Henry Catchpole - Carfection review

[emiraspain]

Yup still waiting on a test drive, but im very up and down on it now and struggling to stay enthused.
I cant decide if Geely hobbled the car to give it mass market appeal.
OR
Lotus knew they couldn't make a class leading car from what they had available, in the time avaialble so purposely dialed it back.
OR
My expectations and excitement a year ago based upon a last hoorah ICE Lotus were just wildly off the mark
I keep thinking I should maybe get the i4, but then I purposely didn't get the 4cyl PDK 718 over the V6 so what would that gain me when the Porsche is still probably the more exciting car with the better gearbox and with an on par engine.
Anyway waffling again...... I think I'm just annoyed with myself that I've waited a year for this car and now there's a big chance its not going to be as expected

I dont think you need the "OR" Leonard, I think you need the AND. And you need much more besides.. haha
Seriously, everything you think is correct, its not one or the other, its ALL. Even the hardest dying lotus fan cannot dream that they can make a car to better its top competitor at the same price point and without 5 years and unlimited resources, it was NEVER going to happen. PERHAPS for their electric sports car they will get closer, but I am not convienced, only the 911's impact of future 718 designs and power will effect the 718 and how close Lotus get.

However, they have been clever and focused on smaller battles, which for me some of them they have lost in the past.
1. They have focused on design and have 90% nailed it.
2. They have focused on interior and have 90% improved it, although we have yet to see if these speakers actually perform to expectations, someone said they were not impressed. I personally dont think the switch gear is 85k quality, its a bit cheap and tacky, not quite ford like, but then again I think the AM Vantage looks awful inside also.
3. They have not had to focus on steering, they just keep it hydraulic and try not to mess it up, seems they 90% managed it.

Everything else, from the engine, luggage space, gear change, red line, 0-60 time etc etc they have accepted their limitations and done what they had to do, its simple. You KNOW everything else is better in a 718 6 cyl, and there are more things besides. In a porsche you "generally" dont have to worry about reliability and its not a FE car anyway, its an FE FINAL edition car haha. I have no doubt things will come up and given the current parts issues, this could be a BIG problem for us when we need a replacement bit as not everything comes from Toyota's providers at all. I can imagine waiting 2 3 4 5 6 months for a replacement part and I can imagine being annoyed to say the least.
So without turning into a multi page document, as eagle said, this is simply a 60k car with a 400HP engine *396/4/2/0 whatever it is in the end, diminishing returns it seems. You are paying 80k for a lot of crap you dont need and to have the car 1st, which is good and BAD for above risks.
I for one dont think Lotus will push prices too much, they will only do this IF porsche do IMO. Porsche GTS 4.0 is what, about 68k (DOES THAT include OTR costs???? Someone tell me, seems to be a lot of people who buy porsches for fun on here haha).
Lotus is already 60k? plus 2.x k so 62k including On The Road costs. If they raise 5k to 67k, before the extras, I dont think they will compete as well with the 718 GTS, which it is clear the reviewers already prefer and I am sure they are right, it is that simple.

Anyway, so I can finish my breakfast, I think you simply need to look at factors 1 2 3 and then weigh those up with the other factors not numbered, which the GTS does much better, or Spyder in your case, and base your decision on that. I personally think you will get the spyder, as you say the looks are not that important to you, and that is just about the main thing the car has going for it, as lets be honest, the spyder's steering is hardly what you would call bad in comparison.
I am getting the car as it is
1. A lotus and more or less British and if I can I try to support our industries, as god knows we need it.
2. It looks stunning
3. I am not a track type driver in general, I wish I were.. so the final details dont worry me too much, although I do not like being misled and I DO expect 0-60 to beat a 718 S real world, which I am sure it wont! bugger.
4. I think there is enough interest in the car to be able to sell it, if I think its 1. too wide, which it is, 2. I am easilly bored... hence writing this post.
hope that clears up your day.... You are such a bad influence, I may end up getting a bloody spyder myself... hah

 

[timbo999]

With regard to the 'front end bite' comments - I seem to remember when the S2 Elise was launched similar comments were made when compared to the S1 as the S2 had significantly narrower front tyres.

