Lotus Emira

[TomE]

The question of parts delays and support for older models was asked of Matt Windle by Bibs in the TLF interview video a few months ago.  Lotus recognise they need to improve in this area.  We all need to see tangible evidence of that, not just words.

[DarrylV8]

Having spoken at length with Lotus aftersales only last week I can state Evora owners or future Evora owners won’t need to worry Lotus have been working extremely hard to build up a very large stock of parts for the Evora unfortunately I haven’t asked about Elise or Exige.

[Dobbin145]

On 06/09/2021 at 16:19, Mickle said:

That photo was issued with the main 'World Premier' pack a while ago, so I presume it's the blue demo car or another internal car. There's quite a few on Lotus' media site as Emiralust mentioned:

https://media.lotuscars.com/en/galleries/emira.html

 

1 hour ago, DarrylV8 said:

Lotus have been working extremely hard to build up a very large stock of parts for the Evora

Made a little easier by the lack of Final Edition Evora perhaps? 

[Aimee Lotus Silverstone]

On 18/08/2021 at 14:58, C8RKH said:

I was looking at that same car but Oakmere didn't really seem to be too interested in doing any sort of a deal with me (strange, twice I have had that impression from them) and at the same time Silverstone also had a yellow 410 Sport. So I phoned Aimee about that and somehow what transpired was a phone conversation that started with Hi Aimee, about that 2nd hand 410 Sport in yellow and ended with, Bye Aimee, thanks for talking me into buying your brand new Fire Red sport!  I then changed the seat brackets and have never really looked back!  JFDI!

Good times  x

[C8RKH]

Yes indeedy!  That was a great car and you really did not take long to talk me up lol.  Great service and experience, so thanks again for that!

[mdavies]

Too many Emira threads to check if posted somewhere already, so I will.  The current EVO Email is headed by a pretty decent article that seems to provide all known facts about the Emira. Unsurprisingly it includes spec/performance comparison tables: V6 with the Cayman GTS 4.0 and the AMG with the Alpine 110S and the Cayman S.

https://www.evo.co.uk/lotus/203463/lotus-emira-first-edition-priced-from-ps75995-production-to-commence-in-2022?_mout=1&refid=09228E75F0406E58FEE79A00174F2107&utm_campaign=evo_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

Perhaps of interest just to the odd one or two here..............

Edited September 21, 2021 by mdavies

[Giniw]

(sanitized URL here: https://www.evo.co.uk/lotus/203463/lotus-emira-first-edition-priced-from-ps75995-production-to-commence-in-2022)

[freefall_junkie]

Good article with a couple of interesting snippets. Only a 10kg weight gain over the Evora 400 with 60kg of extra tech - impressive if correct. Also the V6 could survive until new EU regs in 2027, which is much longer than some were expecting. 

[C8RKH]

Interesting re the weight - the Evora 400 was 1395kg and the Evora GT410 was 1297, so to move from 400 to GT410 they dropped some 98kg. If the Emira is 10kg heavier than a 400 then to be honest that explains the estimated 0-60mph time of c. 4.3seconds in some way as that would make it 1405kg in weight and give it a power to weight of what, 284bhp per ton, as opposed to the GT410 at 316bhp per ton.

For comparison from what I can find the Cayman GTS is 286bhp per ton (1380kg/395bhp) and GT4 is 296bhp per ton (1395kg/414).

My figures may well be wrong, but it shows that, in my mind, there is scope for Lotus to take almost a 100kg of weight out of the Emira and if they can, whilst increasing the horses (whether in I4 or V6 formats) then I think we could be in for some special cars in a couple of years.

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Bravo73

[C8RKH]

One thing that I forgot to mention in my post above is that the days of "added lightness" in a Lotus really are behind us now. As a +0 the Emira is directly aimed at the Cayman and they are very similar in weight and power.

However, the Evora fared better when configured as a +2 as then you would compare it's weight, legitimately, against the 911 - and there the GT410 was almost some 300kg lighter than the lightest 911 at c.1580kg. Now that was impressive.

[Ratman]

not sure that the weight you mentioned for different versions of the same car (400, 410 sport, Emira) are in the same spec.

I suspect that Lotus is changing spec in order to have better figures.

[jimichanga]

I believe most Evora 400s that were actually weighed came in over 1400kg. GT410 Sport with all the carbon options should be similar to original Sport 410 at 1325kg (lightest possible) but they didn’t have the carbon buckets and were later revised upwards to a more believable 1360kg wet.

When it comes to Emira I don’t believe the 60kg of added stuff includes everything you get in a First Edition. 1405kg was another lightest possible figure, presumably for the base i4. With 12-way electric seats and Kef hifi among others I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the total kerbweight for a V6 FE is close to 1500kg. Doesn’t matter though clearly when the car proves how little buyers care about weight, even Lotus buyers going by comments on here. But one or two Evora Sport owners might drive home with a bit more appreciation for their cars after a back to back test drive.

