What would you have bought if the Emira never happened?

[Evotion]

Most know my story.

Never owned a Lotus and only driven two briefly  (an Exige 410 Sport 2 months ago after seeing the Emira).

Lotus was not even a tiny bit on my agenda. I had all but forgotten about them, believing they were expensive kit/track cars.

I was looking at some older Italian exotica, GT3, Merc SLS, Macca 570s/6xx and, lower down, F-Types and R8 Spyders.

Heard about the Emira somehow, had not seen it, and put deposits down.   The other cars are now dust.......

Looking forward very much to that day when the Emira is sitting in that showroom with my name on it...

What other cars were you looking at or were you actually not even looking?

[DanR]

I'm not in the market but I do like the new Corvette. And that it's being made in rh drive for Australian, British and similar markets.  

[Evotion]

That does look damn good.  Not as pretty as the Evira as there are more hard angles but visually strong and purposeful.

I'm a big fan of the late 50s Corvettes - trying to persuade the missus we need to get one

The C8 is a bargain in the USA but the cost in the UK brings others into play.

[xeonoex]

I was looking for a mid engine car for daily and track use, around or under $100k. I probably would have also gone with a C8. I am in the US, so the price is great. I do like the Cayman GTS too, but it is a bit dated in some aspects (no Android Auto, for example). If the GTS 4.0 made ~50 more HP and stayed the same price, I might pick it over the C8. There might be a refresh relatively soon though.

I think the Emira is almost perfect though. Looks way better than either. I would prefer the Porsche 4.0 drivetrain more, but that's about it. Just need to see the price and specs. If it it competitive, I think I'll have an easy choice. My only worry is part availability and reliability. Not sure I will take the risk on a first model year, particularly when more powerful version will likely be coming soon.

[snowrx]

For Emira money, I'd have to look at the C8 also, in spite of the Corvette aura.

For less than Emira money, I'd look for an Exige

For now, for much less money, I'd have to keep updating my 2800 pound/1270Kg (holding a spare tire and 22 gallons of fuel) Esprit

[Wake]

I’m into my JDM cars quite a lot. I’ve got an NA Eunos Roadster (MK1 MX5), an FD RX7. I  wanted something mid engined so looked at an NA1 NSX but the prices were just getting ridiculous, and I decided I didn’t want another car that was older than me and I could actually use day to day. 
 

So I moved onto a GTR (not mid engined but jdm), but felt they were far too heavy and servicing would have been a nightmare. Someone suggested an Alpine A110, so I went to go look and loved it. But a mix up at the dealer meant the one I wanted sold. I then went to look at Lotus and have been looking for an Evora until the Emira was launched. I’m still not completely sold on the Emira, I want the V6 but I’m not sure the first edition price will be worth the premium over an Evora 400. 
 

I also looked at a 981 GTS which while great just felt a little soulless and seeing 3/4 of them on the way to the test drive just made it feel a little less “exclusive” (very snobby I know). So effectively if the Emira never launched I would be buying an Evora anyway! 

 

 

[marclurr]

I hadn't really found anything I really fancied before they revealed the Emira. I've been feeling like it's time to replace my Exige as I originally bought it as a once a week/track toy, but it's become my main car and hasn't seen a track for a few years (COVID cancelled my last one but if I'm honest I always felt anxious I was going to write it off). As fun as it is being driven properly, the novelty of the compromise when just doing dull stuff has worn off. If I thought I wanted to do a lot more track driving I may have eventually ended up swapping for a combination of S1 Evora and a Caterham. Which actually sounds like a decent idea...

[DarrylV8]

although not into American (muscle) cars, we were also looking at the Corvette also

[Gashead1105]

I've been looking at 981 GT4s for a year or two... If I'm honest though, having bought a Caterham and a Megane trophy in the past 10 months, the Evora was already up for sale before the Emira was announced and if I hadn't liked it I would've carried on without a Lotus in the garage until it was time for the Caterham to be changed. 

[Evotion]

3 hours ago, Wake said:

I also looked at a 981 GTS which while great just felt a little soulless and seeing 3/4 of them on the way to the test drive just made it feel a little less “exclusive” (very snobby I know). So effectively if the Emira never launched I would be buying an Evora anyway! 