Indeed, if I remember rightly, Clarkson on Top Gear said he couldn't get the S2 to turn in on track and Lotus sent someone (can't remember who...) to show him how to drive it properly on TV (essentially a scandi flick).

Nobody mentions S2 Elise and understeer now do they?

 

[PhilCP]

Lotus sent someone (can't remember who...) to show him how to drive it properly on TV

Gavan Kershaw

 

[SJR202]

Long and short of it is to await for the touring set up and see what the reviews are on that (Harry briefly) - not sure why the sport suspension seems to have been sent out to so many journalists when they're testing it on the road.
I know the EVO Anglesea issue was Lotus being unable to provide the car EVO asked for at the time they had the track booked (long in advance).
At somepoint someone will be able to do a 3x comparison test with all the tyre/suspension set up. Im sure dealers will be able to source both for a test drive but whether someone can change their early delivery this late and still get the car soon I dont know.

 

[Eagle7]

Something to keep in mind regarding Henry's review: It's his third time driving the car. He had already done 3,000 miles in the car that Jethro took to the track, so the excitement of new is over for Henry, which is why you don't see him acting excited like this was the first time he'd been in an Emira. Compare that to Chris Harris' drive, which was the first time he'd been in and driven an Emira, or to Harry's video which was the first time he'd been in one driving it himself on public roads.

Chris had nothing but compliments about the handling of the Emira he drove, which had the Tour chassis on Goodyears. Harry was so surprised at how different the first car (Sport chassis) he drove felt on the road, compared to his experience on the track as a passenger while Dan Peck drove him around (Sport with Cup 2's), that he called Lotus who sent him another car the next day with the Tour chassis and Goodyears. The change in his reaction to the Tour chassis was so much that he changed his order spec to Tour.

The two people with the most positive reviews are Chris and Harry, and both were driving the Tour chassis on Goodyears on public roads. The not-so-positive-ish reviews are with the Sport chassis and Goodyears, which Jethro and Henry drove (same car). Apparently Lotus (or maybe Henry) wanted a different car for a newer review which is the yellow one we see him in with this video. The yellow car is Sport with Goodyears though, correct? Henry does not take it to the track, but he notes how there are two different experiences in cornering on the road, with one being great and one not so great depending on the type of corner. There's a consistency here. It's the behavior of the tire designed for the Tour chassis being used on the Sport chassis it wasn't designed for.

Here's my theory... Gavan had both Goodyear and Michelin specifically create their tires for a specific chassis setup; Tour for Goodyear and Sport for Michelin. There are differences in the settings for the two chassis. Gavan said it took Goodyear about 80 different compound tests before they got what he wanted for the Tour chassis. I don't remember exactly how many Michelin went through for the Sport chassis, but I seem to remember at least half as many as Goodyear. If Lotus is simply putting the Goodyears on the Sport chassis with the same settings it has for the Michelins, then this puts the Goodyears at a disadvantage since their compound wasn't designed for those settings the way the Michelin was. If the reason for using the Goodyears is just for all-season use, Michelin should have also made a compound tire specifically for that purpose to be used on the Sport chassis. Michelin has some excellent all-season high-performance tires. Cup 2's should be an optional tire, with a Michelin all-season tire standard for the Sport chassis. This is what customers who are going to use their cars on the roads with the Sport chassis should be getting. The Cup 2's being a deliberately chosen option for those who want that, and Lotus changing the chassis settings at the factory accordingly before delivering the car.

It really isn't fair to Goodyear to take their tire they specifically designed for the Tour chassis as per Gavan's direction, and put it on the Sport chassis with settings for the Michelin Cup 2, and expect the Goodyear to perform the same way as it does on the Tour chassis. The Emira chassis apparently is sensitive enough to be able to tell the difference more so than you would normally expect. I would like to see a test with the Sport chassis and one of Michelin's all-season tires. I'm betting the result would be different than using the Tour-specific Goodyear tire on the Sport chassis.

