chris harris looking forward to the emira !!!

[windymiller]

 

[99Problems]

HA!  Was just jumping over here to post this very thing.  Thought it was pretty cool that someone of Chris H's access to cars is most looking forward to the Emira for 2022.

[jimichanga]

Be careful what you wish for… he was happy to slate the Evora at every opportunity so it would be highly inconsistent if he was super positive about the Emira. Hopefully his expectations are in check going by his ‘not a new car underneath’ comment. Hope no-one mentions it’s an Evora!

If Lotus have succeeded in making the Emira easier to live with then the main benefits may only be obvious to longer term owners, not car journos thrashing one round the block or showboating for the cameras on track.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

At least he’ll fit!

[exeterjeep]

No mention of him wanting to test the first Lotus SUV, perhaps if he tries the Emira at Hethel, he can have a go in the 132. (I suppose the 132 is not an exciting car for Top Gear.)

[jep]

To quote the great sports commentator Barry Davies: 'and frankly, who cares?'

 

[au-yt]

3 hours ago, jimichanga said:

Be careful what you wish for… he was happy to slate the Evora at every opportunity so it would be highly inconsistent if he was super positive about the Emira. Hopefully his expectations are in check going by his ‘not a new car underneath’ comment. Hope no-one mentions it’s an Evora!

If Lotus have succeeded in making the Emira easier to live with then the main benefits may only be obvious to longer term owners, not car journos thrashing one round the block or showboating for the cameras on track.

I'll be interested to get other Juno's comparisons between the EVORA and EMIRA with the drive as The R&T guys were very complimentary about the EVORA, a year to wait, I recon.

[scotty435]

Having been very critical of Harris thoughts of the brand over the last few years. For me its great that he is saying some positive things at last. Not long now before the journalist get there chance to tell the world how good Emira is, fingers crossed. His views on any car do matter especially when lotus are hoping to bring new customers from other brands. So who cares? Lotus definitely do.

[hedgerley]

Whilst not overly enthusiastic, Harris has on occasion been blown away by a Lotus. I know it's quite a few years ago (look how much hair he has) but it's worth checking out what he thought about the Exige S back in the day. I suspect and indeed hope we'll see something similar when he drives the Emira.

 

[jep]

Alpine sales have not been much helped by Harris or other journalists awarding it 5 stars. Autocar is almost an Alpine sales brochure. Sales are way below Renault expectations. The car is too expensive for the bhp on offer. Sound familiar Evora? 

If Harris tomorrow started slating 911 and confessed he had been wrong about Porsche all these years, it would not make a difference to the sales of 911. He is on a bandwagon that starting rolling in the late 70s (if not before). 

Building sports car is a tough business (ask McLaren, let alone Lotus). Which is why Lotus is moving away from solely doing so.

Their strategy is spot-on in getting influencers and paid promoters to build excitement and coverage for Emira. It will not though guarantee a sales success - the public will decide that, a wider public than those who regularly read car mags or forums/social media. 

I assume that Geely are in for the long haul and accept that Emira may well not be a financial success, though hopefully it is. Vision 80 cannot hinge on one car's success, GM made that mistake in 1989. And even if you do hit gold, as Hethel did with Elise in 1996, the road ahead is still rocky without investment and a stable holistic business plan.

Exciting times but the real danger is if Geely get spooked, not if Emira fails to sell to expectations.

Justin

 

 

 

 

[jimichanga]

I’m old school I’d prefer to see a new sports car proven and promoted by Motorsport success, movie product placement for reaching the masses and endorsed by people I respect and admire, ideally those with recognized driving ability not passed around online for clueless self-appointed car experts to tell me how insane it is.

True though that Harris slating the 911 would make little difference now. People make money on new GT cars whether they are any good or not. But if Chris Harris’s influence is limited in reality then it beats me why car makers are giving so much to self-appointed youtubers with zero car journalism experience and no credibility as drivers.

[Bibs]

I've always been an advocate that pointing a camera at yourself does not make you a journalist but it seems in the 21st century an audience gives you credibility, no matter it's size. I also firmly believe that much of the youtube audience are teens who want to replicate their 'heros' and be able to buy a fleet of supercars by making shonky videos which explains the huge like and subscribe numbers youtubers have.

There's certainly a few that know what they're talking about with the motoring provenance to back it up but the majority really are amateurs and don't know that much other than what they read  online from a respected journo 10 mins before they drove the car and they regurgitate that.

[jep]

I rarely read any car reviews or YouTube content unless I have very specific interest - and whilst doing so it reminds why I don't do so more often. 

I bought a Suzuki Swift Sport partly because the journo view was that it was an engaging, cheap-ish hot hatch, though my main priority was the glacial depreciation once 3 years old and it has 5 doors. It replaced a Clio RS200, which was 11 years old. I appreciate the Clio is more expensive new but the Swift is so poor in areas I assumed, from reading journalists views, it would excel. Steering, gear change, engine eagerness and suspension are uninspiring, my 2010 Twingo RS (which I still own) is streets ahead. I would very upset if I had paid £20k new for the Swift but at £8k with a years warranty for a 2017 car that will still be worth £7k in 2023 with 20,000 more miles, it don't matter. I won't though buy another unless £'s have to prioritise class.

