Why make the statement if you do not have any empirical data?
Thanks for the question. Happy to answer.
For those reading this thread, this started over in the test drives reaction thread and got moved over here because we started talking lap times. But it's important to know it started in the test drives thread. Their started to be a number of people who had their test drives and were underwhelmed by the cars power. So they started to claim it to be a lesser capable car than previous cars, and implying that Lotus had to be lying about it's ability. All of this b/c their butt dyno told them so.
My initial comment was to give my experience from my test drive. It feels like a momentum car. It feels like it has a great chassis, nice suspension, and good enough power that if you keep it in the right gear could be great on a track. We also know the car has better aero than previous cars. I then further went on to say that until Lotus is proven wrong, I think we have to believe them at their word. What feels more likely? That they built a slower car than the Exige/Evora and just LIED about it OR that they have great chassis engineers who probably found a way to make the Emira eek out a tenth over previous cars so they could honestly say it's faster than it's predecessors? I'm going to give Lotus the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Not just b/c of people's butt dynos.
Speaking of empirical data, you must have missed the following posts after. Large thread, can't blame you. So let me help summarize:
EVO Magazine has had two non-cup car Lotus's on the Anglesey Coastal Circuit.
Emira V6 - 1:18.50 (On Goodyears)
Exige V6 S - 1:19.10
If you then look up that race way and it's fastest laps you will find other Lotus cars for comparison:
Exige S 1:22.20
Lotus Evora: 1:24.90
Looking at Le Mans (Buggatti) the Evora 400 was about 5 seconds faster over a 2 minute course than an Evora. Back of the envelope math, that would mean you'd expect it to be 3.5 seconds faster than an Evora on Anglessey (1:21.40).
So an Evora 400 is about 2.9 seconds slower than the Emira (on Goodyears) around Anglesey Coastal Circuit.
The Evora 400 does a 1:30.8 around Hethel on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. So the Emira on Goodyears is probably close to 127.9 on Goodyears around Hethel if you assume the same 2.9 second gap on similar length tracks.
That would place it behind the 1:27.5 Exige Sport 380 (on Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires) and the 1:26.8 Evora GT430 Sport (on Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires) around Hethel.
The question everyone should then ask, is how much time are the Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires worth on track. If it's a half second, then the Emira is ahead of the Exige Sport 380. If it's worth 1.1 seconds, then it's neck and neck with the Evora GT430 Sport. My time in racing cars would say that the tire difference could very well put it ahead.
So yeah, I'm going to believe Lotus for now and listen less to the butt dynos.