If there is any silver lining in this, it's the delay in getting parts allows for more time for Lotus to fiddle with the settings to determine what would be best on the Sport chassis for the Goodyear tires. The problem with that is if you then put on the Lotus specific Cup 2's, you don't have the optimal settings. The only problem here I see is one of settings, which can be adjusted. Lotus just needs to publish what they should be for each tire. Maybe some of you going to the Lotus test drive sessions at Hethel can mention this to Lotus. The Michelin specific settings for the Sport chassis need to be changed if the Goodyear tires designed for the Tour chassis are ordered, and let the customer know what the settings should be if they switch to the Lotus specific Cup 2's.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Just adding my two cents…

I was hoping for a more positive review especially in the handling department (I had already accepted adequate-but-not-sensational acceleration.) So, I too am a bit disappointed and continue to lose excitement.

What I had hoped for was an Evora Gt feel, performance and rawness in a sexier shell with a modern day interior.

I’ve watched this Evora review so many times over the last year. Why couldn’t it been just this in a newer shell?! Ugh.

To be objective here. The Emira has same suspension parts as Evora GT, same chassis build style (aluminium and extrusions), same shifter, same engine. I can not imagine that it drives completely different to this Evora. I really do believe that the way the first review's were done, was an issue. Wrong setup for track reviews and road reviews.

If you watch the European reviews, they did not allow this. Meaning on the road they got tour/goodyear. Then at track was sport /cup. No one drove sport/goodyear. And all those reviews were pretty solid. Lotus learned their lesson.

This car will drive as good if not better than a Evora GT in my opinion. Perhaps won't have the rawness. But 90% of the drive with a 100% better interior and quality.

I watched Henry's review again last night to give it another look... I don't think the Emira will be for everyone, and yes he was frustrated from driving a 3rd prototype. But I have no doubt with Geely watching over their 100 Mil investment, are going to push Lotus into a higher gear to sort out issues.

I am calling it now. The Emira will be a future classic. I was on the fence before. But it has all the ingredients, including quirkiness. I like it more after Catchpoole's review. Perfect is boring.

 

[kitkat]

To be objective here. The Emira has same suspension parts as Evora GT, same chassis build style (aluminium and extrusions), same shifter, same engine.

Every photo comparison between the two I could find of suspension shows they are different. Sure they’re both double wishbone setups, but it doesn’t look like there’s much component carryover when it comes to suspension.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Every photo comparison between the two I could find of suspension shows they are different. Sure they’re both double wishbone setups, but it doesn’t look like there’s much component carryover when it comes to suspension.

I just can't imagine that Gavin who setup the Evora's, for the last two years set up the Emira to be worse. It will be different, more so in the tour/goodyear setup. Sport/cup most similar to Evora GT. Perhaps we will feel a little bit of the extra weight and wider track as well.

Everything else is miles better. Ingress, tech, comfort, styling, aero, cooling, fit finish etc. Taking away 10% driving dynamics (from added weight mostly) at the limit to give you 90% better everything else is an easy trade off.

Here is the question - If you were at a lotus dealer and there is an Emira parked beside an Evora, same money, what would you buy? To the average person it's going to be close to 95% Emira.

Now a Cayman gts vs Emira.... I still take the Emira, easily. I'm thinking it's more of a 50/50 split.

Emira does not compete against Evora, it's completely moved on to a different demographic. The Evora never attracted the Porsche buyer enough. Now it does. It achieved it's goal and did it with 90% of the driving dynamics we want. Could Lotus have reduced it's weight using extensive carbon, different seats etc. Yes. That version is still coming no doubt, but at what price. Will you pay 105K+ Pounds? (125K+ USD?) Becomes a much harder decision.

 

[Hedge]

Adjustable Ohlins where standard on the Evora 430 and not a option and being a owner of a 410 GT sport on Cup 2s which i have previously stated is a fantastic handling car and havind had the opportunity to drive a few 430s the difference is massive. It is obviously down to cost Ohlins are not being offered please don’t let anyone tell you this is not the case.

This ^

Maybe it was the cars price point they were worried about?

It’s common knowledge that the marketing team put the 20” front wheels on the car & the engineers are having to work around that. So, I’d not be surprised if the accountants & marketing team made sure it didn’t have adjustable dampers.

Having said that, suspension/damping/chassis/handling development is Lotus special sauce. Their USP. Apart from heritage.

So if that’s not top of the class, with the engine setup from a very old Toyota engine that takes Lotus buyers back to pre-2014 levels of performance, then it’s leaning very heavily on the good looks. Which, admittedly, are great!

And given how good the 2014 Evora was, I’ve no doubt the Emira is a very good car though. It just could’ve been better (as it will be in the near future!)

