Magma Red Lotus Emira Photo Thread

Ok I will explain Since you still Do not understand The original point. You seem to think lowering a car is detrimental to performance and is for looks alone. Clearly if you think that you are not a Motorsport racing fan. Manufacturers have to accommodate people that like to feel like they are riding on a cloud or a couch.(not sure which one you like) You made a derogatory comment about people that like lowered cars. Insuating they are not drivers but cars and coffee people. I wish you well on you cloud or coach

Green said:

I guess the argument went over your head!

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I don't think it went over his head. you are quite the gem.

Green said:

Ok I will explain Since you still Do not understand The original point. You seem to think lowering a car is detrimental to performance and is for looks alone. Clearly if you think that you are not a Motorsport racing fan. Manufacturers have to accommodate people that like to feel like they are riding on a cloud or a couch.(not sure which one you like) You made a derogatory comment about people that like lowered cars. Insuating they are not drivers but cars and coffee people. I wish you well on you cloud or coach

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Yeah I do understand, more than you know. If we're talking about motorsport and being out on the racetrack, here's my track car; lowered and all which I'm going to be selling to make room for the Emira.



It's a great car. I didn't put an entire Pedder's suspension upgrade in it (plus a lot of other things) because I was worried about wheel gap. I did it for performance, out on the track, where you can use that kind of setup at speed in an environment that's designed for it, legally. It's great on the track. A bit stiff and uncomfortable out on the street though, especially when going over rumble strips in parking lots which require virtually a dead stop and trying to go over them at an angle.

Manufacturers put in a certain amount of ride height to clear things like rumble strips, steep driveways, and to allow for suspension travel over road surfaces you aren't going to be driving on at the track, like driving over railroad tracks, etc. I just smile and shake my head when I see these kids in their lowered Hondas and such, slowing to a dead crawl to go over any kind of bump in the road, knowing it's probably their daily driver and only car. It's the kind of thing you do when you're young and want to look like a racer.

Gavan Kershaw is pretty nearly a legend for setting up a car chassis, and the Emira you will buy is dialed in for road use by the man himself. The car doesn't "need" a smaller wheel gap. You and maybe others think they need it to have a smaller wheel gap, and for you and how you use your car, that's entirely your personal choice.

As for me, after having rebuilt the better part of a Camaro chassis for a track car, I'm going to leave my Emira alone in that regard. I'm even planning on staying with the Goodyear tires Gavan had Goodyear make specifically for the Emira. I'm expecting the Emira to be nearly the perfect street sports car. Once I have mine and some driving experience in it, it may actually be the perfect street sports car. For me anyways. I'm hoping for closer gear ratios for street speeds rather than top end speeds. It's the first car I've really wanted in a long time.

I'll mediate here:

- The wheel gap thing is purely for aesthetics (for what we are hoping for).
- Lower is usually better for track, but a pain on the street, etc.
- We were just hoping there would be a more aesthetically pleasing wheel gap, but maintain the exact ride quality/handling Gavan and the team designed for it.

Hoping if it is a tad high that some simple lowering cups (as suggested by @TomE) will take care of it. Shouldn't change handling in a noticeable way either.

At risk of repeating myself, I believe Lotus designed the Emira to comfortably fit 21" wheels at the production ride height of 12.5cm.

If you can imagine slightly bigger wheels at the same production height, that should close out the identified gap nicely within the entire wheel arches (not just at the top).

The bigger the wheel, the heavier, and the more of a penalty it exacts on performance. I'm actually surprised they went with a 20. I know Russell's team really leaned heavily on getting the 20 for looks and style purposes, and I can imagine there were some very interesting discussions between Russell's team and Gav's. I would have expected a 19 or maybe even an 18. Though if anyone can make a 20 on a smaller sports car work, it's Gav.

Green said:

Looks like a 4x4 not fine.

eagle 7 logic
LOTUS for the drivers View attachment 4901

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So wheel gap issues are no longer a thing?

I wouldn't say they're no longer a thing, they obviously are for some people and that's their preference, but it certainly isn't a performance issue for a street car.

Let’s be honest here, the vast majority of us are also buying the Emira for its looks. There wouldn’t be half as many deposits if this was just a widened Evora with no external styling changes.

Also there’s a reason the show car was lowered (by lotus themselves), it’s because it looks better.

xen said:

Let’s be honest here, the vast majority of us are also buying the Emira for its looks. There wouldn’t be half as many deposits if this was just a widened Evora with no external styling changes.

Also there’s a reason the show car was lowered (by lotus themselves), it’s because it looks better.

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Absolutely about the looks. Didn’t even know the Emira existed until I walked onto the Lotus stand at Goodwood. Was after a 997 GTS or maybe a 991 GTS or Carrera T (992 both too big with too many electronic toys) but been looking for so long I guess I got bored looking. This thing made you catch your breath. I guess the wife felt the same hence deposit at Goodwood. Know enough about the brand to be very comfortable about the way it will drive.

NicolasB said:

the thing that stands out to me the most are those bright aluminum rotor hats. I would almost want to take them off and get them anodized black, they really catch your eye a bit too much.

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A few hundred miles of brake dust will soon dampen the effect

More from varied social media pages:

xen said:

Let’s be honest here, the vast majority of us are also buying the Emira for its looks. There wouldn’t be half as many deposits if this was just a widened Evora with no external styling changes.

