I'll be interested to hear how the 6 compares to the turbo charged amg 4. I would have gone for the 6 as well.
Me too. Maybe ours will be in the same truck into Denver! Hoping for October but not holding my breath. I want to see DV in person.
My take, bearing in mind no one has driven one. Spidey is right, its a modified evora chassis and powertrain. But then thats true of a 355 over a 348. The evoras I drove, the last one was the 400 at WGI. It simply was not small or light and the power steering was imo nowhere near what porches achieved with the 997 Gt3. The evora was nice but not exceptional. the mtoor was also very linear, it lacked the thump you get from the non intercooled cars. The emira, well that v6 can sound as good as any motor ever, and its at least as smooth as a ferrari 12. The cable shift is goign to feel great as long as you don't really rush it. Youre buying what is in todays market junior exotic, the type of car that could be the next "dino". Its definitively exotic looking and good looking in a way the evora could only dream of, will sound great and accelerate more than adequately, its a road car first and foremost, and one of the last to offer a stick and non laggy motor. Its not aGt4 or Gt3, thsoe are far harder edged and more purposeful machines. Its not a"track" car, those drilled rotors are a giveaway. Foir the road its more exotic and probably more fun than any non Gt porche, and its exotic in a way no production porche comes close to. it is clearly expanding the lotus audience and being toyota powered will be reliable. There really is not the dealer network and a high degree of variability in dealers, some are enthusiasts whose shops are part of established brands with good service. To me the one that is interesting is the amg 4cyl. That motor or a derivative of, makes 420 hp in the Mercedes and is apparently easily mapped to 500+ hp. So a lighter(sub 3000lbs) more powerful snappy emira appeals. When they make a version of that car with Ohlins really good brakes and the pukka amg motor, well to me there is nothing else thats close except maybe a Gt4 Rs. For me any fast car needs to work on track too, and thats prob going to be the sub 3000lbs +500 hp4 cyl car. As for stick, I've got 4 stick cars, yes theyre more fun on road, but Ive already got those bases covered. My Gulia has tempted me with paddles(the dark side) cause the car is simply more useable more of the time in our crowded roads, and for track its paddles for sure. on track with paddles you maintain thrust no lost time on shifts, there is an ability to shift anywhere while both hand son wheel(say between turn 2-3 at wgi) and more closely stacked gears , plus with a turbo paddles mitigate lag. I get that most want this as a road car and for that the v6 and stick is the ticket and the 4cyl will be less refined less tourquey not sound as good and no stick. Its great that there will be 2 versions of this car. I don't see the initial 360hp 4cyl version as the ultimate, that version will be a few years out.
Nice post, you're probably going to be accurate on much of what is stated above and certainly the sound is one if not the best sounding V6's I have ever heard. I also think my QV has an incredible sounding V6, that and the Emira are the two best sounding stock V'6 turbo's I've ever heard.
Emira is supercharged so its real sound not muffled by the tiubo's and no lag. I guess the cats affect it.
Part of what makes the exige so good is its rawness, but also its directness and sharpness. its feels like you're strapping into a late model spitfire, or as close to a single seater as a closed car comes in terms of dynamic feel and respnse, without the open air brutality of getting beat up or the buzzy 4cyl. its far from the comfort size and bulk of cayman derivatives. Back to the op. the emira looks great, the new dino ferrai failed to build. its clear the toyata v6 can be something "exotic" in nature, and a manual is something of a treat in road car. Lotus has over the past few years worght wonders in shft feel, and the 997 Gt3 showed us how great hydralic steering can be. So the question is how far on have they moved the Evora platform. My experience in the evora was that the steering while better than say modern BMWs was nowhere near the hydraulic 997 gt3, and not as good as say the gulia which is pure eps. The evora was designed in period to "compete" with 911s which are Gt cars, so that finer precision was maybe not the same priority, although it is a lotus and should have been. Hopefully that have infused the emira with lotus DNA, which starts with steering and suspension. Ferrari transformed the 348 into the 355, so I wouldn't judge the emira by it being based on an evora. This car may well be a zenith in engaging road cars. I think the lotus formula of using off the rack motors in a purpose built chassis with exotic styling make the cars not only perform great, but deliverable for something other than its a too expensive to really use price. It is in many ways the European answer to the corvette. For me though, the emira that shows promise is the 4cyl car. The V6, yes you can tune it, but 450 hp is the limit of the rods. the 4 cyl will weigh less which reaps untold virtues when driven towards the limit, it can easily produces 100hp more than the v6. All of which means its power to weight ratio will exceed the v6 by a significant margin and its handling braking etc can be better. in my world the search for car that works comfortably enough on road to go a distance, and yet really works on track continues. The cayman Gt4 