i4 FE - When are we going to see it? Getting annoyed

[frazzer]

I think on the road, it will be hard to notice the different, as the V6 is already a great handling car, on the track is where the i4 will come into its own.. It just won't have the theatre of the v6 which for me is actually a big thing

Likewise the overall experience is what matters to me, and the visceral nature of the V6 will be hard to match with the i4. Matt suggested I could have both , impractical in my case, no space and a little excessive. But the point is they're different experiences and feel like different cars to drive. I will likely stick with the V6 which I love.

 

[lynchy73]

Likewise the overall experience is what matters to me, and the visceral nature of the V6 will be hard to match with the i4. Matt suggested I could have both , impractical in my case, no space and a little excessive. But the point is they're different experiences and feel like different cars to drive. I will likely stick with the V6 which I love.

My guess is that AMG are not giving away their engines on the cheap. The weight distribution will be better with a lighter engine and if the weight is a little close to the centre, that isn’t going to hurt handling.

 

[frazzer]

My guess is that AMG are not giving away their engines on the cheap. The weight distribution will be better with a lighter engine and if the weight is a little close to the centre, that isn’t going to hurt handling.

It's cheaper because the V6 needs to be stripped down in places and modified, this takes a lot longer and adds a lot of cost. Labour is a major factor in cost.

 

[lynchy73]

Likewise the overall experience is what matters to me, and the visceral nature of the V6 will be hard to match with the i4. Matt suggested I could have both , impractical in my case, no space and a little excessive. But the point is they're different experiences and feel like different cars to drive. I will likely stick with the V6 which I love.

If price was within 10% like it is the UK and many markets, then I’d seriously consider the V6 versus AMG. When the V6 costs a 30% premium over the ANG I4, I think I’ll suffer the noise of the AMG engine

 

[Nova]

It's cheaper because it's cheaper to build, the assembly time is significantly lower than the V6

That may be, but they didn't have to sell it cheaper. That's why I said it was an odd choice.

 

[Hethel Merman]

It's cheaper because it's cheaper to build, the assembly time is significantly lower than the V6

How long does it take AMG to build the i4 vs. Toyota and their V6?

 

[New to Lotus]

No way is the v6 cheaper than the amg engine even if they do some engine work which as far as I know is just bolting on a supercharger, an hours work when the motor comes in a crate!.

 

[eriegz]

Firstly can I say what a genuinely decent and humble guy he is

I know the following is somewhat of a detour, but the above remark bothers me for some reason. Nobody on here doubts that Matt is a nice guy. Or rather, nobody cares. Because when it comes down to it, we're his customers, not his buddies. All that matters is how well he runs the company, not how humble or what a nice guy he is. What consolation is if for an Emira owner whose car has been in the shop for the last 3 months to hear that Matt is actually a really nice guy? Or what consolation is it to all the forum members who've complained (rightly so) about Lotus' poor communication / customer support, or about Lotus reneging on their price promise, to hear that Matt is really humble? It's irrelevant. Fix my car, tell me when my damn order is shipping, and keep your promises.

Sorry I know that this harsh rant came out of nowhere. It's just that there's so much valid criticism and feedback that forum members have been providing to Lotus, and it often feels like it falls on deaf ears. And so it's especially annoying to hear that after one lucky customer had the serendipitous chance to spend a few hours of one-on-one time with the boss, that the main takeaway was that he's a "really nice guy". I would've rather heard that he spent the 3 hours apologising to you and Emira customers everywhere on behalf of Lotus, and promising to make things better.

 

[Beardedbradley]

I know the following is somewhat of a detour, but the above remark bothers me for some reason. Nobody on here doubts that Matt is a nice guy. Or rather, nobody cares. Because when it comes down to it, we're his customers, not his buddies. All that matters is how well he runs the company, not how humble or what a nice guy he is. What consolation is if for an Emira owner whose car has been in the shop for the last 3 months to hear that Matt is actually a really nice guy? Or what consolation is it to all the forum members who've complained (rightly so) about Lotus' poor communication / customer support, or about Lotus reneging on their price promise, to hear that Matt is really humble? It's irrelevant. Fix my car, tell me when my damn order is shipping, and keep your promises.

Sorry I know that this harsh rant came out of nowhere. It's just that there's so much valid criticism and feedback that forum members have been providing to Lotus, and it often feels like it falls on deaf ears. And so it's especially annoying to hear that after one lucky customer had the serendipitous chance to spend a few hours of one-on-one time with the boss, that the main takeaway was that he's a "really nice guy". I would've rather heard that he spent the 3 hours apologising to you and Emira customers everywhere on behalf of Lotus, and promising to make things better.

All fair comments in my opinion

 

[Superman]

No way is the v6 cheaper than the amg engine even if they do some engine work which as far as I know is just bolting on a supercharger, an hours work when the motor comes in a crate!.

There is a significant amount of work on the V6 gearbox, including machining the housing, replacing internals with Lotus spec parts, I would have thought this would take many hours in itself...

Although there is also work on the i4 gearbox, as they put the 4wd internals (hardened, I believe) into a RWD casing, but this is more of a straight swap, no machining work, as all AMG/Merc supplied parts.

