Which Gearbox would you choose?

[C8RKH]

45 minutes ago, Evotion said:

Back in my father's day, a sports car was simply a small, light 2 seater convertible. 

So not an Aston Martin and a California (or a Bentley GTC lol) - so on that we are agreed!

[Evotion]

Not back then it seems.   Nowadays, they are still sports cars, just heavy mofos.

I went out in a Quadifoglio last week.  A 4 seater, not light sedan!

But that was a sports car in my eyes. Blimey. 

[brightoncorgi]

4 hours ago, Evotion said:

Well, they are 'Sports Cars' in most people eyes but, as you say,. NOT like a low slung rear engined car where the focus was more on dynamic ability.

To me, they are all sports cars.   

[Escape]

There are a lot of fast cars on the market these days, but very few are actually sporty, they just have a lot of power (and associated gizmos to get that power down regardless of driver skill) to move their bulk and occupants around at high speeds. I wouldn't call them sports cars, not in the sense an Exige is a pure sports car.

I know many will disagree, but for me a sports car needs to be manual. Maybe the DCT can be quicker, but as it requires less driver involvement it makes for less of a sporty experience. I can understand they're used in race, super and hypercars to chase that last millesecond, but not needed for a fun drive on the road.

[Barrykearley]

I’d have thought the elimination of the clutch in the Evora would have pleased many many folks. Especially given the number of folks whom are scared of said item.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

But then they wouldn’t have an excuse not to buy one!

[robcarter]

Confused as to whether 4 cylinder is dual clutch only and v6 manual. Which is the mode expensive?

[Evotion]

8 hours ago, robcarter said:

Confused as to whether 4 cylinder is dual clutch only and v6 manual. Which is the mode expensive?

The V6 is £75k and the 4-Cyl £55.    

The V6 comes with manual and automatic options.

The 4 -cyl AMG unit is automatic only   (although the online configurator shows both options)

[Bruss]

2 hours ago, Evotion said:

The V6 is £75k and the 4-Cyl £55.    

The V6 comes with manual and automatic options.

The 4 -cyl AMG unit is automatic only   (although the online configurator shows both options)

Where do those figures come from?

[Evotion]

1 hour ago, Bruss said:

Where do those figures come from?

The Lotus salesman last night, who has seen the media pack coming out shortly.

Others are saying £59,999, basically £60k, for the 4-Cyl so he might have been mixed up.

 

[brightoncorgi]

Has anyone seen or heard the I4 Emira?  The debut was all around the V6 and the same at Goodwood.  I am nervous that it may not sound as good. 

Is it true the I4 will be less expensive?  If so, maybe that changes it a little.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

DCT and V6 isn't an option right? This could be an issue... don't really fancy going back to the same power/transmission combo I had in my Evora S, although once I'd got my head around my first auto box and had a few software updates it was pretty good, but after 5 year with a 'Top Quality DCT'...

[pete]

On 08/07/2021 at 21:18, brightoncorgi said:

Has anyone seen or heard the I4 Emira?  The debut was all around the V6 and the same at Goodwood.  I am nervous that it may not sound as good. 

Is it true the I4 will be less expensive?  If so, maybe that changes it a little.

Don't think the blue car on the stand had the amg engine in it yet,,maybe wrong but?!

[Evotion]

On 08/07/2021 at 21:18, brightoncorgi said:

Has anyone seen or heard the I4 Emira?  The debut was all around the V6 and the same at Goodwood.  I am nervous that it may not sound as good. 

Is it true the I4 will be less expensive?  If so, maybe that changes it a little.

Nope. I also suspect very few people have - not IN the car. I have this feeling they are a bit behind on the i4. Still tweaking it perhaps. Either way, it doesn't appear to be 'ready'.

We would know more about it and likely have seen it running.

 

1 hour ago, Stirling_Villeneuve said:

DCT and V6 isn't an option right? This could be an issue... don't really fancy going back to the same power/transmission combo I had in my Evora S, although once I'd got my head around my first auto box and had a few software updates it was pretty good, but after 5 year with a 'Top Quality DCT'...

Looks like this IPS thing, a torque converter.  I have not spoken to anybody who mentioned a V6 DCT per se.

