Top speed…never ever!

Hi all,

I‘m a bit surprised that the top speed is not discussed so far in the forum.

I own since April a FE V6 manual and did the last couple of weeks some high speed runs on the German Autobahn.

Long Story Short. On a flat track (no decline) I get somewhere around 270-273km/h (displayed). GPS is most likely in the 260-262km/h range.

In my papers the car has a top speed of 290km/h. Has anyone else tried top speed runs? I highly doubt that there is one single Emira out there which is driving 290km/h GPS.

I’m not at all surprised that top speed isn’t talked about because except for a select few buyers in Germany we’ll never have the chance to try it — even on most race tracks — the Emira doesn’t have the power to get much over 135 on most front straights.

As for not being able to reach the top speed also not surprised — I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Evora get past 270kph displayed either.

Hi,
I did 277 km/h (displayed) and did not even flat out yet due to safety and my exit was approaching too fast obviously. (No decline)
I am sure she would have reached the 290 km/h (displayed).
We were two in the car and shopping stuff in the trunk.
Pitty that I had no time to test it.
I just started to speed up casually at the end of the speed limit as traffic allowed on that day to see what speed I can reach to my exit. It is a pretty short distance.
I drove her several times around 260 km/h, a speed she reaches easily. No need to put the pedal to the metal.
Before I go on I need to say I love my Emira but she is not build for high speeds.
She is build for twisties and the track, extrem good cornering and fast acceleration with good breaking.
At speeds of around 230 km/h she is getting nervous already and super nervous above 250 km/h you need to concentrate. In my BMW I can fiddle around at the radio and listen to music at that speed. Would never do it in the Emira.
...... and for the sound freaks out there, do not take it wrong, but if you drive such speeds the engine is just screaming and shouting at you from the back like there is no tomorrow. Just because of the noise you will slow down after a couple of minutes.
It is different if you accelerate and briefly touch around 6000 rpm, sounds great, but constant above 6000 rpm, you will not like it. I guess much better if you wear a helmet, which brings me back to track capabilities mentioned earlier.
Fuel consumption no need to mention. It is clear the time you make up through speed you loose hundred times at the next petrol station.
On my normal longer day drives I only rev her to around 4000 rpm and keep her below 4000 because of noise comfort. As well above 4000 rpm you would exceed the speed limits all the time.
On the autobahn she is very comfortable at 4000 rpm at around 185 km/h. Quiet, fair fuel consumption, still a good and safe cruising speed and in Germany more less "flow" with the traffic as most of the cars do around 160 km/h.
Conclusion, I believe she can do the 290 km/h (GPS) in right condition on a long stretch, but it is theoretical at the end as almost no one one will do it ever anyway, and it is not comfortable at all. It would not feel right for the EMIRA. She is designed for other means. ..... for our normal road drive and a couple of days on a track.
Hope this information is useful.

forgot to support my conclusion with facts:
277 km/h in 6 gear at 5.900 rpm, means still another 900 rpm to go in 6 gear. Emira top speed is in 6th gear.

Butcherxxl said:

Hi all,

I‘m a bit surprised that the top speed is not discussed so far in the forum.

I own since April a FE V6 manual and did the last couple of weeks some high speed runs on the German Autobahn.

Long Story Short. On a flat track (no decline) I get somewhere around 270-273km/h (displayed). GPS is most likely in the 260-262km/h range.

In my papers the car has a top speed of 290km/h. Has anyone else tried top speed runs? I highly doubt that there is one single Emira out there which is driving 290km/h GPS.

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I tried. Got to 282 indicated km/h before traffic

emirahl said:

forgot to support my conclusion with facts:
277 km/h in 6 gear at 5.900 rpm, means still another 900 rpm to go in 6 gear. Emira top speed is in 6th gear.

Click to expand...

All, thanks for your comments.

I talked already last week with my dealer about it and he was quite open and told me that many customers already complaint about the cars performance. For me personally its not so much what I finally see in the display, but rather how it feels to achieve the number. And right now its shockingly slow and boring Above 220km/h.

One customer already confronted the dealer with a dyno test which reported 352hp. And that’s exactly what I would guess based on my feelings.

The dealer drove my car and told me that my car at least is not feeling that slow like others.

@emirahl wrt to the rpm. You are right, but that’s my point. the car has in the 6th gear just not sufficient power to accelerate further. It’s weird.

Somewhere I read that the engine feels artificially restricted/limited. Thats exactly how it feels. I will modify the engine anyway and I’m quite curious what the dyno is reporting. I‘m coming from a 992S. The Emira is much more fun, but the downgrade performance wise is way to biiiiiiig

The overall package of the car is fantastic. If I can transform the Emira to a 10-11 sec (0-200) car, I have no need to change the car for some years.

Butcherxxl said:

One customer already confronted the dealer with a dyno test which reported 352hp. And that’s exactly what I would guess based on my feelings.

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Not only your feeling, 352/0.88 (~12% power loss (mid engine = in between FWD to RWD losses)) is 400hp which is as advertised.

My modified Mini GP3 with 360hp is driving circles on the Autobahn around the Emira, literally!!

So I don’t care too much what is „advertised“ but compare real life acceleration to other cars with similar “advertised“ power. The Emira was tested with 17 sec 0-200.

I would expect a 400ps 1405kg car to be at least in the 13-14 sec range.
My previous Audi RS3 with advertised 400ps and at least 200kg more weight did it in 12,5sec.

