These Turbo And Supercharged Lotus’ Are Absolute Monsters With A Tune

Lotus might not build its own engines anymore, but that hasn’t stopped tuners from squeezing serious power out of the Emira. In a new video from Burger Motorsports, we get a behind-the-scenes look at what happens when two completely different Emiras—one turbocharged, one supercharged—get treated to JB4 tuning and back-to-back dyno sessions. No turbos were swapped. No internals were touched. And yet, the results are brilliant.

From tight engine bay struggles to big horsepower reveals, the episode showcases just how potent both of Lotus’ borrowed engines really are. The first car is powered by the Mercedes-AMG M139 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. The second runs Toyota’s trusty 3.5-liter V6 with a factory supercharger. Both are completely stock aside from a plug-and-play JB4 tuner. The final numbers? Higher than anyone expected.

Lotus Cars

Founded

1948

Founder

Colin Chapman

Headquarters

Hethel, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom

Current CEO

Fengqing Feng

The Turbocharged Lotus Emira Is Hiding Some Serious Punch

The video starts with the team trying to install the JB4 unit into the 2.0-liter turbo Emira—a process made harder by the car’s tight packaging. But once installed, the results are worth the trouble. Lotus claims the car makes 360 horsepower at the crank. The dyno says otherwise.

Turbocharged Emira Numbers

• Stock (Map 0): 387 wheel horsepower / 311 lb-ft
• JB4 Map 1 (91 octane): 420 whp / 336 lb-ft
• Map 1 with IAT spoofing: 422 whp / 354 lb-ft
• Map 2 (93 octane): 439 whp / 351 lb-ft
• Map 3 (93 octane): 444 whp / 355 lb-ft
• Map 4 (E30 blend): 456 whp / 371 lb-ft

That’s nearly 70 horsepower gained at the wheels, with no hardware mods—just tuning and fuel. The team also notes that even Map 1 provides a healthy jump, making the JB4 a solid plug-and-play upgrade for Emira owners looking for more without risking warranty headaches.

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The V6 Emira With A Supercharger Goes Even Further

Up next is the 3.5-liter V6-powered Emira, which uses a supercharged Toyota engine originally found in cars like the Camry and Lotus Evora. It might not sound exotic, but it puts down some serious numbers.

Supercharged Emira Numbers

• Stock (Map 0): 374 whp / 339 lb-ft
• JB4 Map 6 (91 octane): 421 whp / 362 lb-ft
• Map 6 (mimicking 93 with E85 blend): 435 whp / 379 lb-ft
• Final pull (Map 6 maxed): 461 whp / 396 lb-ft

That’s an 87-horsepower gain at the wheels, and nearly 400 lb-ft of torque from a stock engine with a piggyback tuner. With further tweaks or race gas, the team believes there’s even more to be had.

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Both versions of the Emira show just how much Lotus is leaving on the table from the factory. And thanks to the JB4, tapping into that potential doesn’t take much—just a tune, some fuel, and a dyno session or two.