I dont think you need the "OR" Leonard, I think you need the AND. And you need much more besides.. haha
Seriously, everything you think is correct, its not one or the other, its ALL. Even the hardest dying lotus fan cannot dream that they can make a car to better its top competitor at the same price point and without 5 years and unlimited resources, it was NEVER going to happen. PERHAPS for their electric sports car they will get closer, but I am not convienced, only the 911's impact of future 718 designs and power will effect the 718 and how close Lotus get.

However, they have been clever and focused on smaller battles, which for me some of them they have lost in the past.
1. They have focused on design and have 90% nailed it.
2. They have focused on interior and have 90% improved it, although we have yet to see if these speakers actually perform to expectations, someone said they were not impressed. I personally dont think the switch gear is 85k quality, its a bit cheap and tacky, not quite ford like, but then again I think the AM Vantage looks awful inside also.
3. They have not had to focus on steering, they just keep it hydraulic and try not to mess it up, seems they 90% managed it.

Everything else, from the engine, luggage space, gear change, red line, 0-60 time etc etc they have accepted their limitations and done what they had to do, its simple. You KNOW everything else is better in a 718 6 cyl, and there are more things besides. In a porsche you "generally" dont have to worry about reliability and its not a FE car anyway, its an FE FINAL edition car haha. I have no doubt things will come up and given the current parts issues, this could be a BIG problem for us when we need a replacement bit as not everything comes from Toyota's providers at all. I can imagine waiting 2 3 4 5 6 months for a replacement part and I can imagine being annoyed to say the least.
So without turning into a multi page document, as eagle said, this is simply a 60k car with a 400HP engine *396/4/2/0 whatever it is in the end, diminishing returns it seems. You are paying 80k for a lot of crap you dont need and to have the car 1st, which is good and BAD for above risks.
I for one dont think Lotus will push prices too much, they will only do this IF porsche do IMO. Porsche GTS 4.0 is what, about 68k (DOES THAT include OTR costs???? Someone tell me, seems to be a lot of people who buy porsches for fun on here haha).
Lotus is already 60k? plus 2.x k so 62k including On The Road costs. If they raise 5k to 67k, before the extras, I dont think they will compete as well with the 718 GTS, which it is clear the reviewers already prefer and I am sure they are right, it is that simple.

Anyway, so I can finish my breakfast, I think you simply need to look at factors 1 2 3 and then weigh those up with the other factors not numbered, which the GTS does much better, or Spyder in your case, and base your decision on that. I personally think you will get the spyder, as you say the looks are not that important to you, and that is just about the main thing the car has going for it, as lets be honest, the spyder's steering is hardly what you would call bad in comparison.
I am getting the car as it is
1. A lotus and more or less British and if I can I try to support our industries, as god knows we need it.
2. It looks stunning
3. I am not a track type driver in general, I wish I were.. so the final details dont worry me too much, although I do not like being misled and I DO expect 0-60 to beat a 718 S real world, which I am sure it wont! bugger.
4. I think there is enough interest in the car to be able to sell it, if I think its 1. too wide, which it is, 2. I am easilly bored... hence writing this post.
hope that clears up your day.... You are such a bad influence, I may end up getting a bloody spyder myself... hah

I think you’ve highlighted how far Lotus were behind in so many areas, how far they’ve come and why this is the last ICE car for Lotus. They just can’t compete on engine or transmission.

The review is exactly what I thought it would be. Doesn’t add anything to the mix, although a nice way to spend 15 minutes IMO.

If the Emira isn’t your Lotus keeper, then I reckon everyone needs to get one before they stop selling ICE cars.

Meanwhile real world good news that I’ve heard from some folk who’ve had Evoras say that the seats in the Emira are just about low enough in the cars they say in last week and the production seats will be lower (still waiting for production seats!).

 

[Lotustoronto]

One more thought...

If Lotus would bring a sport setup to the ring, run a time and beat the Cayman GTS time (maybe get very close to the GT4) with one of their drivers.... It would be a truly great piece of marketing. It's time to leave Hethel and put on some big boy pants like everyone else.

 

[Mickle]

One more thought...