And even if all the dynos and assumed power losses are correct, I would like to know and understand where the power the engine is creating is getting lost, because obviously it doesn’t reach out to the wheels.

Butcherxxl said:

My modified Mini GP3 with 360hp is driving circles in the Autobahn around the Emira, literally!!

So I don’t care too much what is „advertised“ but compare real life acceleration to other cars with similar “advertised“ power. The Emira was tested with 17 sec 0-200.

I would expect a 400ps 1405kg car to be at least in the 13-14 sec range.
My previous Audi RS3 with advertised 400ps and at least 200kg more weight did it in 12,5sec.

And even if all the dynos and assumed power losses are correct, I would like to know and understand where the power the engine is creating is getting lost, because obviously it doesn’t reach out to the wheels.

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By looking at the way the air has to go over and through the car, I'd say the Emira generates at least a little bit of downforce...

Chobfreak said:

By looking at the way the air has to go over and through the car, I'd say the Emira generates at least a little bit of downforce...

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Thats actually a very interesting thought I have not even considered so far.

Butcherxxl said:

My modified Mini GP3 with 360hp is driving circles on the Autobahn around the Emira, literally!!

So I don’t care too much what is „advertised“ but compare real life acceleration to other cars with similar “advertised“ power. The Emira was tested with 17 sec 0-200.

I would expect a 400ps 1405kg car to be at least in the 13-14 sec range.
My previous Audi RS3 with advertised 400ps and at least 200kg more weight did it in 12,5sec.

And even if all the dynos and assumed power losses are correct, I would like to know and understand where the power the engine is creating is getting lost, because obviously it doesn’t reach out to the wheels.

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Emira FE V6 weighs more like 1480-1490kg with a full fuel tank.

I mesaured several times 11,2s for 100-200km/h, so you are more like 16s for 0-200km/h.

With a tune to 435hp you will probably end up with a 14,5-15s for 0-200km/h.

But you will never get even close to 11-12s for 0-200, that’s unrealistic.

With this 435ish tune you will be on par with a 981 GT4 acceleration from 100-200km/h.

Shahaf2911 said:

Not only your feeling, 352/0.88 (~12% power loss (mid engine = in between FWD to RWD losses)) is 400hp which is as advertised.

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We’ve also got cars putting down 307hp to the wheels before DIN 70020 correction.

This is quickly becoming another 0-60, 0-100, 100-200 thread. Can't we agree we should all buy another car for such purpose?

kitkat said:

We’ve also got cars putting down 307hp to the wheels before DIN 70020 correction.

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You’re referring to the dyno done in Italy by a forum member ? I only remember his dyno with those results

Cachaco131 said:

This is quickly becoming another 0-60, 0-100, 100-200 thread. Can't we agree we should all buy another car for such purpose?

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0-100 (km/h) I agree, 100-200 no so much as it’s much more representative of the power band, weight and aero of a car and to some a it might be important (personally I’m more than satisfied with the performance (as a daily/weekend car and I do plan to daily it once I export it to my home country))
And in regards to OPs subject, 100-200 (+) are relevant as he lives in Germany

Butcherxxl said:

My modified Mini GP3 with 360hp is driving circles on the Autobahn around the Emira, literally!!

So I don’t care too much what is „advertised“ but compare real life acceleration to other cars with similar “advertised“ power. The Emira was tested with 17 sec 0-200.

I would expect a 400ps 1405kg car to be at least in the 13-14 sec range.
My previous Audi RS3 with advertised 400ps and at least 200kg more weight did it in 12,5sec.

And even if all the dynos and assumed power losses are correct, I would like to know and understand where the power the engine is creating is getting lost, because obviously it doesn’t reach out to the wheels.

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This post makes my eye twitch a bit.

Peak horsepower tells you literally nothing. You are correct that weight is another part of the story. But the missing elements would be how much torque do each of these vehicles put to the wheels? What is the total area under the power curve for each of these vehicles? The other vehicles likely should be faster when all things are taken into account.

What Lotus has offered is a momentum car that is meant for track handling. At no point do I think they've ever suggested it was going to be a straight line monster. It will be a fantastic car if it's used for what it was intended for.

Shahaf2911 said:

0-100 (km/h) I agree, 100-200 no so much as it’s much more representative of the power band, weight and aero of a car and to some a it might be important (personally I’m more than satisfied with the performance (as a daily/weekend car and I do plan to daily it once I export it to my home country))
And in regards to OPs subject, 100-200 (+) are relevant as he lives in Germany

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Thanks for your comment and clarifying my point.

I didn’t started my post by complaining about 100-200 acceleration. I only mentioned this numbers as a metric to evaluate the real power output.

@KCMO68_510

400hp is 400hp!! It can feel completely differently because it’s either generated by torque or by rpm.

A Porsche GTS (turbo charged and a lot more Torque) is finally not faster as GT3 with not impressive Torque figures (compared) but similar hp.

Butcherxxl said:

400hp is 400hp!! It can feel completely differently because it’s either generated by torque or by rpm.

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HP is generated by torque AND rpm. HP is a derived unit, not a measured one. HP =Torque x rpm/5252.

So, if 2 cars feel different with the same HP, it's because the same torque is being generated at a different rpm.

Butcherxxl said:

400hp is 400hp!!

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400 is just a peak number. The rest of the power curve matters.

Shahaf2911 said:

You’re referring to the dyno done in Italy by a forum member ? I only remember his dyno with those results

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Yup.

We’ve had whp anywhere from 307hp to like 360hp. Probably somewhere in the middle is reality.