Which drivetrain have you selected?

[LeglessAlex]

I'm one of 3 that's voted for the V6 slushbox because I need to fit hand controls to it, limits me somewhat. I want V6 and not i4 as frankly, I floored it in the Hindhead Tunnel on the way to Goodwood and the noise really does it for me. No real interest in a 4 pot, no matter how tunable it is. 

[Greg | ValetPro]

I selected the i4 the better price good hp and very tuneable.  But watching the shmee video at goodwood with Jenson im tempted to get the v6.  Its that engine sound that gets you.  I hope when the cars do a tour of the dealers we will get to drive them both to get a real feel for the cars.  Ive never wanted an automatic before.  So the v6 would keep that real driving experience alive before the very fast electric cars come.    
 

is anyone else undecided?   

[xeonoex]

Hey everyone, first post here.

I am undecided. How is the manual in the Evora? If the I4 has about 400 HP, I think I would go with that, but the V6 does sound great. I wanted a DCT, but there is a big difference between 360 and 400+. The I4 should be lighter and possibly. I might wait till the come out with a more powerful I4, but I don't want to, haha.

Edited July 11, 2021 by xeonoex

[Nipper]

If its a detuned version of the M139, then I4 is a no brainer, that will be immense. If its the M133, then I'll be asking for my deposit back. 

Not sure I can stomach the aging V6 with a Cadburys gearbox, not for more money anyway.

[Evotion]

10 hours ago, xeonoex said:

Hey everyone, first post here.

I am undecided. How is the manual in the Evora? If the I4 has about 400 HP, I think I would go with that, but the V6 does sound great. I wanted a DCT, but there is a big difference between 360 and 400+. The I4 should be lighter and possibly. I might wait till the come out with a more powerful I4, but I don't want to, haha.

I used the v6 in the Exige as a first timer and loved the short-throw clicky-clacky nature of it. Added to the experience. If you want speed go for the i4 DCT.

It has been said now that the AMG 4-Cyl is form the AMG45 (not the S) and puttng out around 360.

The v6 will put out 416 HP and be a different experience.

I think it comes down to these simple questions to ask yourself:

1. Do you want Manual - has to be the V6
2. Do you want amazing sound - get the V6
3. Do you want the most speed and lightness - get the AMG 4-Cyl

Both have merit.

[simonb]

trouble with a great sounding exhaust, is that it might be cool in Maccies car park, but gets tedious on the motorway.

My Launch Edition 4C was definitely let down by the sport exhaust (and handling) 

[Evotion]

Umm, maybe. It isn't switchable so you might have a point.

I do like the sound of the 4C. I assume the levels of sound proofing is low though.  At least the handling can be sorted with mods.

[Gashead1105]

If its anything like the Evora, it will be fine. The exhaust flaps in the non-switchable models open at 4,500 which is well above motorway speeds. The 400 switchable version lets you go to noisy mode earlier...

[bosshog]

9 minutes ago, Evotion said:

Umm, maybe. It isn't switchable so you might have a point.

 

Not thought about that. Pretty sure switchable is not allowed anymore. The v6 sport exhaust would be tiresome very quickly if thats the case unless it toned down a lot.

[Nipper]

Won't they have a particulate filter? Don't go by the press car, it didn't even have number plates,  so won't be meeting sound regs!

[Woodman]

I can understand the I4 with DCT if its an everyday driver and you drive in the city a lot. In those circumstances I would probably do the same. But I am treating this a a 2nd Car, last of the analogue cars. Manuals will disappear completely soon so I will stick with the manual for the involvement. The V6 Launch is expected to be £75k ish, so market competitive. I have no doubt that there will be lightened , harder cars in future, but at the moment they have their hands full. They won't really know numbers until sales orders start being locked in from September. 

 

[DarrylV8]

8 hours ago, Evotion said:

Umm, maybe. It isn't switchable so you might have a point.

I do like the sound of the 4C. I assume the levels of sound proofing is low though.  At least the handling can be sorted with mods.

I might get this slightly wrong, on our run up the hill, we were in sport mode, the valve is variable rather than open/closed 

yes should have had a long play recorder!

[xeonoex]

14 hours ago, Evotion said:

It has been said now that the AMG 4-Cyl is form the AMG45 (not the S) and puttng out around 360.

I'm curious where you heard that. I've seen people wondering still. Do you have a source? Also, I think the A45 is 380 HP. I'd be pretty happy with 380, but really happy with 400+ of course.

I use to not like paddle shifters, but I got a sim racing setup and learned to use them, and now I don't mind. Also, the emissions and rev hang on newer manuals is annoying. Not sure if that affects all cars, but it affects my Focus RS until it warms up.

The other cars I was considering before the Emira were the Cayman GTS and C8 Corvette. With a ~400 DCT Emira, I don't think I would miss either of those options.

[ramjet]

On 12/07/2021 at 07:41, xeonoex said:

Hey everyone, first post here.

I am undecided. How is the manual in the Evora? If the I4 has about 400 HP, I think I would go with that, but the V6 does sound great. I wanted a DCT, but there is a big difference between 360 and 400+. The I4 should be lighter and possibly. I might wait till the come out with a more powerful I4, but I don't want to, haha.

Welcome to TLF.

Best of luck with what you decide.

You should duck over to the Introductions area and say hi in there as well.  

[ramjet]

On 12/07/2021 at 08:27, Nipper said:

If its a detuned version of the M139, then I4 is a no brainer, that will be immense. If its the M133, then I'll be asking for my deposit back. 