Also there’s a reason the show car was lowered (by lotus themselves), it’s because it looks better.

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Xen, that's already been explained. The blue show car was a studio model that didn't have an engine. It was filled with heavy batteries in the back so a small electric motor could be powered to move it around. That's why it appeared lower. It may look better to you, but not to everybody.

The rest of the car speaks for itself.

Eagle7 said:

Xen, that's already been explained. The blue show car was a studio model that didn't have an engine. It was filled with heavy batteries in the back so a small electric motor could be powered to move it around. That's why it appeared lower. It may look better to you, but not to everybody.

The rest of the car speaks for itself.

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I’d agree with you if the wheels weren’t also offset, the battery pack didn’t do that.

If Lotus wanted the show car raised - heavy batteries or not they could have. I believe (based on the information available and the fact that it was their first public introduction of the Emira to the world) that every thing about the show car was intentional.

Thus I believe the show car was intentionally lowered to give a more aggressive and (generally considered) better look. Put your best foot forward and all.

xen said:

I’d agree with you if the wheels weren’t also offset, the battery pack didn’t do that.

If Lotus wanted the show car raised - heavy batteries or not they could have. I believe (based on the information available and the fact that it was their first public introduction of the Emira to the world) that every thing about the show car was intentional.

Thus I believe the show car was intentionally lowered to give a more aggressive and (generally considered) better look. Put your best foot forward and all.

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Believe what you like. The wheels are canted inward because of the weight, you can see it in pictures of the car at Goodwood. The batteries also ran all the dash lights and demo displays on the screens all day, as well as powering the outside lights.

You are obsessed with wheel gap, but I don't think that was on their mind at Goodwood. Their focus was on public reaction and sales. If they thought it was that important, the running gray car would have been lowered too.

Geez dude, we get it. You are in love with minimal wheel gap. That's fine, it's your preference. Not everybody likes that, and that's okay. Lower your car when you get it. The vast majority of Emira owners aren't likely to be lowering theirs. The factory wheel gap is obviously not hurting sales. We'll all be fine.

Folks I think we all just need to calm down! Life is too short to argue over a wheel gap.

xen said:

What?! I actually tried to have a rational conversation with you. I have never once posted about wheel gaps, not once before my post about the show car - My one point was about a lowered car having a more aggressive look and that being intentional. how am I now obsessed with it?

You’re so far up Lotus’s ass you can’t follow a thread. You should do us all a favour and print out a DV Emira picture, get some candles and get a hotel room so the rest of us can express our opinions in peace without your saccharine fanboyism.

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What was irrational? I was doing the same with you. I didn't say it was bad, just that it's your focus, not everyone's. So just because I don't agree with your viewpoint on something you go ad hominem? I seem to recall in past conversations you mentioning wheel gap; maybe I'm mistaken. My apologies if this was your first mention of it. Others certainly have gone on about it.

I simply explained what was going on with the blue car. I don't agree with your assessment of it, nothing more. I don't agree that it looks better lowered like that. As I stated, it's a matter of personal preference.

Eagle7 said:

What was irrational? I was doing the same with you. I didn't say it was bad, just that it's your focus, not everyone's. So just because I don't agree with your viewpoint on something you go ad hominem? I seem to recall in past conversations you mentioning wheel gap; maybe I'm mistaken. My apologies if this was your first mention of it. Others certainly have gone on about it.

I simply explained what was going on with the blue car. I don't agree with your assessment of it, nothing more. I don't agree that it looks better lowered like that. As I stated, it's a matter of personal preference.

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please read my post again. There was nothing personal, nothing aggressive. I carefully used ‘believe’ so as not to presume what I was saying was factual. I also explained the reasoning behind my message. Next you tell me I’m in love with wheel gaps and obsessed with it because I have an opinion - that’s what’s irrational.

We can have different opinions on the same matter and give our justifications. We seem to clash a bit in the forums so I intentionally try to be neutral. I’ll delete my last post as it was a bit much but you really have to understand that people can disagree with you without denigrating your perspective or person - particularly as pertains your appreciation of the brand.

I hope we can get on a bit better. You bring a lot of value to the forums and are clearly passionate about cars.

Olive branch?

The blue show car was intentionally lower than production height. As many people have pointed out, it gives a more aggressive stance. Any Lotus person at any roadshow with the car would readily tell you this, and about the other non-production elements.

Many manufacturers do this with show cars. Lotus aren’t the first and won’t be the last.

If you want the car to be lower than Lotus build it, it’s an easy modification.

xen said:

please read my post again. There was nothing personal, nothing aggressive. I carefully used ‘believe’ so as not to presume what I was saying was factual. I also explained the reasoning behind my message. Next you tell me I’m in love with wheel gaps and obsessed with it because I have an opinion - that’s what’s irrational.

We can have different opinions on the same matter and give our justifications. We seem to clash a bit in the forums so I intentionally try to be neutral. I’ll delete my last post as it was a bit much but you really have to understand that people can disagree with you without denigrating your perspective or person - particularly as pertains your appreciation of the brand.

I hope we can get on a bit better. You bring a lot of value to the forums and are clearly passionate about cars.

Olive branch?

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Olive branch indeed.