Yeah, I get that. It's a bit part for me. Makes the Lotus more special.

What do you think of the GR Supra?

1 hour ago, DarrylV8 said:

although not into American (muscle) cars, we were also looking at the Corvette also

How much do you really have to pay to get one in the UK?

[DJW]

I was dabbling with idea of an early 458 just to get the super car thing out of my system, but other than that I was struggling to find another car I liked.  Would have liked a 718 Spyder, but not paying overs.  
 

Quite possibly would have dropped back into an Evora GT410 or 430 if prices dropped a bit more. 

Edited July 27, 2021 by DJW

[Wake]

11 minutes ago, Evotion said:

Yeah, I get that. It's a bit part for me. Makes the Lotus more special.

What do you think of the GR Supra?

I considered it and took one for a test drive, it drove well and felt fast but not super engaging, but it was the first car I went to look at after the Alpine fell through. So it felt very heavy in comparison (as most cars would).

I think it was mostly the dealer experience that put me off. 
 

 

[JJ]

I don't know. I've been cross shopping for a while. Things I've considered are RS3, C63S/E63S (ed1), 718S/911Targa, C8, MS/M3/Roadster2020, MX5RF, 540/570/720/GT, Huracan... 

They all have reasons they "aren't it" though, but so does the Emira: it's not a targa.

[Evotion]

2 hours ago, Wake said:

I considered it and took one for a test drive, it drove well and felt fast but not super engaging, but it was the first car I went to look at after the Alpine fell through. So it felt very heavy in comparison (as most cars would).

I think it was mostly the dealer experience that put me off. 
 

 

Yeah, I have only seen two; the one at Goodwood with some special bits on and a yellow one in Portman Square on Sunday.

Looks imposing.  Can be a bit cold I guess. I remember taking a heavily modified GTR out. Fast and loud but damn, that interior was awful

1 hour ago, JJ said:

but so does the Emira: it's not a targa.

Yeah, imagine the deposit interest if there was a targa option. Many will say they have missed a trick.

RS3 is soooooooo good. That 5cyl engine is actually incredible.

3 hours ago, DJW said:

I was dabbling with idea of an early 458

Agh, don't mention that. That was the one I was most likely to get. I was looking at Spyders around the 2012/2013 era.

I took a Giallo Triplo out a few weeks back. Jeeeeeeeezuz. Fabulous, fabulous car. However, getting older, can;t and wouldn't want to thrash it, and for less I could get 2 Emiras, so went the latter route.

Decent 458s will get to £200K - one of the best cars ever IMO.   

[Mctaff]

Sold my 4.7 vantage coupe earlier in the year… amazing car but long in the tooth and itching for a change.

was considering a 991 turbo, maybe a AMG GT, or a new vantage. Wanted something reasonably practical, so not a full on bare bones sports car.

Finally settled on a cayman gts, and I have a deposit down, but then the emira launched and 2 days later I had a deposit on both! 

[Evotion]

That new Vantage Roadster is gorgeous. Just not me but a superb car.

I would loved to have been able to GET a 992 Turbo/GT3 but that is never going to happen.  991 is superb anyway. Indeed, I would have gone down to the 997 for the GT3/RS.

[JJ]

3 hours ago, Evotion said:

Yeah, imagine the deposit interest if there was a targa option. Many will say they have missed a trick.

RS3 is soooooooo good. That 5cyl engine is actually incredible.

Decent 458s will get to £200K - one of the best cars ever IMO.   

I'd be prepared to pay significantly extra for the targa. Take note, Lotus! Again though, if with our CO2 tax the V6 comes to 150K EUR here, I'm seriously considering just waiting for the Roadster 2020, but no idea how that will handle or how many more bad ideas Musk will pile on (see yoke implementation in Plaid).

RS3 (sedan of course) is nice but I don't need a sedan. And the blue they use for it is just off somehow. It's a lot of fun to drive though!

I did a few laps around the track in a 488 and it was fun but I'd probably just kill myself at some point with the way that power is delivered 😂. Additionally, now and then I see Ferraris around town and they're an absolute menace. The amount of noise they make idling at a traffic light is just not acceptable in any way.

The latter point actually worries me with the Emira as well. Loud pipes lose wives. And YouTube reviews of the faster Evoras generally come down to "yeah, it's really obnoxiously loud". Sounds good to me, but I'm not the only person living in this town.

