Emira UK Roadshow

[Mickle]

4 hours ago, bosshog said:

Have you sat in an Evora? I always thought it felt high at least compared to the Elise. The 410 carbons where better. I can't see it being that much different to the Evora but let's see who the manufacture will be.

Great point, I haven’t, the event at Solihull was really my first time seeing most of the current Lotuses up close.

I’m sure the production Emira will be fine for me though. I just thought the demo car will have some taller people concerned.

 

[Lavazza]

This thread isn't filling me with confidence.

Parting with the thick end of £80k for a car that I can't drive and unable to view specification options in the flesh is a super big ask. Some of us live a 5 hour round trip from our nearerest Lotus dealer, which represents a not insignificant commitment.

For me, what is it about this car, that should make me feel that I should replace my V6 Exige with either a V6 Emira or AMG i4?

I was full of enthusiasm at the launch of this car, but feel Lotus have gone way too soon, and speaking personally,  I'm very much off the boil.

[TomE]

Committing to a newly-launched car that's not yet in production and you can't test drive or read press reviews is a big ask and not for everyone.

Lotus had a big dilemma between (a) revealing the car when there was enough to show people but it wasn't finished but they could get it visible earlier and gauge demand for the new £100m factory they'd built in order to build an order book and get suppliers/production scheduled, or (b) wait until they had a fully production-ready car with press and demo cars but have much less idea on demand or be able to plan their start of production.

It's slightly strange to me that a lot of people are saying it's not fair having to commit with so little info - the simple solution is not to!  You don't have to commit now, you could wait until press reviews in Feb/Mar or test drives in Mar/Apr.   There is a process Lotus are pursuing, but deposits are still refundable and will be for a while yet, or you can ask to slip down the queue.  There are plenty of people who'd like to move up the queue.  If you don't want a First Edition car then you're going to have a year or more to decide.

If I turn your question around, what is it about your Exige that makes you want to consider replacing it with another 2-seater Lotus that's less hardcore, bigger, heavier, slower, plusher and with more gadgets?  

[Denno]

Just a point on the Exige, having seen a couple that were near the Emira the other day they look like a toy compared to the Emira and the Emira looks much more expensive when you see them together, if that matters to anyone.

[TomE]

Here's a useful comparison: 

[Evotion]

14 hours ago, Lavazza said:

For me, what is it about this car, that should make me feel that I should replace my V6 Exige with either a V6 Emira or AMG i4?

You'll likely struggle more with the i4 - You would miss the noise of the V6.

I'd never sell an Exige for an Emira myself - I will more likely be doing the opposite.

If you are talking about your one and only car then the Emira starts to make some sense being more daily driveable and comfortable. The Emira will be dynamically excellent but the Exige is another level of engagement. 

 

In short - have both

[HXT]

Well I’ve just been to see the Emira in the flesh and it looks fantastic. Real Supercar looks for pumped up saloon money.

 

In saying the above I could be in a very small minority who actually prefers the old school look of the Exige when they are sat in the same showroom. This comment is not meant to detract from the Emira, just personal taste.

[Denno]

On 13/10/2021 at 10:03, Nick in Sydney said:

Perhaps because we have all now seen so many photos and videos that the initial impact of the design is gone; it's not longer an exciting new thing??

Very true and the fact it’s only the blue or grey we actually see anything of. Excitement will most likely rekindle when we get to see actual demo cars etc 

[Cooper]

I've put together a piece including photos of my views on visiting the car at Rybrook in case anyone is interested.

https://rmsmotoring.com/feature/lotus-emira-first-edition/

[Eagle7]

Excellent write-up!  I appreciate the fact that you kept it in perspective, that this was a non-running demo car for show.  By now it's also seen quite a bit of wear and tear from all the people who have seen it.  The drawer with the paint color samples, once again shows the green looking anything but green.  It simply looks black there.  I don't think I've seen two photos where it looks the same.  It looks different each time.

