name_bran

I haven't posted on The Lotus Forums in quite a while, so here's an update from me: I got my Lotus back in March, before all this virus stuff really started affecting our way of life over here in the states. The week I got it, I took it to a reputable detail shop and got the roof, A-pillars, and carbon fiber cutouts in the rear bumper wrapped in PPF - those were the only critical areas that I felt should have been done from the factory but weren't. I ended up springing for the Ti exhaust and the carbon pack for that maximum 71lb weight savings. And I too feel that weight savings are negated when an overweight person drives the car anyway 😅 So congrats @Loquacious Lew on the 70lbs! Before this virus hit I was down 90lbs myself - now I'm just trying not to gain any back with my gym being closed.

You’re misunderstanding. I’m saying Lotus won’t allow you to order the calipers in any colors other than red yellow or black at all - even if you wanted to pay them to do so. They just buy the calipers straight from AP Racing already painted. But they should have an option to paint the calipers in any color you want straight from the factory. Or at least an option to paint match them to the body color of the car.

I know I could always paint them, but I don't feel like I should have to spend more money on top of MSRP to pay for something that should have been done from the factory. And @ken2020 I'm actually not a huge fan of that Isotope Green. Verde Ithaca looks miles better imo if I were wanting a loud color like that - which I don't. I feel like those colors are awesome for those who have multiple cars and not planning to drive it every day. But for someone like me who plans to drive it as a daily, I feel like I would get tired of a color that loud eventually. Also it needs the diamond cut wheels for me 😁

I really wish Lotus would have had the option to order the brake calipers in the body paint color of the car 😕 this Isotope Green would have been amazing with matching calipers.

@KG So that blue one is yours? It's gorgeous! Please post pictures and updated pictures when you get the wing and bumper on! You and I have very similar tastes it seems. I went with Essex Blue but everything else we specked the same - High Power Silver Forged Wheels, red calipers, carbon pack, red cat scratches etc. I got the red stripes on the seats too, but I went with the black interior panel pieces. We both ordered from Gator too. For a split second I thought this was mine, but I'm sure Brian would have contacted me first before just posting up pictures. This is the first one I've seen in Nightfall Blue - still surprised I haven't seen any in Essex yet. Maybe I'll be the first one! 😁

A couple other points to be made here as well: 1) Evoras aren’t for posers. When you’re looking into buying one, you’ve done your research. You know exactly what you’re getting. And you don’t want a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or McLaren. You also don’t want a Corvette or a Cayman or other more common sports cars. You know there are cheaper cars out there that are quicker/faster. And you know there are similarly priced cars that are way more well-known and carry way more brand presence/easier to service/maintain. You’re not buying an Evora because you couldn’t get a good deal that other sports car you wanted. You’ve got to be committed as hell to get into Evora ownership. And that includes second hand owners as well-maybe even moreso because they’ll be the ones who have to do all the upkeep as the cars get into the higher miles. When you’re buying an Evora you’re most likely looking for a super analog sports car that still has up-to-date tech inside. And that’s why the analog transmission will be more sought after versus the automatic. 2) the manual has a limited slip diff lets not forget. That means something to those planning to track their cars. And it just looks good on paper. Those old first generation F1 transmissions and early dual clutches have not been kind to the resale values of any other exotic. The Evora will be no different. Auto reviewers already talk down on the automatic in the Evora today, imagine how it’s going to feel in another 5 years when shifts get even quicker. Imagine 10 years. The Evora is a brilliant driving machine regardless of transmission and there’s nothing else like it on the road, but there’s no doubt in my mind which one will hold its value better or which will be more fun to drive in 20 years long after the manual is dead and DCTs are shifting in .00001s.