If Lotus would bring a sport setup to the ring, run a time and beat the Cayman GTS time (maybe get very close to the GT4) with one of their drivers.... It would be a truly great piece of marketing. It's time to leave Hethel and put on some big boy pants like everyone else.

I don't mean to ruffle feathers but from what I've seen I think a Cayman GTS 4.0 is a fair amount quicker in a straight line than the Emira (which is a huge factor at the Nordschleife).

 

[Lotustoronto]

I don't mean to ruffle feathers but from what I've seen I think a Cayman GTS 4.0 is a fair amount quicker in a straight line than the Emira (which is a huge factor at the Nordschleife).

In PDK 100% ... manual, I'm not sure. Would be close. In theory would come down to driver. HP/Weight very similiar. Maybe get Jenson Button to run a lap!

 

[Lotustoronto]

Here is the lap times from EVO leaderboard. This is without Cup 2's and proper tire setup. Would have a significant difference as we now know from people that have tracked goodyears vs cup 2's.

 

[Lotustoronto]

 

[Hedge]

Here is the lap times from EVO leaderboard. This is without Cup 2's and proper tire setup. Would have a significant difference as we now know from people that have tracked goodyears vs cup 2's.

View attachment 7729

Ouch to to see a base 911 Carrera from 2014(?) still well over half a second a lap quicker. Although conditions might not have helped. Cup2’s will help.

As you said, maybe Lotus need to do some promo stuff. Or maybe they don’t think it will help sales. I don’t think outright performance is what’s selling the car at the moment. It’s ‘fast enough’ is probably their thinking.

Although I wouldn’t bank on it being the fastest car away from the lights in a race with a hot hatch. Not that I’d do such a thing!

 

[emiraspain]

This ^

Maybe it was the cars price point they were worried about?

It’s common knowledge that the marketing team put the 20” front wheels on the car & the engineers are having to work around that. So, I’d not be surprised if the accountants & marketing team made sure it didn’t have adjustable dampers.

Having said that, suspension/damping/chassis/handling development is Lotus special sauce. Their USP. Apart from heritage.

So if that’s not top of the class, with the engine setup from a very old Toyota engine that takes Lotus buyers back to pre-2014 levels of performance, then it’s leaning very heavily on the good looks. Which, admittedly, are great!

And given how good the 2014 Evora was, I’ve no doubt the Emira is a very good car though. It just could’ve been better (as it will be in the near future!)

I think you’ve highlighted how far Lotus were behind in so many areas, how far they’ve come and why this is the last ICE car for Lotus. They just can’t compete on engine or transmission.

The review is exactly what I thought it would be. Doesn’t add anything to the mix, although a nice way to spend 15 minutes IMO.

If the Emira isn’t your Lotus keeper, then I reckon everyone needs to get one before they stop selling ICE cars.

Meanwhile real world good news that I’ve heard from some folk who’ve had Evoras say that the seats in the Emira are just about low enough in the cars they say in last week and the production seats will be lower (still waiting for production seats!).

Its interesting this whole last ICE car, and is the Emira the last developed ICE car of them ALL? Not just Lotus, but anyone's? Who else has developed a "brand new" petrol car and released it within the last year and who else will do so over the next few years? Im not talking about derivatives here, ie a BMW 1 series new M or new GT3 of the 992 or 992.2 next year etc, but a NEW CAR.

Could this be the very last one?
If it is, it will only help residuals for all models. I probably wouldn't keep a car just as I thought it would go up in value, not for long anyway, but it certainly wouldn't hurt the argument for getting one, which in turn helps residuals. The dealers also need to try to control the used markets a little bit, with some help from Lotus.
In some ways it could have been a disaster developing one of the last ICE cars, but in other ways and if Lotus play their cards right, it could be a fortunate decision. They are 3 - 0 up with 15 mins to play, its really in their hands now, Comms is losing them a goal every few minutes though...

 

[chooch13]

In PDK 100% ... manual, I'm not sure. Would be close. In theory would come down to driver. HP/Weight very similiar. Maybe get Jenson Button to run a lap!