 

[New to Lotus]

We had this debate 18 months ago the v6 gets a supercharger bolted on and the gearbox gets 2 shafts and a couple of gears hardened. That's it, oh and by the way the supercharger is a less efficient model than what's on the outgoing evora and the gearbox which is a aisin diesel needed them hardening as they broke all down to cost.
The amg unit with dct box costs a lot more I'm sure matt said as much saying the v6 profit offsets the cost of the i4.

 

[2BIG2FAIL]

Maybe I am biased because I am an I4 depositor, and we obviously haven't seen them yet, but I have a hunch the I4 is going to be pretty similar if not better than the V6.

That combined with the above comment RE: cost of the AMG unit + DCT vs. the V6 makes me struggle to wrap my head around Lotus' decision to sell the V6 at all, but maybe I am missing something. Functionally, it seems like if Lotus wanted, they could easily push the I4 performance to meet or exceed that of the V6 based on what I have read about what people have done to the I4 in existing Mercedes cars and rumored 400hp performance out of the Chinese I4 variant.

I am by no means a mechanic, but I do see the desire of some to have a manual transmission. Is it not possible to fit a manual transmission to the AMG engine?

 

[Tokion]

I was lucky to spend many hours with MW a few weeks ago (it wasn't planned, I lucked out). Firstly can I say what a genuinely decent and humble guy he is, that's not me being nice, that's my observation over a whole day at Hethel. Anyway, he told me the handling on the i4 is noticeably better due to the aluminium rear chassis assembly. In fact he wished he could have re-engineered the V6 rear steel assembly but there just wasn't budget for the R&D and risk involved over using the existing design. I assume this is the engine sitting lower and perhaps further forward and the gearbox is better located for balance. Now the V6 handling is a serious benchmark so expect great things. Just throwing that in here to keep the i4 depositors enthusiastic.

I have a V6 and was tempted to put a deposit on a i4, though with recent increases in price may hold for now.

Hi frazzer,
Thanks for reporting about your time with MW, and especially the very positive comments about the better handling of the I4 due to the aluminium rear chassis. There is also a documented total weight advantage of the I4 (with aluminium chassis), even though some of the advantage get “eaten” by the heavier Dual Clutch Transmission. In addition, the center of gravity of the I4 is lower, since the engine is mounted deeper into the engine compartment. This is all entirely positive for exactly ‘the handling’ that is Lotus’ most famous trait, and the pillar of the Lotus brand.

We I4 aficionados believe in this version of the Emira, and we have steadfastly kept our beliefs (despite the endless wait and total lack of any information), and we hope at least to be rewarded by the I4 unveiling, and seeing it going up the Goodwood hill in style

I am hoping there are more I4 aficionados here at the Emira Forum that will join me being more vocal in support of the I4. I cannot see why there wouldn’t be many passionate supporters of the I4 among our own members that strongly prefer this I4 version of the Emira

 

[likeakidonchristmaseve]

Maybe I am biased because I am an I4 depositor, and we obviously haven't seen them yet, but I have a hunch the I4 is going to be pretty similar if not better than the V6.

That combined with the above comment RE: cost of the AMG unit + DCT vs. the V6 makes me struggle to wrap my head around Lotus' decision to sell the V6 at all, but maybe I am missing something. Functionally, it seems like if Lotus wanted, they could easily push the I4 performance to meet or exceed that of the V6 based on what I have read about what people have done to the I4 in existing Mercedes cars and rumored 400hp performance out of the Chinese I4 variant.

I am by no means a mechanic, but I do see the desire of some to have a manual transmission. Is it not possible to fit a manual transmission to the AMG engine?

My contacts in the factory report on speaking to those who have tested it the I4 is even better than the V6. They also say they do not believe the chinese are getting 400hp versions, although I am sure we will see it in the future. That engine has already been tuned to 500hp.

 

[Nova]

Maybe I am biased because I am an I4 depositor, and we obviously haven't seen them yet, but I have a hunch the I4 is going to be pretty similar if not better than the V6.

That combined with the above comment RE: cost of the AMG unit + DCT vs. the V6 makes me struggle to wrap my head around Lotus' decision to sell the V6 at all, but maybe I am missing something. Functionally, it seems like if Lotus wanted, they could easily push the I4 performance to meet or exceed that of the V6 based on what I have read about what people have done to the I4 in existing Mercedes cars and rumored 400hp performance out of the Chinese I4 variant.

I am by no means a mechanic, but I do see the desire of some to have a manual transmission. Is it not possible to fit a manual transmission to the AMG engine?

I can think of at least 2 reasons. One is that the V6 would be quicker to market because it's a tried and true platform for them. Second is that the V6 is available with a manual transmission.

Mercedes does not have a manual transmission that works with the M139.

 

[valentinewang]

It's like a comedy drama for i4, Chinese people even don’t know where the car is…due to the language and “wall”, lots Chinese couldn’t use this website.

 

[Cutting42]

It's like a comedy drama for i4, Chinese people even don’t know where the car is…due to the language and “wall”, lots Chinese couldn’t use this website.

Welcome to the site, are you awaiting an i4? Can you translate this screenshot please?

 

[JClem]

Welcome to the site, are you awaiting an i4? Can you translate this screenshot please?

Google translate

 

[ADC]

Google translate

...

A "waiting gift"... of "Lotus points"... somebody at Lotus has sick sense of humour

 

[simonb]

Alfa did waiting gifts when 4C timings drifted
Was a nice touch
They did it for British deposit holders, not just nationals of the company