[freefall_junkie]

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

Interesting re the weight - the Evora 400 was 1395kg and the Evora GT410 was 1297, so to move from 400 to GT410 they dropped some 98kg. If the Emira is 10kg heavier than a 400 then to be honest that explains the estimated 0-60mph time of c. 4.3seconds in some way as that would make it 1405kg in weight and give it a power to weight of what, 284bhp per ton, as opposed to the GT410 at 316bhp per ton.

For comparison from what I can find the Cayman GTS is 286bhp per ton (1380kg/395bhp) and GT4 is 296bhp per ton (1395kg/414).

My figures may well be wrong, but it shows that, in my mind, there is scope for Lotus to take almost a 100kg of weight out of the Emira and if they can, whilst increasing the horses (whether in I4 or V6 formats) then I think we could be in for some special cars in a couple of years.

 

Yes it is pretty easy to see how they could loose a chunk of weight from the Emira: carbon roof and tailgate, lightweight buckets, less sound deadening, Ti exhaust, thinner glass etc. Those 14 way electric seats in the FE must be like a boat anchor. I'd be very surprised if Lotus don't do it at some stage as there would be sure to be demand for it. In fact this is probably the Emira that I really want, but I'm not prepared to wait 🙂 At least there is the option of sports suspension and sticky tyres from the start.

[C8RKH]

28 minutes ago, Ratman said:

not sure that the weight you mentioned for different versions of the same car (400, 410 sport, Emira) are in the same spec.

I suspect that Lotus is changing spec in order to have better figures.

I used the "official" weight figures. Not sure what you mean re "same spec" as they were different versions of the car, so hardly would be the same!  But they are the figures from Lotus. I don't agree with your statement that "Lotus is changing the spec to have better figures" - they are not in that game right now. This is a car for the masses now, a different approach to the past.

[Ratman]

I mean that, although they are official, I remember that the changed the spec passing from the S1 to the 400. First one was weight with fluids, then dry weight. So you can mask weight increase of the car.

It is hard to be sure that all the cars are in the same spec.

[jimichanga]

Thinking about it they have no choice but to quote lightest possible weight but we all know that no-one drives a car in that spec and dealers discourage anyone from ordering one. At least Emira has a lot of stuff as standard, very few options and none that would add weight apart from auto box. But I will expect them to keep quiet about what it actually weighs. The few, if any, owners that care will have to find out for themselves.

[DaveC72]

1 hour ago, jimichanga said:

 The few, if any, owners that care will have to find out for themselves.

That's a little bit dismissive and superior, do you not think?

[C8RKH]

I actually believe the weights I quoted were all done on the same basis.  To be honest, weight is a legacy thing with Lotus and generally, it was a major differentiator in their cars and was why a 2.0/2.2ltr Esprit could compete with a Ferrari of its day, why the original Elan and Elite were race winners, etc.  Once you get to cars like the Evora/Emira, with power outputs of 400bhp plus, I don't think total weight plays as much a part as people make out!

I mean, one driver could be 22 stone, the other 13 stone - that's a difference of 57kg and to be honest, even with that weight difference the skills and ability of the first driver could mean the Evora/Emira in their hands is still much faster around the track than the slimJim second driver.  Very few people who drive a road Lotus these days are really that good a driver that 50kg, even 100kg, would make a difference to their track times or the time it took them to do a favourite route on a Sunday.  It's all a bit "willy waving" if we are being truthful. but then, us men like to wave our willy's don't we?

Let's take the Evora - Lotus went to great lengths to give it a lightweight magnesium steering wheel to enhance the driving experience. If my wheel was replaced with a Clio's wheel, I'm really not sure I'd notice any difference whatsoever from the extra 0.5kg or so of weight in the wheel. HOWEVER, just KNOWING that Lotus engineering thought about that little thing so much, and made such an effort to ensure it was "the best", does give me tremendous faith that Lotus really does know how to make some of the best performance drivers cars in the world.

A lot of us get carried away on here, sometimes being dismissive, sometimes by being a know it all, sometimes by just being a dick, and sometimes by just thinking. 

I'm taking a step back. 

I have already said the Emira is a fantastic car. I'm not that bothered about its weight. Or it's 0-60mph time - I know it will be in the ball park.  The thing for me, is that with 365 way electric armchairs, uber complicated ICE/AirCon and luxury wagon interior creature comforts it's all stuff that actually, for me, detracts from what i love about my current Lotus - it's rawness (not to be confused with it being uncouth, poorly built, yadder yadder - because it is not!) and it's focus and it's real sense of purpose.  That's what I want from a Lotus.  If I wanted all the creature comforts and soft close doors and cupholders and storage compartments for my medallions and chest hair combs then I'd probably buy an M2/3/4/5 and not a Lotus. Why?  Well superplush fast wagons is what BMW (and generally the Germans) do well. So if I want all that, why not buy one?  To me, and this is me being old and nostalgic, Lotus was always about the best engineering to deliver a supercar drive/performance at a budget one would could actually afford.  I'm still not convinced that this new Emira crossover (from old lotus to superplush wagon) actually works for me.

Just sharing some thoughts in my head. As ever, feel free to disagree.