Historically, Lotus hasn't fared well against Porsche on the Nordschleife (keep in mind that these would be private testers, as Lotus does not take their cars there) and in my opinion, I don't think that will change. Lotus' are set up for more corners, rather than long straights. To @Mickle 's point though, looking at what is currently available out there in regards to the straight line speed of the Emira, the Cayman GTS 4.0 is no doubt faster (again, straight line speed is not the main attribute of Lotus). Also, the times you are posting are for the Anglesey Coastal Circuit and even then, the Emira could barely beat a base Cayman 981 with 271hp.

In my opinion, Lotus pretty much focused a majority of their attention for the Emira on the interior/exterior looks, rather than the outright performance. In the end, looks will sell a car more than performance for more than 90% of the buyers out there. As a Lotus fan, I am personally waiting for the S/GT to really see the potential of this platform without Lotus holding back so much. Even then, I don't think they will touch the Cayman GT4 for performance on track.

As a disclaimer for those outside of Canada, the Cayman GT4 starts very slightly above an Emira FE over here, so for me, the Emira FE is not worth its price compared to the GT4 in terms of outright performance. I am not too sure what the S/GT will be priced at over here, but I have a feeling that it will not be good value when compared to a GT4 (even if you add $10-15K of Porsche options......which aren't necessary).

 

[kitkat]

I just can't imagine that Gavin who setup the Evora's, for the last two years set up the Emira to be worse. It will be different, more so in the tour/goodyear setup. Sport/cup most similar to Evora GT. Perhaps we will feel a little bit of the extra weight and wider track as well.

Everything else is miles better. Ingress, tech, comfort, styling, aero, cooling, fit finish etc. Taking away 10% driving dynamics (from added weight mostly) at the limit to give you 90% better everything else is an easy trade off.

Here is the question - If you were at a lotus dealer and there is an Emira parked beside an Evora, same money, what would you buy? To the average person it's going to be close to 95% Emira.

Now a Cayman gts vs Emira.... I still take the Emira, easily. I'm thinking it's more of a 50/50 split.

Emira does not compete against Evora, it's completely moved on to a different demographic. The Evora never attracted the Porsche buyer enough. Now it does. It achieved it's goal and did it with 90% of the driving dynamics we want. Could Lotus have reduced it's weight using extensive carbon, different seats etc. Yes. That version is still coming no doubt, but at what price. Will you pay 105K+ Pounds? (125K+ USD?) Becomes a much harder decision.

I’m not sure if that entire text was meant for me or not, I was simply pointing out they’re not the same suspension components.

 

[TomE]

At some point someone will be able to do a 3x comparison test with all the tyre/suspension set up. Im sure dealers will be able to source both for a test drive but whether someone can change their early delivery this late and still get the car soon I dont know.

My understanding is most UK dealers will initially have one showroom display car and one demo driving car, so the opportunity to drive Sports and Touring back to back may not be there. I think this is a mistake and Lotus should ensure all dealers have both setups available to drive during the first 3-6 months. After that they'll all need a V6 and an i4.

There is due to be a central pool of demo cars in addition to the dealer-allocated ones. So for example if a dealer needed a V6 Auto/IPS for a demo drive and didn't have one then it could be loaned from the pool. Hopefully that pool is big enough to enable dealers to give people the demos they want.

For anyone in the first 4-6 months of delivery batches, changing suspension choice now is likely to mean your delivery being delayed by about 6 months. That's the standard line from Lotus at the moment regarding any spec changes.

 

[TomE]

Something to keep in mind regarding Henry's review: It's his third time driving the car. He had already done 3,000 miles in the car that Jethro took to the track, so the excitement of new is over for Henry, which is why you don't see him acting excited like this was the first time he'd been in an Emira. Compare that to Chris Harris' drive, which was the first time he'd been in and driven an Emira, or to Harry's video which was the first time he'd been in one driving it himself on public roads.

Chris had nothing but compliments about the handling of the Emira he drove, which had the Tour chassis on Goodyears. Harry was so surprised at how different the first car (Sport chassis) he drove felt on the road, compared to his experience on the track as a passenger while Dan Peck drove him around (Sport with Cup 2's), that he called Lotus who sent him another car the next day with the Tour chassis and Goodyears. The change in his reaction to the Tour chassis was so much that he changed his order spec to Tour.

