First viewing at Bell & Covill

[LotusAmateur]

When did you put your initial deposit down, may I ask?

Mid day 7 July

 

[frazzer]

Few extra bits of info on the exhaust on the V6 I got last night
- it's a titanium exhaust system
- despite the OPF it 'howls' and has plenty of presence. Couldn't get a clear answer if the test car has an OPF fitted or not
- The valves open up gradually from 4000rpm rather than the on/off switching at 4500 as in the Evora.
- It sounds great.

On the i4 they are working to get the best note out of it

 

[Pegasi]

My understanding is that the exhaust has cutouts of the Lotus badge. If the exhaust has cutouts and looks like below... Maybe a stupid question, but how will you keep this clean and not looking black after a few drives unless you detail it after every drive???

 

[Racer X]

I snapped a quick photo of the magma red next to my Ferrari key which is painted Rosso Corsa metallic for comparison. It is slightly darker but not nearly as dark as it appears in the configurator.

View attachment 539

Looks kind of like Rosso Magma

 

[Racer X]

So I managed to get to B&C last night to view the Emira. I have to say I came away underwhelmed. The car looks good from the outside - but I have to say some of the Final Edition Exiges looked absolutely stunning to me. But sitting in the Emira was a big disappointment: it really did not feel special or exciting; neither as thrilling as a stripped-back Elise, nor as efficiently comfortable and functional as a Porsche, nor as downright special as British or Italian exotica where just getting in is an occasion. The Emira was none of these; I just found it pretty bland.

I think it's my age, but I really dislike big touchscreens controlling everything in cars. I crave something tactile, and touchscreens and touch pads on the steering wheel really don't do it for me. I want to feel like I'm driving a car, not an iPad with wheels, and the Emira's central display just looks stuck on (my wife actually assumed it was a removable tablet). I'm all for digital displays where appropriate, but please give me at least an old-fashioned rev counter with a needle, and some controls that I can feel. I buy my cars to drive them, both on the road and on the track and the interior, where I spend most of my time, is more important than having a sexy exterior.

So I will be following the Emira's journey with interest and fully understand why everyone is so excited about it. I wish Lotus every success, but sadly it's not for me and I will not be coming along on the journey this time; I have just cancelled my order.

Travelling back from B&C my overwhelming feeling was: how sad that the Elise and Exige are no more - true drivers' cars, unlike anything else available, and the like of which we will probably never see again.

Lotus est mort. Vive Lotus.

I was a bit disappointed by the lack of switches and physical gauges myself. I wear an automatic watch because I like the jewel-like look and feel of it. Posrche did a decent job with their 992, keeping the mechanical tach while integrating screens for other functions.

 

[Jonhklee]

Looks kind of like Rosso Magma

That colour looks stunning!

 

[Lotushavefun]

Looks kind of like Rosso Magma

The Red on the Sample looks more Red, than what's on Lotus website. I kinda like it.

 

[Emira]

Just back from seeing it at B&C. Definitely lived up to expectations, and can't wait to get it. The only thing that's thrown me is the colours. I was dead-set on green but it's simply far too dark for my liking. That means it'll either be the blue (but I imagine this will be so common) or perhaps the yellow. Decisions decisions. For what it's worth, the red looked much nicer in real life - a lot darker than some of the pictures on here present it as (always going to be fighting a losing battle with the variables around cameras, monitors, lighting etc).

 

[kratedisease]

Just back from seeing it at B&C. Definitely lived up to expectations, and can't wait to get it. The only thing that's thrown me is the colours. I was dead-set on green but it's simply far too dark for my liking. That means it'll either be the blue (but I imagine this will be so common) or perhaps the yellow. Decisions decisions. For what it's worth, the red looked much nicer in real life - a lot darker than some of the pictures on here present it as (always going to be fighting a losing battle with the variables around cameras, monitors, lighting etc).

any pics or video ?

 

[Emira]

any pics or video ?

Took one pic of the car, and certainly wouldn't have been able to add anything over what's already been posted I don't think.

 

[DaaS]

My understanding is that the exhaust has cutouts of the Lotus badge. If the exhaust has cutouts and looks like below... Maybe a stupid question, but how will you keep this clean and not looking black after a few drives unless you detail it after every drive??A?

View attachment 540

Use a small electric pressure washer.

 

[TomE]

O

My understanding is that the exhaust has cutouts of the Lotus badge. If the exhaust has cutouts and looks like below... Maybe a stupid question, but how will you keep this clean and not looking black after a few drives unless you detail it after every drive???

View attachment 540

On the First Editions the tailpipe exterior trim is black, as is the rear diffuser. I plan to let any internal silvery bits get coked up and leave them that way. Cleaning it will be a never-ending job!

 

[Emira]

I was speaking to Scott today about the tailpipes, and he whipped out his "Emira manual", which said that as standard the FE will come with silver tips. If you spec the black pack, that's when the tips turn black.

I know, I know...it conflicts with the configurator...and you'd think the "Lower Black Pack" as standard would cover the pipes too, but apparently it doesn't!

 

[TomE]

Scott needs to tell his colleagues who are doing Q&A around the car, they gave a different answer!

And it is a bit odd that Lower Black Pack includes a black rear diffuser but silver tailpipe.

 

[Emira]

Interesting...! There has been some changes around the black pack...I remember when the configurator first went live (post FE reveal) and you could either have nothing or the Black Pack. But now it's the LBP as standard, or the BP as an £1200 option.

Perhaps something has been lost in translation along the way. I did read it in Scott's manual with my own eyes, but who knows if there's been a mistake along the way.

 

[kratedisease]

Can anyone going to attend this reveal ask one of the LOTUS reps if these colors will carry over going forward into 2023 model year production ?

 

[Speedluvver]

Lotus really do need to get their shit together..... the configurator right now has the lower black pack as std which includes the black tail pipe finishers. Different people at the event said different things on those type of details - but to buyers of a car like this - the detail is key.
I know they have loads of deposits - way more than they were expecting - but don't lose customers on spec details like this....

 

[kratedisease]

Lotus really do need to get their shit together..... the configurator right now has the lower black pack as std which includes the black tail pipe finishers. Different people at the event said different things on those type of details - but to buyers of a car like this - the detail is key.
I know they have loads of deposits - way more than they were expecting - but don't lose customers on spec details like this....

This issue with configurators is quite common to other brands.

The C8 configurator/visualizer on launch was ALSO full of weird issues that prospective buyers were complaining about.

Lotus subcontracts out the website, so most likely the web designer is not up to speed as to how different options need to be displayed.

 

[TomE]

It’s frustrating the mixed answers from different people. I had a long chat with Scott and covered a lot of my questions, including referring to the product brief document you saw.

For the LBP/BP I went round the car with another one of factory team so I could itemise which was in what. Now looks like that was wrong

 

[Speedluvver]

It’s frustrating the mixed answers from different people. I had a long chat with Scott and covered a lot of my questions, including referring to the product brief document you saw.

For the LBP/BP I went round the car with another one of factory team so I could itemise which was in what. Now looks like that was wrong

Fully agree Tom - I have even heard that Scott has given 2 different answers on when the i4 FE will come - that's not the Scott I know, so I wonder if there is something lost in translation... I asked Lotus directly btw - and they said q4 2022 still for the i4 FE