Thank you for posting this; I enjoyed reading it.

[Nick in Sydney]

1 hour ago, Cooper said:

I've put together a piece including photos of my views on visiting the car at Rybrook in case anyone is interested.

https://rmsmotoring.com/feature/lotus-emira-first-edition/

Excellent article Andy!

[Evotion]

It will be really interesting to hear how the Emira compares with the GT4 once it has been driven.

If it equals it dynamically overall then that would be a real accomplishment.

[MaJiK]

The GT4 is a top top car, so if the Emira is close this could be an amazing car.

[Cooper]

I’ve said it already but I’m not expecting it to be objectively a better track attacker. The Emira is more a GT car and I hope it’s different enough to love as much just in a different way. 

[C8RKH]

23 hours ago, Evotion said:

If you are talking about your one and only car then the Emira starts to make some sense being more daily driveable and comfortable

Realistically, for how many owners will the Emira be their one and only car (i.e one car in the household with no access to any other family wagon etc)?

At best, it will be a daily driver for a commute during the week, then something fun for the weekend.

Most likely, it will be the 3rd car in the household (for those who live with a partner) and probably the only one to get some garage space!

 

[C8RKH]

On 14/10/2021 at 00:53, TomE said:

If I turn your question around, what is it about your Exige that makes you want to consider replacing it with another 2-seater Lotus that's less hardcore, bigger, heavier, slower, plusher and with more gadgets?

Now that is a stellar question!

I can answer from my perspective (What is it about my Evora 410 Sport that........)

 

The answer is right now, not a lot!  i.e. I won't be swapping my focused, more hardcore, Evora for a less hardcore, plusher, more gadget laden, Emira.

I'm off to see the Emira at Lotus Hamilton tomorrow morning. I'm sure I'll swoon over the exterior bodywork and shape. I'm sure I'll go meh at the German looking interior. Unless my heart just goes pop, I'll not be in an Emira for some time, probably until the more hardcore version arrives as my Lotus is for ME - and ONLY for ME - for driving hard for fun, not for swooning at or saying look at me. And to me, the 410 Sport is the pic of the harder core Lotus Evora's due to the carbon, spec, and pricing.  The GT430's dial it up to 11 for sure, but I just cannot reconcile the ugly rear bolt on wing - the rest if gorgeous by the way - but that's just me.

I feel the Emira FE is for the "converts" that Lotus wants to wean off their boring German boxes/skips, like the Audi TT's, Caymans, etc. I think the best (most desirable for me that is) Emira's will be coming down the line later.

[Dommo]

8 hours ago, C8RKH said:

I feel the Emira FE is for the "converts" that Lotus wants to wean off their boring German boxes/skips, like the Audi TT's, Caymans, etc. 

I have to agree with your first point because I'm one of the people that have been wooed away from the German alternatives but I don't consider a GT4 as a boring box either!!

I've considered Lotus' plenty of times in the past but no matter what model has been available, nothing really fitted the bill for me. Until the Emira, all previous Lotus models seemed a little too hardcore for road driving and a little too pricy for a track tool so I've always opted for a track car (cheapish) and a sports car for the road. The reason I sold the GT4 in fact was because you just couldn't get the full potential out of it on the road and I couldn't afford to repair it if I crashed it on track!  

I went from the GT4 to an AMG GTR which was fantastic in nearly all instances but I wouldn't have ever left it anywhere and thus limited it's use to possibly once a week at best during the summer and it was ultimately a very expensive garage queen - which is not what I want either.

I think the Emira bridges the gap between a track focused road car and a super car and that's what's drawn me to the brand. 

[C8RKH]

36 minutes ago, Dommo said:

I think the Emira bridges the gap between a track focused road car and a super car and that's what's drawn me to the brand.

So what stopped you getting an Evora GT410? It's the same package really than the Emira with the exception of the cupholders and stick on TFT screen 

By the way, the GT4 is a great car, I was referring to the boring normal Caymans!