possibly works, but is really not my cup of tea for some reason. A Gt4 Rs is just crazy expensive and I dont think its going to be so much fun on road or remotely economic to run on track. Corvette z06, prob more of road car that can track and one will never get away from the weight, ie tires that dotn last the day, pads rotors etc, but a fun exotic to exercise on track every now an again. Just looking at the specs of the 420 hp 4cyl amg mtor you know its really exoitc and will hold up, thats different in some degree to the 360 hp version coming from lotus now. When they build one with the better motor, have the car better sorted from early production, put the great brakes and shocks on it. in other words when they get really serious and loose a little weight. Yeah even if it needs some remapping, its going to be the one. 500+hp durable motor, paddles, great steering, set ohlins(ie no fakey doo electronic shocks) great springs, the best brakes(ap slotted rotors and calipers), light stiff alloy wheels, sub 3000lbs. I believe such a car will emerge, cause weve seen this exact formula before in the exige range and somewhat in evoras. Thats a car i think one can drive to the track on r compounds, play for day or two, drive home, swap back to road tires and pads and enjoy. or at least thats the holy grail, last seen on a 250 swb. the exige, that big intercooled blower conversion for a consistent on track 450hp in 2300lbs car, a lsd, and some aero. thats about as far as one should maybe take it, I guess there is maybe 100bs to loose too. Thats going to then replicate the early 70s F1 car experience in a safer closed car.Personal goal is to break 2 mins at the Glenn in it. Right now Im at 2,06 which is maybe respectable but along way off. For sure more power and aero will loose a few seconds, but even as is Im still not carrying enough speed into too many corners, so i think the driver can still improve a ways ye without more power. Slow to be fast.
yeesh, i watched jethros review and not very positive at all. he wanted to love it but says shifter, engine, chassis dynamics let it down in that order. says style and quality were top notch though so its reverse of old lotus that always had super dynamics but let down by quality and refinement. strangely, lotus gave him a car with sport suspension but not the matching sport tires that he says could have upset balance. how does lotus do that on 1st impressions launch???!!! unfortunately, seems cayman doesnt have too much to worry about and i will be keeping my elise forever.
well at least matt and harry were more favorable reviews but jethro is my go to guy (along with chris harris) so i have finger crossed for lotus
This review is more positive: https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2023-lotus-emira-review-lotus-grows-up-and-just-in-time
Having watched & read roughly a dozen reviews so far, I thought this was one of the better ones (least perceived predispositions, more thoughtful, etc): www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5sLT4mvZH8 Personally I think anyone who was expecting to gain much in the way of new insight or perspective when the press embargo lifted on the V6 Emira (June 7th) hadn't been paying much attention previously. There really haven't been any surprises. The I4/DCT reviews should be a bit more interesting but that's a ways off. I'm also curious to see how things play out with China supposedly getting a 400hp I4 for their FE (whereas rest of world gets the 360hp detune). At this point my plan remains the same.. I'll take delivery early-on of a V6 manual spec FE Emira, and once the I4 FE hits US shores around 2024, I'll swap. With some faith that the aftermarket won't take too long to enable the car I was hoping for but which Lotus itself isn't likely to provide us for a good 4-5 years..
Yeah disappointing for sure, in particular the reviewers comments on the transmission and engine which can't be blamed on the tire choice. Looks so far atleast from a performance standpoint the Caymans outclass the lotus with the GT4 quite a bit better according to the reviewers, though the GTS closer. Like to see more reviews though and real world feedback, always taking these reviews with a grain of salt
I don't blame you, I would be too, looks to be an awesome car. And while I like a couple reviewers, poor initial reviews wouldn't sway me from the car. Heck, most reviewers gave the Alfa 4c poor reviews, yet everyone I meet who owns one, loves it. I day with the car and giving a review is not enough IMO
Totally agree and if I saw these reviews before I placed my order it would Not have deterred me one bit.
Agreed, some of my favorite/trusted reviewers like Harry or Chris Harris still say all kinds of silly crap I do not care about. For example, Harry is always winning about how loud the road noise is in Porsche, I never noticed it or cared about it, nor would it be a reason not to buy one. But to Harry it was a big deal. And Chris H says all kinds of silly **** as well. Its just someones personal taste, nothing more. Just like wine, how is one persons taste ranking on a wine going to impact my decision when we could have totally different taste?! Having said all that, it would have been nice, mostly for lotus to have all the reviewers ranting and raving how great the car is, so we could see a larger audience adopt them and grow the brand.
Exactly and the real test is owners impressions and their reviews as real drivers who are not predisposed to looking for subtle flaws that your daily owner/driver might never experience.