[Mctaff]

35 minutes ago, Evotion said:

That new Vantage Roadster is gorgeous. Just not me but a superb car.

I would loved to have been able to GET a 992 Turbo/GT3 but that is never going to happen.  991 is superb anyway. Indeed, I would have gone down to the 997 for the GT3/RS.

I think the new Vantage is very poorly designed inside, and cheap bits for a 120k car.

really a downgrade internally from the previous model, which had an instrument binnacle machined out of a single piece of metal... albeit it there would some weird quirks too!

[Evotion]

26 minutes ago, JJ said:

I'd be prepared to pay significantly extra for the targa. Take note, Lotus! Again though, if with our CO2 tax the V6 comes to 150K EUR here, I'm seriously considering just waiting for the Roadster 2020, but no idea how that will handle or how many more bad ideas Musk will pile on (see yoke implementation in Plaid).

RS3 (sedan of course) is nice but I don't need a sedan. And the blue they use for it is just off somehow. It's a lot of fun to drive though!

I did a few laps around the track in a 488 and it was fun but I'd probably just kill myself at some point with the way that power is delivered 😂. Additionally, now and then I see Ferraris around town and they're an absolute menace. The amount of noise they make idling at a traffic light is just not acceptable in any way.

The latter point actually worries me with the Emira as well. Loud pipes lose wives. And YouTube reviews of the faster Evoras generally come down to "yeah, it's really obnoxiously loud". Sounds good to me, but I'm not the only person living in this town.

There is always a limit with noise. Some sports cars need more. Some get ruined by it. Get it right and it definitely adds to the experience.

I am a loud pipe man - on my bikes mainly.

17 minutes ago, Mctaff said:

I think the new Vantage is very poorly designed inside, and cheap bits for a 120k car.

really a downgrade internally from the previous model, which had an instrument binnacle machined out of a single piece of metal... albeit it there would some weird quirks too!

Ah, not seen it inside as it happens. Will have a look next time I go past the garage in Walton.

[Washy]

3 hours ago, Mctaff said:

Sold my 4.7 vantage coupe earlier in the year… amazing car but long in the tooth and itching for a change.

was considering a 991 turbo, maybe a AMG GT, or a new vantage. Wanted something reasonably practical, so not a full on bare bones sports car.

Finally settled on a cayman gts, and I have a deposit down, but then the emira launched and 2 days later I had a deposit on both! 

We have a deposit on the Cayman GTS and the Emira too☺️
Wasn’t planned, but so taken with the Lotus I just had to do it. 
I am probably in big trouble as I was supposed to be replacing my M2 with some sort of SUV

[Mctaff]

I notice “we” have a deposit but you are in trouble… sounds unfair 🤣

Or perhaps the other half of the we was more a passive participant in putting down the deposits?!  🚗

I know what you mean though… love at first sight. I considered it overnight and put the deposit down the following morning!

[Washy]

Nah she’s good really. ☺️😂

 

[Denno]

I had been following the R8 Spyder market religiously for the past several months, gen 2 and face lift versions,  with the intention of jumping in next year. The prices were looking good at the back end of last year and early part of this year, then everything used went mad and I was finding that examples had gone up 10-15%. Saw the Emira and loved the look of it instantly and with the way things have gone with the second hand market across the board, it actually seems the most sensible time to buy new, if a £60-85k Lotus can be deemed as sensible! I’ve always loved the Exiges but couldn’t bring myself to pay the extra money over my vx220 turbo, far too much familiarity with some of the switch gear and interior feel. Plus with it being modded I wouldn’t have gained any extra performance either. The Emira feels like something completely different which is why I’ve stuck a deposit down, looking forward to finding out all the official details in the coming months.

[Evotion]

1 minute ago, Denno said:

The Emira feels like something completely different which is why I’ve stuck a deposit down

Yep, that was the hook for me.

I was looking at a manual V10 R8 Spyder about 4 months ago. They did look decent value and unlikely to depreciate. I never went for it but they are looking like great buys.

[DarrylV8]

@Evotionnot sure how up to date my figures are; £82k coupe & £87K convertible from Ian Allan Motors

@Mctaff Sue doesn’t know we have put a deposit down on the Emira