[Dommo]

Without wanting to upset you and any other Evora owners, I guess the look of the car never quite drew me in enough to part with price tag associated with one. 😬😬

 

[C8RKH]

Won't upset me! 😁 Looks are subjective and personal otherwise we'd all desire the same thing.

Went to see the Emira in the flesh today. It's stunning on the outside but there's a lot of Evora still evident!

As suspected I loved the exterior, the interior is nicely finished too , even the luggage space behind the seats ( yes, I was the pedant who even folded the seat down to check it out!). But i rarely get excited by interiors and it all looked very mainstream corporate German as expected.

The car from directly behind is stunning. Side on at the front you can see how the length from centre front wheel to steering wheel has been shortened. Makes that side on front view look very aggressive, razor sharp.

You can see the Evora in it. I would say this is an evolution, not a revolution. I know, i know but get over it 

The red, I have to say it is very close to my fire red. It's going to look uber classy.

I loved the blue. The silver metallic flecks will mean it really will pop in the sun.

Overall, it really looks the part. I'm not jumping in for a first edition. Had a good discussion re when the "hot" version will come and happy to wait 

Spoke to Laura at length. They have had c 90 deposits prior to the live reveal this morning. That's impressive. She's seen a lot of deposits from current Porsche owners. That's a great testament to what Lotus have achieved!

Edited October 16, 2021 by Bravo73

[sonu]

On 15/10/2021 at 11:05, Evotion said:

It will be really interesting to hear how the Emira compares with the GT4 once it has been driven.

If it equals it dynamically overall then that would be a real accomplishment.

Don't think Lotus Emira is competing with the GT4. GT4 is too track focused. Maybe a later version of the Emira will?

Edited October 16, 2021 by sonu

[Cooper]

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

I was the pedant who even folded the seat down to check it out!).

[freefall_junkie]

I was as the Glasgow event this afternoon. The car really is a stunning thing to behold, even better in real life than photos. Russel Carr and his team have absolutely nailed the design. The surfacing is exquisite from every angle.

The Lotus staff were great, all very friendly and approachable. I had a lengthy chat about the suspension options which pretty much decided me on the sport suspension and cup tyres. The ride quality of the sport suspension is apparently similar to the Evora 410, and way better than an Exige. I was also reassured to hear that Lotus are very focused on getting quality right from the start, and on improving the whole dealer experience.

I didn't get much further with colour choice. The blue is great, but I still really like the yellow too which is a lovely deep colour much like Norfolk Mustard. And to add to the indecision, I really liked the red 🙂 .

The one frustration for me was, as others have pointed out, the non-production seats in the show car were pretty uncomfortable and set way too high. My eye line was level with the top of the windscreen. The production seats will be 2cm lower, but I have a lingering concern that this won't be enough. I am going to do some experimenting in my current car tomorrow to try and get an idea of how much difference 2cm in seat height makes.

Overall, though, great job Lotus. Even before anyone has driven the car it has the makings of a sure fire winner.

 

 

 

 

[Derek]

It’s more than eight years since I had my Evora S and I went along to the session in Hamilton this afternoon with an open mind.  Indeed after a chat with Graeme, Laura and the chaps from the factory had talked myself into placing a deposit on a green and tan V6 when I got home. Until that is I got back into the Vantage for the return journey.
 

I have no doubt that the Emira will be a winner for Lotus, but at the moment I’ll stick with the Aston. Of course that may well change when I’ve had some time in the demonstrators next year.  In the meantime I shall continue to watch from afar. 

[Mctaff]

41 minutes ago, Derek said:

Until that is I got back into the Vantage for the return journey.

I almost got rid of the vantage a few times… 911 gts, 911 S, amg gt, tt rs

each time I got back in the Aston afterwards and just couldn’t bear to part with it!

after 7 years i decided it was finally time for a change…

Do you have the older model or the new one?

Edited October 16, 2021 by Mctaff