TVS 1900 supercharger. It features a Hewland six-speed sequential transmission with paddleshift actuation and limited-slip differential. Power output is put to 455 bhp with 500Nm of torque before BoP is applied.
Ringo Chong, Team Director at TORO Racing, commented: ”The Emira GT4’s three greatest strengths in the race were: first, the centre of gravity is very low, like flying on the ground; second, the car’s steering is flexible, which gives the car a good advantage in the sharp corners of the Macau Grand Prix circuit; and third, we have added tuning for the city track and the mountain track to meet the demands of more intense driving.”
The parent group of Toro Racing number several Chinese Lotus dealers amongst no fewer than 90 multi-brand dealerships in China.
Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Lotus Group, was trackside to see the stunning 1-2 finish. He commented: “A racetrack is the only place better suited for a Lotus than the road. Lotus has been competing on the racetrack for 75 years, and championships have been a long-standing tradition for Lotus.”
The team are now considering options for future competition with the cars, one of which is on display this weekend at a major Chinese motor show.