I am amazed the journo write-ups for the Swift Sport are so complementary. 

Justin

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Even “respected” journalists are guilty of plagiarism. When Classic Cars magazine tested my Lotus Omega, the journalist drove it as if I were Miss Daisy sat next to him. To be honest he drove it like a real fuel conscious taxi driver, changing up at 2000 rpm, so that we scarcely felt the turbos, or any of the performance. When the story was printed a few months later, he gave readers the impression of the outrageously fast and barely containable beast of folklore. He’d obviously just regurgitated what others had written before. I always take his reports in particular with a massive pinch of salt. I think he wrote another one a few years later about a Ferrari 250 GTO. Again he waxed lyrical about its performance and handling. In reality, I bet he didn’t go above 30 mph for fear of causing any damage!

[Mark Blanchard]

Chris Harris is a plonker  He doesn't look excited about the Emira in the video and has to put a negative angle on the car, saying it's not new underneath. 

I'm not expecting him to be bold over with it.  He's a Porsche fan boy at heart.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I’m inclined to agree with you. He’s almost setting it up with “The one car I was really looking forward to driving in 2022, but….”

[Eagle7]

11 hours ago, hedgerley said:

Whilst not overly enthusiastic, Harris has on occasion been blown away by a Lotus. I know it's quite a few years ago (look how much hair he has) but it's worth checking out what he thought about the Exige S back in the day. I suspect and indeed hope we'll see something similar when he drives the Emira.

 

This was a very interesting and entertaining video to watch.  When you look at the Exige head-on, the Emira looks much more like a modern Exige than it does an Evora.  From the front, the Emira and Evora aren't similar at all, while the Exige is clearly of the same family.  I think it's telling that Matt himself is buying an Exige with his own money.  He also spent a year driving an Emira around under an Evora skin while they were developing it, so it's obvious he's not just another corporate suit in charge of the company.  He's a genuine enthusiast, and it's the Exige that he really likes.  It was his decisions and authority that gave Gavan, Russell and the crew the freedom to create the Emira.  The Emira is not a re-skinned Evora; it may very well be an updated Exige which Chris absolutely loved.  I can't wait to see his review, and have one in my garage so I can drive the thing myself!

[simonb]

he is consistent

this is the article that is meant to have got him in trouble

https://jalopnik.com/how-auto-journalism-fails-when-nationalism-gets-involve-1686723025

the kicker is his opinion that the Evora 400 "Once the goodwill from the UK magazines and websites has subsided, Lotus will be left with a car that is more expensive than a Cayman GT4, has a fraction of the showroom appeal and looks far too similar to the model that's been on sale since 2009. An 'all new supercar?' Come on."

I think history will judge that comment not far from the mark

If he sees the Emira as not new underneath, that may not be a problem, as there seems little criticism of how the 400 + Evoras drove; that lotus have come up with a car that is both cheaper and new looking suggests his words were true.

I cannot see it taking much more than 2 years for total emira sales to exceed total evora sales (a decade's worth)

[Bibs]

11 minutes ago, Eagle7 said:

I think it's telling that Matt himself is buying an Exige with his own money.

Elise.

You're right, Matt is a proper enthusiast and an engineer so knows what goes into the cars, how it goes into the cars and the what/where/why/ of it. The Emira was under way before he became MD but since he's been in charge it's been the major project, along with about a million other things! In his own words, he has an excellent team around him and manages to deal with an awful lot going on at once which I think is a minor miracle in itself, Lotus are incredibly busy at present. I think you'd enjoy the interview TLF did with him a few months back just before the Emira launch. 

 

[jimichanga]

Matt Windle is getting an Elise not an Exige. The Emira is much closer to an Evora but has gained weight and lost power. It’s intentionally nothing like an Exige which is uncompromising, prioritised driver involvement over ease of use and deemed of limited appeal as a result. The whole point of the Emira is that it’s a car for those who thought the Exige was too hardcore, too small, too basic.

[Eagle7]

My apologies on getting the car wrong that he's buying!

[Bravo73]

5 hours ago, Eagle7 said:

The Emira is not a re-skinned Evora;

Erm, in essence, it is exactly that. 

[PAR]

As much as a 992 is a reskinned 991 then.

[jimichanga]

If that’s your idea of an all-new car then your ambition for Lotus is sorely lacking. 991 and 992 are indistinguishable to 99% of the population.

Classic case of people here only seeing what they want to believe regarding how much Evora is under the Emira. All-new is quite a stretch and certainly not how Chris Harris sees it. Lotus need to convince him otherwise (they should put an Evora and Emira chassis side by side and go through the differences) otherwise this rehashed/reheated/warmed over/reskinned Evora will stick.

[PAR]

Whatever.

 

you take the last 4 generations of Porsche and the chassis is about as similar as an Emira is to an Evora. 
 

If the Emira is the same under, then all Mclarens are all the same under, all the last 30 years Porsches are the same. None of those have changed the principle of their chassis in this millenium.

Aluminium chassis is the best way to get rigidity and performance at an acceptable cost. This one has new dimensions, new side pattern, new suspensions, new set-up. If people wanted a carbon tub like on the Evian, then they needed to volunteer 250k.