I am pretty excited to try the Emira. Have never owned a Lotus before. Had my test drive at Lotus of Glenview (IL) a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised by how the car drove. I think I was a little caught off guard by the low redline (perhaps just too accustomed to the GT4s and GT3s now...), but other than that I felt the car was a blast to drive. I plan to keep my Spyder, and use the Emira on both road and track.

They are telling me delivery in April, so hoping for no more delays (it was supposed to be here in October )

 

Hmm that's the 1st time I've seen ~3500#'s Will agree about lotus and weight but then again when a Camaro Mcar Mustang Vettes weigh well north of 3600# except for the Miata nothing is light anymore.

Peter

 

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Peter

 

hmmmm....
Emira i4 is 3100 lbs
Emira V6 is 3200 Lbs

Much less weight than a C8, M2 etc. - About the same weight as a GT4.

My Take - the Emira looks wise is far and above any 718 model, including the interior. Overall it is going to feel a lot more special than any 718 Porsche product.(ok not a GT4RS) Yes it's hand built in England( not German fit and finish) in low manufacturing numbers - I think like 5K per year world wide. So very rare. With that you will have to deal with sub par dealer network and inconvenience of owning the type of car. It will certainly drive better than a GTS - Maybe not the GT4. Lotus have some of the best residuals of any car manufacturer... although the Emira is still an unknown.

Daily driver - Porsche GTS for sure.

Week-end toy - Lotus Emira - Much more special car all around

 

I also drove the Emira a couple weeks ago. I personally loved it! I liked the shorter gearing, the mechanical feel of the shifter. Hydraulic steering and Sport suspension was great. I agree on the lower Rev limit, guess it had to do with Euro emissions/sound restrictions... So I know I can address it on my own in a matter of time.
I also know it's a different animal that not everyone will like, but for me... it was a blast to drive.
I have an order submitted with a scheduled January production / March delivery... 🤞🏼 for no more delays. It'll be my first Lotus.
Plan is to have fun with it until the Spyder RS delivers!

 

I do agree that the exterior is far more exotic than the GT4, however personally I find the interior to be...a bit generic. Other than the cool little thing they have done where you can see parts of the manual in the transmission tunnel, based on videos and pictures ive seen, the interior just seems like any other modern sports car with a screen popping out of the dash. Honestly it kinda reminds me of my Veloster N interior just with a fighter jet style Start Stop button.

That being said I do agree the car is going to be more special. Its a head turner for sure and your average non-car enthusiast is going to assume its something way more exotic than it actually is. Sure the GT4 might look more racer with its big wing and all that, but everyone knows the Porsche logo and as soon as they see that they will understand what the car is. But there's not a lot of average joe's who know what a Lotus emblem looks like or even knows what a Lotus is. I'm excited to see this car at my local autocross. A few people in that group have said they have one on order. I'm just hoping someone has bought it in green.

 

Not sure if you read my post but I clearly mentioned that the Evora, GT4 and Spyder are all miles above my GTS4.0 for feel. I like old school, analog feeling cars. Lotus fits the bill very well for me, so do some other Porsche models but none of those are currently available to me.

 

I test-drove the Emira as well. I love it more than my 718 Spyder. The biggest pro of the Emira is the steering; the old school and direct feedback are better than my spyder for sure. Is the steering better than my 992 GT3? Objectively I dunno, but subjectively, I love the steering of the Emira better than it on my gt3. The feedback on the road texture, as @vantage puts it, is just on another level.
Secondly, the look. Lotus nailed it.
Another feature is the sound of the powertrain, I found it super delightful. It's different than the screaming tenor voice of a gt3, but it gives the driver every bit of thrill as the RPM climbs.
The biggest con to me is the 6850 RPM redline. I wish it is at least 7200 RPM, or 7500 RPM will be great. Some aftermarket tune or mod could address this easily. I don't think I need more power, but I can't resist the seduction of a higher-rpm engine.
I have an allocation with May 23 delivery of the Emira V6 MT first edition. It will perfectly fit in my garage next to the 992 GT3. The Emira will be a canyon/b road sports car with 10 track days a year, and the GT3 will be the track weapon to set some lap times. To be honest, once a gt3 is in the garage, the temptation to drive the spyder or gt4 decreases considerably.

