The Lotus Emira has been updated with a series of refinements that promise to bring both a more engaging drive and greater levels of comfort.

The Emira V6 SE (priced from £96,500) gets retuned dampers and new alignment settings that are said to improve both its ride and handling.

Its manual gearbox also gets new mounts that are intended to improve the precision of gearchanges. Autocar previously found it prone to hesitation when slotting the gearlever into higher ratios when rushing a shift. 

Meanwhile, the Mercedes-AMG-powered four-cylinder Emira Turbo (from £79,500) gets a reworked dual-clutch automatic gearbox that is said to change gears more quickly and be smoother in its delivery.

Both versions get updated cooling systems with rerouted lines, improving flow to the gearbox oil cooler and the main radiator.

Lotus said this reduces temperatures and sheds weight, although it has yet to specify how much lighter the new Emira is.

It has also recalibrated the engine thermostat so that it doesn't open until 75deg C – up 10deg C on its current specification – to improve performance in hotter climes.

As well as technical updates, Lotus has introduced a new Racing Line trim for both the Turbo and V6 models. This adds a lower-body pinstripe in yellow, red or silver, mirror caps painted the same colour and monochrome exterior badging. It costs an extra £3000.