Not sure I can stomach the aging V6 with a Cadburys gearbox, not for more money anyway.

Welcome to TLF.

I don't know if we know which Merc engine it is yet? What is your aversion to the V6 and the gearbox options since they have proven to be pretty reliable in the Evora?

You should duck over to the Introductions area and say hi in there as well.  

[freefall_junkie]

I though it had been confirmed that the AMG engine was the M139 rather than the M133? Maybe I got that wrong? The M133 would actually make more sense for Lotus from a product strategy point of view as it creates a bit more differentiation to the V6, and there seems little point in having the M139 if they are going to peg it back to 360bhp . It would also make sense if Merc/AMG want to keep the best best and latest spec engine to themselves.

[JJ]

I've seen it mentioned here as well that it has been confirmed, but I've watched every video and listened to every podcast I could find up to a few days ago, and while it has been mentioned, it was never by anyone actually from Lotus that I could find. 

I would love it being the M139, but I can see how the M133 may be a better proposition - though I do believe emission limits play a part in the I4 selection, so if the M139 is cleaner per HP, that shifts preference back to M139 even if it is in a "low" HP variant. Would love to be pointed at a true confirmation.

[Evotion]

22 minutes ago, JJ said:

though I do believe emission limits play a part in the I4 selection

A huge factor.  Still, great potential for powergrabbers.

[JJ]

If it ends up being an M139 at 360HP, will an encrypted ECU (or whatever protections Lotus will have) be a problem to tune the engine back to high performance levels? I know nothing about these things, nor do I think it's something I will do, just wondering.

[Evotion]

That does sound logical. Maybe somebody will find a way. There will be a lot of buyers intending to do this.

They need to keep their CO2 emissions low out of the box. 

The engine life will be enhanced with the detune.  Still a great alternative to the V6.

[Speedluvver]

I spoke to one of the engineers at GFoS - although he didn't confirm M139, he said the engine will be tuned as a 'world car' - I am guessing the 360 means it can be sold everywhere. He did also say they were 'tuning' the torque, so I reckon it will still go like a stabbed rat anyway

[duncx]

We could be doing Lotus a massive disservice by describing their 360bhp AMG engine as 'detuned'. I own/ride a Honda Hornet bike with a 900cc 'detuned' Fireblade engine, it may not have the headline power at the top end but instead it has a massive wedge of lowdown torque that the 'full power' Fireblade could only dream of.

I can definitely see Lotus making a very sensible decision to make the 4 pot Emira superbly driveable - on the road you can only ever access the headline power of these engines if you are being really silly, gut wrenching torque is much more fun for everyday use

EDIT - Ah, I was typing whilst you were posting @Speedluvver, same thoughts as you 👍

Edited July 13, 2021 by duncx

[JJ]

54 minutes ago, duncx said:

We could be doing Lotus a massive disservice by describing their 360bhp AMG engine as 'detuned'. ...

Well, it's obviously all relative! 360 bhp at that weight is still plenty for most drivers. It'll certainly be faster than I can use to its full potential (my previous highest-hp car was 210, I think). And I fully expect Lotus to make it screech, as you say low end power and torque will be much more important to me than top end. Let's not get hung up on the numbers, if it's just traffic light runs might as well get a Model 3.

Same goes for motorcycles. I tried out some quicker ones (though clearly not Fireblade quick) like the Brutale (😍), but in the end settled on a nice I4 600cc Hornet because that bike is still faster than I am. I'm not ready to die just yet 🤷‍♂️ If I ever level up though...

It's not that I'm completely without skill, I've done some track days, even came first in some novice amateur stuff, virtually always win when karting (don't judge me its fun!), etc. But even at 360 this car is likely to be a fair bit beyond my skill level to fully utilize - let alone having access to roads to do so - and I expect 90% of buyers to be below even that level (ignoring misplaced confidence).

I appreciate that a few people here are die-hard drivers who can go "beyond their material" but that's not going to be the average Emira buyer; those will be stuck in traffic most of the time commuting their 9-to-5.

Edited July 13, 2021 by JJ
Can't spell to save my life

[Evotion]

1 hour ago, duncx said:

I own/ride a Honda Hornet bike with a 900cc 'detuned' Fireblade engine, it may not have the headline power at the top end but instead it has a massive wedge of lowdown torque that the 'full power' Fireblade could only dream of.

 

34 minutes ago, JJ said:

I tried out some quicker ones (though clearly not Fireblade quick) like the Brutale (😍), but in the end settled on a nice I4 600cc Hornet because that bike is still faster than I am. I'm not ready to die just yet 🤷‍♂️ If I ever level up though...

Hornets are die-hard classics now. There is never a real need more more power. Just makes bikes even more lethal.

However, I am a speed freak and, for me, it's a drug I cannot kick.

My Dragster RR is mental and smashes my Fireblade at all but high motorway speeds. At brands, when on the MV I was zipping past superbikes and I am not even a decent track rider.

All 'bout the torque

[JJ]

I love that bike! How has your experience been with parts and repairs? When I bought that Hornet, MV was in the middle of collapsing (some say it always is) and people were waiting months if not years for replacement parts. Still took me some self control to go with the sensible option. You can't just drop a Dragster RR into a conversation and not post a picture though, that's just bad form 😂

I too love speed, but I refuse to go past the point where I feel I'm not 100% in control anymore and can handle whatever comes my way, with cars that's around 200kph and with bikes around 160kph (on the highway). I've seen more crashed Lambo's than moving ones... (they do disintegrate spectacularly by the way)