 

First-person I've ever seen (including dozens of reviews I've watched) that says he felt such a huge difference between the GTS and the GT4.

 

I will take it a step further and state I had a 718 GTS 2.5T and I cannot say my GT4 is any better . . . actually, 'better' is not the right word. Perhaps I should say I cannot appreciate much of a 'difference' in overall performance.

I suppose if I were a professional driver and drove both 2.5T and GT4 on a track I might have a different opinion . . . perhaps the 2.5T might even be favored???

Some might think my comments are dissing the GT4. Nothing could be further from the truth. I enjoy the h*ll out of my GT4 . . . and similarly enjoyed my 2.5T.

Avera

 

I have also had both and performance is comparable but the GT4 is more fun IMHO.

Peter

 

Lets say the GTS is 90% capable handling at the limit as the GT4. Very few can extract that 10%, but some want to know they have it. Don't know why there is this constant comparison between GTS/GT4/Emira. Everyone has their own requirements and makes a choice accordingly. I had options of GT4 or GTS and chose accordingly for my needs, and price wasn't a factor.

Upon its release, I considered the Emira due to allocation issues from Porsche, but too much risk/unknown there based on Lotus's history, plus I wanted the superior 4.0 and MT, not a car with a bland Toyota engine, and the AMG 2.0 IL4 isn't what I like either. IMO a manufacturer should make their own engines.

My bet is the AMG Emira will be a lot better car than the V6. Time will tell.

 

There are two reasons I personally moved into the GT4

1. The aero bits and pieces (e.g., front end and rear wing) really give the GT4 a different road presence . . . 'better' in my opinion

2. I thought the NA engine would be superior. Not necessarily in terms of overall performance, but more linear, better sounding, etc.

The GT4 is more linear and I really like it, but not sure it is 'better.'

I DO like the taller red line and long gearing, but I could easily see how someone might prefer the 2.5T.

My exhaust journey with the GT4 has been, well, a journey. I have settled into a 'satisfied' zone, but achieving my idea of a perfect balance of decibels, tone and drone just does not seem possible. I will not digress, as I have commented on my journey elsewhere. The 2.5T had amazing cabin acoustics; sounded great when wrung out, during induction, and on downshifts. I never explored aftermarket exhaust options with 2.5T . . . but there seems to be some really good aftermarket options out there. Overall - despite not achieving what I had hoped - I do think the GT4 is superior in terms of exhaust acoustics.

For those that are into aftermarket tuning, I do not think there is any question that far more can be squeezed out of the turbo engines than NA engines. Personally, I never thought the 2.5T needed 'more' in terms of my spirited roadway usage.

Anyway, I know this thread is about the Emira . . . but it seems comparison is in order given this is a GT4/4.0 forum. So, I do not think this represents much of a digression.

Avera

 

A friend of mine was the first to place a deposit with our local bay area dealer, almost two years ago, still hasn't received a car

 

If I had to choose between the GTS 4.0 and GT4 - which I obviously did - I would choose the GT4 simply for road presence due to the different aero, lower stance, etc. Of course, others like yourself might prefer the aero of the GTS. As you state, most like myself will never access the performance advantage offered by the GT4 over the GTS.

With respect to your comments about engines (T vs NA), I honestly cannot tell you at this moment whether I would prefer the 2.5T or 4.0 NA? The 'four banger' was fantastic as far as I am concerned.

I am sure the AMG and V6 Emira engine options will both be great, but have absolutely no idea which I would prefer aligned with the chassis. Never will, as the Emira is not even on my radar.

Avera