Just look at used Ferraris and Lamborghinis from the mid 2000s and older. Look at the 90s era Japanese sports car giants. The manuals command a big premium. And that premium will only increase over time as enthusiasts who prefer autos will continue to look past cars with dated rough/slow-shifting single clutch, early dual clutch, and torque converter automatics in favor of the fastest shifting dual clutches available. As time marches on, older automatics such as the Aisin units used in the Evora will continue to be looked upon as the weak link in an otherwise perfectly analog sports car. Manual transmission technology has peaked and it will always be desirable similar to how a hand crafted analog watch will be desirable long after your Apple Watch Series 4. And I never did get the traffic argument either. Traffic sucks no matter what transmission, engine, or even car you’re in. If you’re buying a sports car and your highest priority is how well it does in traffic either get a second car or consider something different if you can’t afford more than one.

And I read we were getting an Evora Roadster and a full-on GT430. You just never know until it happens right? 😂

The Evija is definitely a change in direction for the brand. And it’s a path that I see Lotus embracing for their future cars. Hybridization and full electrification could potentially end manual transmissions for the brand completely eventually. If they hold on to their engine deal with Toyota then I might change my opinion on this. But with Geely now owning Lotus and Volvo being the only other automaker they own that makes their own engines that are homologated world wide, I can’t see Geely not taking advantage of that and sticking with Toyota. Volvo only makes 4 cylinders. And their highest T8 trim levels all involve electrification. Moreover, the Polestar brand is all electric. Lotus will probably be forced in this direction too is my guess. The Evija is the start of a whole new generation and brand ethos of Lotus. And although the Evija is a “cool” car, it’s not for me-even if I had the money to buy one. I really hope I’m wrong about this. But I wouldn’t be surprised either way.

I won’t be surprised if and when Lotus goes to auto-only for their cars at some point. Just like I won’t be surprised when they drop the 2GR V6 for Volvo sourced 4 cylinders-making this generation of Lotuses the last to be powered by 6 cylinders. In fact, I ordered a GT for those very reasons. This last run Evora could very well be the end of an era at Lotus and sports cars in general since it’s already essentially the last of its kind, especially in this price range. Although, I do think they’ll hold out longer than most with the manual just because their manual take rate right now is so high. But the argument of manuals not being able to hold as much power as autos or DCTs is a complete farce. No one wants to take the time and r&d to develop a new manual that CAN hold more power. All the money is being put into autos and that’s why they’re able to handle more power these days. That’s just where automakers’ priorities are right now. And I don’t buy into all that manual take rate percentage bs either. Corvette manuals were up near or over 50% when the C7 was launched. The people who wanted their manuals probably ordered them exactly how they wanted them the first couple years they were on sale and just never upgraded since it’s not like the C7 got any major refresh during its entire production run-a 2014 C7 looks exactly like a 2019 for the most part. So why upgrade? Meanwhile rental companies still bought new autos all the time and the vette itself upgraded its auto from a 6 speed to an 8 speed a couple years after it was launched-arguably the biggest mechanical change to the car during the entire production run. That change probably made a few auto buyers upgrade. But they made no such improvement to the engine or the manual transmission so manual buyers probably just kept theirs. My guess would be those manual buyers would have easily upgraded to a manual C8 if they had the choice. Admittedly the C7 at least offered the stick in all of its trim levels because some companies really have a hay day with their manual take rate numbers. Jag claimed that it’s manual take rate was like 3% or something so that’s why they killed it in the F-Type. Man... hearing a Jag spokesperson quote that pissed me off more than anything car related in recent memory. I can’t tell you how many times I tried to bargain with myself about how I accept buying a mid tier F-Type just to get the manual. A car that would be slower yet double the cost of my already overpriced Nismo Z. With no monobloc brakes and lazily bolstered seats. If they would have just given the R coupe a manual I probably wouldn’t be on this forum today-I’d own a manual V8 F-Type. So when automakers talk about their “take rates” being low- it’s not hard to see why once you stop and think. And I can’t wait for Genesis to announce they’re killing the manual in their G70 because of “low take rates” -gee you think? Offering a manual paired only with the base engine didn’t get any attention from enthusiasts??? Wow WHO would have thought?? I’m sick of the auto industry as of late. This Evora GT is a hero car in my mind as it’s the last car of its kind. I’ll probably never sell mine. There will probably never be anything else like it manual or otherwise.