[Gashead1105]

I shall do just that. 

The Evora isn't raw. Exige/Elise/Caterham - those are raw cars and there's a definite time and place for one of them. However, the Evora was meant to be an everyday, practical Lotus, with semi-exotic looks while delivering the traditional Lotus driving experience. I loved mine, although perhaps not as much as my previous Exiges...  But, by the time I sold it, I had enough of the easily scratched leather and slow and frequently in need of resetting stereo. The mash up powertrain and noisy clutch. Second gear that went beyond the legal speed limit. The windscreen that took 10 minutes or more to clear in the station car park 6 months a year. An average 20MPG; and quite a lot less than that if it didn't get a run on a tank. Nowhere apart from the passenger seat to put my coffee cup on the way to the station 😉. The fact that my 5'2" wife couldn't drive it as she couldn't fully depress the clutch pedal!  

It was still epic to drive, made a fantastic noise, properly fast, amazing ride, supercar looks. Seeing the supercharger actuator in the rear view mirror never grew old. I'd tell anyone in the market to buy one and it did deserve to do better in the market than it actually did, in my humble opinion. It's miles more of an event than your equivalent 911. But there's loads of reasons why Lotus didn't sell many of them and the hardcore relatively few people who would put up with the downsides rather than just marching off to the nearest (and much nearer in all likelihood) OPC to put down a deposit on a 911 was insufficient to sustain the business. Hopefully the Emira solves my personal issues above, while still looking like a supercar, being fantastic to drive and delivering junior supercar performance AND at the same time returning a profit to the company. I'm very excited for more information on the AMG powertrain. I'm not 100% certain I will take up my place in the queue, but that's for reasons unconnected to the car itself. 

I tested an M2 last year. Never been more disappointed in a car. The ride. 💩

[Evotion]

4 hours ago, jimichanga said:

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the total kerbweight for a V6 FE is close to 1500kg

Yeah, I suspect you are right.

So, are you yet getting one? 😄

[C8RKH]

17 minutes ago, Gashead1105 said:

The Evora isn't raw

Many on here thought and think that my Evora 410 Sport is raw with it's lack of door bins, cup holders, and its alcantara, stiffer springing and carbon bucket seats etc. Maybe I should have clarified the model I had was the more raw and focused Evora 410 Sport. I don't think Lotus marketed the Evora 410 Sport as a nice and easy daily driver.

[Gashead1105]

@C8RKHI don't think Lotus marketed the Evora at all, let alone the 410 sport.

You could also see the 410 sport and similar models as an admission by Lotus that the Evora had failed. Personally I can see the appeal in one (apart from the angle of the seats) but I am in the hard-core minority and that's not who Lotus need to sell the Emira to.

[Johnhoward]

I've had a 410 Sport for the last year and have been really pleased with everything about it in terms of performance and looks. For me I am looking forward to the Emira for a slightly less harsh ride over the ever worsening UK roads, but still the same performance, driving characteristics and fantastic looks. The added refinement in the cabin will be nice and the thing I am really looking forward to (hopefully I am not let down here!) is a decent radio that stays tuned in to a radio station for more than five minutes. The radio is truly terrible in the Evora, I have resorted to using bluetooth on my phone, but as I live in a rural area, the phone signal drops out on most of the roads around me which is very frustrating!

[C8RKH]

5 minutes ago, Johnhoward said:

The radio is truly terrible in the Evora

I really must be special as I've never had an issue with the ICE. It just works. Totally strange. But then I do drive it 95% of the time with both windows and the exhaust valve open in 2nd or 3rd gear at 4000 - 7000 rpm!  Not sure any ICE would be good in those conditions lol.

Seat brackets were a quick and easy fix for me, totally transformed them.

Still not convinced the Emira is the right car for me. One option is to keep the Evora and put an Exige 410/430 alongside it and the VX220SC I have. I actually think this might be an ideal "garage".

26 minutes ago, Gashead1105 said:

I don't think Lotus marketed the Evora at all, let alone the 410 sport.

Cannot argue with you there. The Evora was the best car no one ever knew about.

[jimichanga]

4 hours ago, DaveC72 said:

That's a little bit dismissive and superior, do you not think?

Sorry just meant that I don’t think Lotus will be shouting from the rooftops about the V6 FE’s actual weight and might well gloss over it altogether. I think for people that haven’t previously cared a great deal about their car’s weight before (let’s face it, most buyers) it’s quite reasonable to not care greatly about their V6 FE’s weight. Still lighter than a modern 911 and most don’t think of that as a particularly heavy car.

Taking a more casual approach to weight has won Lotus many new customers and the package and pricing is so strong the Emira seems to have won over most Lotus diehards too. The car has already proven itself to be exactly what Lotus need to be doing right now. Worst thing they could have done is listen to someone like me. Same with Porsche when I genuinely thought the Cayenne would irreparably damage the Porsche brand and was the beginning of the end for them. Thought Bentley were playing a very dangerous game going after footballers too. How wrong can you be?

Edited September 22, 2021 by jimichanga