How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Lotus Emira?

You start the green Lotus Emira V6 in a Malibu driveway, and the supercharger whines behind your seat. That car rents for $595 a day, and the multi-color Emira V4 in Newport Beach rents for the same $595. That is how much it costs to rent a Lotus Emira before delivery and extra miles.

The V6 and the V4 each carry a $1,000 deposit and include 100 miles a day. Miles past that are billed at $4 a mile.

The Lotus daily rental price, car by car

Here are the Emira listings as their own pages show them.

• 2025 Emira V6, green over black, based in Los Angeles, $595 a day
• 2024 Emira V4, multi-color over black, based in Orange County, $595 a day
• Deposit on each car, $1,000
• Extra miles on each car, $4 a mile

The green paint changes with the light, and it looks almost black in the shade of the Malibu canyons. It turns bright green with metal flake once you drive out into the sun on Pacific Coast Highway.

The V4 paint shifts color as you walk around it, so the car looks different from each side at Newport Coast. People often stop and ask what it is, because most of them have never seen an Emira up close.

Same price, two different engines

The V6 and the V4 share a price, but they don't share an engine. The V6 uses a 3.5 liter supercharged V6 that makes 400 horsepower. The V4 uses a 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder that makes 360 horsepower. Torque is close, with 310 lb-ft in the V6 and 317 lb-ft in the V4.

The smaller engine is quicker to 60 mph and gets there in 3.8 seconds. The V6 takes 4.2 seconds. The V6 has the higher top speed at 180 mph, and the V4 tops out at 175 mph.

A supercharger is driven by the engine itself, so the V6 has no lag. Press the gas pedal and the power arrives right away. The whine gets louder as the revs climb, and you hear it through the glass hatch right behind your head.

The V4 is lighter over the nose, so it turns in quickly and barely leans on Santiago Canyon Road. You feel the front tires working through the steering wheel on the way into each bend.

Here's the part the price doesn't tell you. Neither car is the better deal, because they cost exactly the same per day. The engine is the real choice, and you make it by what you want to hear and feel.

What the deposit and the 100 miles cover

The $1,000 deposit is a hold on your card, not a charge. We release it after the car comes back in the condition it left. The deposit covers small things like a curbed wheel, and your own insurance covers real damage, subject to your deductible.

The miles work as a pool, so a 2 day rental has 200 miles to use in any order. You could spend most of them on one long day in the canyons and park the car the next day.

Each mile past the allowance costs $4 on the V6 or the V4. If you know the trip runs long, say so when you book. The extra miles then get priced in ahead of time instead of billed after.

The Emira is a car you book to drive. A day on a canyon road and a dinner on the coast can use a lot of miles. Plan the route before you book, and you'll know if 100 miles a day is enough.

How much it costs to rent a Lotus for three days or a week

The daily rate drops on its own as the rental gets longer, and you don't have to ask for it. Here is the $595 rate on the published ladder.

• 1 to 2 days, full rate, $595 a day
• 3 to 4 days, 10% off, $535.50 a day
• 5 to 6 days, 15% off, $505.75 a day
• 7 to 13 days, 20% off, $476 a day
• 14 to 20 days, 30% off, $416.50 a day
• 21 to 27 days, 40% off, $357 a day
• 28 days or more, 50% off, $297.50 a day

A 3 day rental comes to $1,606.50 before delivery. A full week comes to $3,332.

Three days fits a long weekend well, and the V4 can meet you curbside at John Wayne Airport on Friday afternoon. You drop your bag in the small trunk behind the engine and drive straight to Laguna Beach for dinner. The 300 miles in that rental are pooled across all three days.

What else lands on the bill

Delivery is quoted by address and is charged on every rental, from one day to a month. The weekly and monthly discounts above don't change it.

Insurance is not in the price, and we don't sell it. Your own auto policy has to cover a rental car that is not listed on your policy. That coverage is called non-owner vehicle coverage, and it has to come with no exotic or high-value exclusion.

Before every rental we call your insurance carrier on a recorded line to confirm the policy is active and covers the car. Credit card rental coverage almost never applies. Most card benefits exclude cars worth more than $50,000 to $75,000.

Once the call is done, the Emira is yours for the day. On Rodeo Drive, strangers who stop to look at the green car usually guess it is Italian. Then they see the Lotus badge on the nose.

The rules to rent are short. You need to be 18 or older with a valid driver's license and full coverage insurance in your own name. A larger deposit may apply if you are under 25. Track use and racing are not allowed on any car.

A Lotus Emira next to a GT-R, a 911 and a Boxster

The Nissan GT-R is the closest match on price. The white GT-R in Los Angeles rents for $595 a day with a $1,000 deposit. It makes 565 horsepower and reaches 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. All-wheel drive puts that power down with almost no wheelspin.

The GT-R wins a straight line, and the Emira is the car for the steering. The Lotus is lighter and turns in faster in a tight bend. The GT-R is heavier and faster on the open road.

The Porsche 911 Carrera can cost less to rent. The blue 911 Carrera in Orange County rents for $395 a day with a $1,000 deposit. It is a previous-generation car with the engine behind the rear axle. It also has two small rear seats.

The Porsche 718 Boxster is the cheapest car of the four. The black Boxster in Orange County rents for $295 a day, with 300 horsepower and a roof that folds down. Pick it when the plan is a sunset drive along the coast.

The Emira sits between them. It has the mid-engine layout of the Boxster and a price close to the GT-R. People who stop to look at it in Beverly Hills often can't name it. That is part of why renters pick it.

When to book a Lotus Emira

A week or two ahead covers most dates, but summer weekends and holiday weekends go first. Same-day is sometimes possible on a weekday, and it is always worth asking.

Book a weekday if you can, because the canyon roads are quieter. More of your 100 miles go to open road instead of traffic.

The price is $595 a day on the V6 and on the V4. Pick the V6 if you want to hear the supercharger on every pull. Pick the V4 if you want the quicker launch and the sharper turn-in.