The mid-engine vette is auto only. It means nothing to me. And like all Corvettes you’ll be seeing them all over your local Chevy dealerships and at every other intersection in town within a few years time. The price and performance are there, but the presence and the stick shift are not. I guess having an Evora with an auto still means you get one of the best handling cars out there. And you still have that rarity factor and the good looks. But there’s nothing like shifting yourself with an honest to God to clutch. Plus I guarantee in ten years when cars like these are becoming a distant memory, the manual will command a large premium. Similar to how manual versions of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and almost every other sports car made commands a premium right now. And that difference is only going to increase. Not that I care at all about resale value as I plan to keep my GT for a very long time-perhaps forever if the market keeps trending where it’s headed. But still, there’s a reason those manuals are rocketing up in value: autos are boring, and nothing is as timeless as a good old fashioned stick shift in a sports car. The Evora isn’t about setting fast laps and lightning quick shifts as much as it’s about having a blast and being engaged in the drive while setting them. That’s why I’d never get an auto. But I realize I’m a bigger manual fanboy than pretty much anyone. I’d rather drive a Civic Si over an automatic Evora-crazy I know.

All the reviews say the auto upshifts early even in sport mode, and the gear changes are rough, sluggish, and slow to respond to shift inputs in manual mode - sounds like a really bad time. Personally, the manual transmission is about 95% of the reason I ordered one of these cars. The Evora is about pure analog driving, and I can think of at least 5 other sports cars I'd have considered and probably purchased already if I considered an automatic. 1. TT RS 2. F-Type R 3. 718 GTS 4. 4C Spider 5. Z4 M40i - The first 3 are all quicker than the Evora for similar or less money, and the last 2 are significantly cheaper than the Evora and not much slower. Why on earth would anyone want an automatic Evora? I would keep my manual Nismo Z over an automatic Evora. I realize I'm a bigger die hard manual fan than almost anyone, but an automatic Evora to me just sounds like sacrilege. The Automobilemag article said that roughly 70% of Evora buyers choose the manual, but I'm actually surprised that number isn't higher.

In addition to Jalopnik, CNET and Automobilemag posted reviews yesterday as well: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2020-lotus-evora-gt-preview/ https://www.automobilemag.com/news/2020-lotus-evora-gt-first-drive-review/ Matt Farrah also posted a short YouTube video on his channel about it, which is the first official video footage of the GT: All the coverage so far seems to be saying the same thing: great car made even better with this latest version, the auto sucks, and this is one of the last truly analog drivers cars you can buy new in 2019. Everyone loves it. As they should.

The C8 doesn't come in manual. It's completely out of my scope now because of that alone - not even an option. If you want a brand new mid/rear-engine car with a stick there's this, the Cayman, and the 911. And if you want one with more than 4 cylinders, which of course you do because no one wants to spend more than $50k for a 4 cylinder, the Evora GT is the least expensive option. Plus, like Ken said, if you're interested in the GT, you're probably not considering a C8 regardless of your transmission preference. They really are completely different buyers.

You guys keep saying he could reject the car, but he's already been waiting for it for almost 2 years - back when Lotus promised us the full-on GT430. Think about how long that is and how much this car has changed since. If he submitted a new order now it would almost certainly be in the second build batch and wouldn't get here until around the same time as mine - which may be as late as December according my dealer. That's going on three years of waiting! Sure, most of us in here say we'd reject it and order a new one and get the correct spec (myself included), but I don't believe anyone has put as much time and effort into this car as Ken has. So while it's easy for us to say, I can understand just him just wanting cut his losses, wash his hands of the whole process, accept the car, and be done with it. This whole ordeal just sucks, and I'm pretty empathetic to his situation. I just hope the car wins you over in the end Ken, as it is beautiful regardless of it being an incorrect build.