The two people with the most positive reviews are Chris and Harry, and both were driving the Tour chassis on Goodyears on public roads. The not-so-positive-ish reviews are with the Sport chassis and Goodyears, which Jethro and Henry drove (same car). Apparently Lotus (or maybe Henry) wanted a different car for a newer review which is the yellow one we see him in with this video. The yellow car is Sport with Goodyears though, correct? Henry does not take it to the track, but he notes how there are two different experiences in cornering on the road, with one being great and one not so great depending on the type of corner. There's a consistency here. It's the behavior of the tire designed for the Tour chassis being used on the Sport chassis it wasn't designed for.

Here's my theory... Gavan had both Goodyear and Michelin specifically create their tires for a specific chassis setup; Tour for Goodyear and Sport for Michelin. There are differences in the settings for the two chassis. Gavan said it took Goodyear about 80 different compound tests before they got what he wanted for the Tour chassis. I don't remember exactly how many Michelin went through for the Sport chassis, but I seem to remember at least half as many as Goodyear. If Lotus is simply putting the Goodyears on the Sport chassis with the same settings it has for the Michelins, then this puts the Goodyears at a disadvantage since their compound wasn't designed for those settings the way the Michelin was. If the reason for using the Goodyears is just for all-season use, Michelin should have also made a compound tire specifically for that purpose to be used on the Sport chassis. Michelin has some excellent all-season high-performance tires. Cup 2's should be an optional tire, with a Michelin all-season tire standard for the Sport chassis. This is what customers who are going to use their cars on the roads with the Sport chassis should be getting. The Cup 2's being a deliberately chosen option for those who want that, and Lotus changing the chassis settings at the factory accordingly before delivering the car.

It really isn't fair to Goodyear to take their tire they specifically designed for the Tour chassis as per Gavan's direction, and put it on the Sport chassis with settings for the Michelin Cup 2, and expect the Goodyear to perform the same way as it does on the Tour chassis. The Emira chassis apparently is sensitive enough to be able to tell the difference more so than you would normally expect. I would like to see a test with the Sport chassis and one of Michelin's all-season tires. I'm betting the result would be different than using the Tour-specific Goodyear tire on the Sport chassis.

If there is any silver lining in this, it's the delay in getting parts allows for more time for Lotus to fiddle with the settings to determine what would be best on the Sport chassis for the Goodyear tires. The problem with that is if you then put on the Lotus specific Cup 2's, you don't have the optimal settings. The only problem here I see is one of settings, which can be adjusted. Lotus just needs to publish what they should be for each tire. Maybe some of you going to the Lotus test drive sessions at Hethel can mention this to Lotus. The Michelin specific settings for the Sport chassis need to be changed if the Goodyear tires designed for the Tour chassis are ordered, and let the customer know what the settings should be if they switch to the Lotus specific Cup 2's.

Yes, the yellow car is Sports + Goodyears, like the Shadow Grey used for the Monaco and Anglesey tests. Henry wanted a car for another review after the first round of reviews (published in early June) and again asked for Sports, hence why it's the same spec.

A couple of corrections on other points.

The Lotus-specific tyre structures and compounds were primarily developed by Lotus and the manufacturers around the two main applications, so Touring = Goodyears and Sports = Michelins. But the Goodyears were also developed with use on Sports in mind. Lotus wouldn't offer an option (Sports + Goodyears) they hadn't fully developed and tested.

There are three different geometry setups to cater for the three suspension/tyre combinations being offered by Lotus, not just two setups based on suspension:

• Touring + Goodyears
• Sports + Goodyears
• Sports + Michelins

So cars leaving the factory will have their geometry optimised for the suspension and tyre you specify.

These geo setups will be published in the owners manual, as with previous Lotus cars. So if you switch tyres you'll know which setup adjustments to make.

You don't necessarily have to make the changes if you switch. For example if you run Sports + Goodyears as a road car and have a second set of wheels with Michelins you swap onto the car for a few track days each year. You might notice the slight differences near the limit from not changing the geo to match.

It's also possible to do Touring + Michelins as an option for someone who runs their Emira as a road car with a spare set of wheels with Michelins for track days. Gavan confirmed this was also a valid setup, although not offered by Lotus on new cars. If there isn't a geometry setup in the owners manual for this I'm sure one will be available via other routes.

People will also experiment with other tyre choices and geometry setups and I'm sure those will get shared on here and other forums, as has happened for the previous cars.