[pete]

Perhaps this is why 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/technology-news/under-skin-why-torque-converters-are-coming-back-dead

[Evotion]

AH yeah, have heard about that, The Quadrifoglio has it and that seemed fine.

[Greg | ValetPro]

On 01/07/2021 at 12:19, Greg | ValetPro said:

I think this is interesting and we are still awaiting the release of the car and its specs.  

Personally I prefer analogue. I think manual puts the control and skill in your hands. But looking at Lotus pitch about being a tech car company and the future being electric I do wonder if there will be a manual version of this new car.

In some respect I think it will be a great decision to only offer the new cars in DCT.  Because it will hold/preserve the value of the older cars, while bring Lotus Forward to the current market. 
 

Even thou my preference would be a manual car and I think Lotus will only offer the 131 in DCT i have put a deposit down on the Emira.  My expectation is that Lotus are going to offer an amazing spec car that looks like art - McLaren Packaging for Porsche money. Creating a new future for the Lotus Brand while raising the profile of the older cars and their analogue nature. 

 

Let see what the 6ths of July bring us.  I'm sure Lotus will nail it.

Just seen a goodwood video with shmee and Jenson in the v6 and now really tempted to go for the v6 engine in manual.  Engine sounds great. 

[Evotion]

The most important things for me, if getting one car, would be:

1. Noise
2. Manual
3. Speed

We know the handling and comfort will almost be identical.

Others will have that flipped around

 

[DJW]

For the manual, do we know if Lotus has resolved the transmission noise at low revs with engine under load ?   It used to be awful in my Evora S1 which was used as a daily driver and thus you spent quite a bit of time in that rev range 

Whereas although it was just as bad in the Exige V6s I had, as they were weekend toys they spent a lot more time higher in the rev range, so less noticeable. 
 

Just the fact that for the Emira it’s being positioned as a car you can use daily and a lot of people new to the brand who will not put up with that noise.  
 

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by DJW

[Evotion]

I don't th'nk any of us know but one can make a decent assumption Lotus were aware of this and would have tried to make the cabin so that you can only hear the engine.

There looks to be more material covering the transmissions tunnel but it does still have an open gear mech.

I love that but others could cover that up for less mechanical noise.

[Bravo73]

8 hours ago, DJW said:

For the manual, do we know if Lotus has resolved the transmission noise at low revs with engine under load ?

I suspect that it will be exactly the same engine, with exactly the same gearbox and exactly the same adaptor plate between the two of them. 

Whether or not the NVH padding/damping/sealing has been improved remains to be seen. But I also suspect that they are working very hard to improve it. 

[DJW]

Let’s hope the new blood to Lotus take the problem seriously instead of the way the old school just fobbed it off as acceptable. Would be a shame to mar such a great car with it. 

[Bibs]

They're in a bit of a different financial position nowadays and I'm sure are aware that the cars won't just being going to those who accept TADTS. 

[Likuid]

Does the Toyota engine really cost Lotus anymore than the AMG? I would almost think the AMG costs more than the Toyota. Toyota is significantly older tech and much more mass produced. I mean I heard Geely owns 10% of MB, but I wonder if they were able to get the AMG for any significant discount? If the V6 powertrain is exactly the same as the Evora (which I assume it is) why would it be $20k more? It sounds like the AMG has more potential than the Toyota. So why are we paying more for an engine with less potential and possibly costs Lotus less money?

I mean this is all very confusing and I hope it is cleared up in September. If the AMG is expected to eventually surpass (and eventually completely replace) the V6 in performance why even bother hamstringing it to be under the V6 to start? Why not just make the AMG the higher performance version from the beginning? Its the more "prestigious" brand and has the more modern transmission (DCT).

[Nimbus-in-Notts]

I really can’t make my mind up which way to go, love the idea of a shouty V6 but like the idea of a modern AMG engine/DCT combo.

For those of us non Lotus owners, would it be sensible to try and test drive an auto Evora first to try and get an idea of how the box and its paddles work with the V6?

I can’t see the point in test driving an A45 Merc to try the i4 as from what has been said before, the Lotus should have far better handling and dynamics and an engine tuned differently specific to the Emira, so it’s just not a fair comparison. I imagine the Evora would be like a slightly less sanitised Emira but very close…….