Lotus Emira Track Experience

[emiraspain]

Interesting as it seems the other feedback I've been getting from attendees has been extremely positive. In fact, I think this is the only negative or disappointed review I've read from the Lotus driving experience.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding? To be fair I felt a little car sick reading your review myself.

No, if you read last weeks, there was the guy who said it was over priced and the gear change in the two different cars was quite different and had a few other remarks....

Anyway, thats my take on it.... I'll send you a sick bag

 

[xen]

.
8. Wheel Gap - maybe you all know this, BUT I did not. Touring models have a much bigger wheel gap, about 2 to 3 fingers more than Sports. This is the way the car is designed and yes I am sure all things can be altered, but thats up to you. I am not even going down the road of that discussion, but just wanted to add that.

Wait what?!?!?

 

[emiraspain]

Are we. Sure @emiraspain tested the KEF system? We're the door speaker grills black or silver @emiraspain ?

Yes, not the best photo, but Keff was written there.... silver can be seen, but yes I saw Keff ....
Maybe they need adjusting, maybe no where near the final edition..... again, I can only report on whats in front of me.... and it wasnt great and this is from someone who used to carry a JBL speaker on the plastic dash board in his Ariel Nomad!

 

[emiraspain]

Wait what?!?!?

this is what the driving instructor told me, the same one who has done many hours development work on the Race GT4 version, so I would hope he knows. I certainly dont remember seeing this or hearing it before, but it wouldnt be the 1st thing I have missed on here.

 

[Magicman]

EMIRA left over text

10. Speed - So I could not ask the guy to do a 0-60 test, as not production and I dont think he would have been too obliging and less so if my airbnb breakfast came up to visit the alcantara dash.
What I can say is this, the car feeeeels fast, even when it is not going fast. At 80mph I felt I was doing 100mph. In my Ionic 5 at 80 I feel I am doing 60. Obviously the seating position helps and you are low down etc. For enjoyment and safety, its a good thing if you car feels its going faster than it is, IMO. if you are a track rat, then maybe this isnt ideal but I cant help you there.
I personally think my ionic 5 in sports mode would match or beat it 0-60, which IMO is very bad, but it does have 600 NM torque. I hope to be proven wrong, we shall see when the official cars are statistically tested by the users / journos.
I would add, as I have maintained allllll along, if you want a serious track toy, get something else. Get an Exige, get a GT4, Ariel Atom, Lotus 7/11 whatever, but if you want a cool car that will be fun around a track and great handling, then fine, get the Emira. Just dont expect it to outdo your friends in their tried and tested GT4's or even the boring GTS's.
I would also add, if you have a Ferrari, or an Audi A8, or a GT 3.... any car like that over 100k, why are you here? This car will not be as good, its NOT a competitor to any of these cars, any more than a vantage or an F type is, so dont waste your time. There is nothing about the Lotus Emira that will compare to any ferrari model currently on sale, or any 911 model come to that. Now, if you dont want to run the risk of your ferrari heading into the gravel or worse still the wall, then fine, but do accept this is a milky bar, and you have Lindt, the milky bar tastes great, IF thats what you like, but it will never compare to Lindt for many reasons, components, investment, manufacturing etc etc..

11. THAT RUBBER STRIP - so, one of the guys who was there was Japanese, living in America. He knows quite a lot about Toyota and the Evora and works in Insurance. I will repeat what he said, obviously I DONT know if its true or not, but he thinks it is and its what he has been told.
In the USA, a car must be able to crash at 3mph without any damage being caused. Appppparently, the rubber strip is needed to prevent the front end hitting and damaging the bonnet at that speed.
Make of that what you will, it is not what Lotus have told us and of course it makes no sense that EU/UK cars would follow the same rule... but there you go.
.
12. Components - the same Japanese guy said that Lotus used to use quite a few Toyota parts around the engine, water bottle, tubes, etc etc. Now, looking at the uncovered engine, and its surroundings, which were all on display, the truth is the whole area looked a bit cheap. He said they are using Geely parts instead now, to save money, but they are not the same quality and they certainly dont look great, but you wont see them most of the time I guess.
.
I could go on and I may add some more later, but I think you're bored by now. Obviously being a bit sick dampened my day and having spent 12/17 months waiting and seeing things and talking about it, has taken its toll also. There are very few cars I have gotten into and thought wow, upon driving them, here are a few:
Mercedes SLS. 550 odd NA engine - dangerously quick and yes wow
Ferrari California - yes the cheap ferrari made me want to drive a lot faster than I should
Lotus Exige 380 - so not the most powerful, but wow, yes wow..... great little car, shame its as ugly as a bus joined to a taxi (sorry if u have one, but the Elise is way cuter... the early exige was cool )
Aston DBS - for its looks back then...and engine... cool key too
My first westfield NA 180 HP blacktop zetec engine, still probably my favorite car of all time, but I am sure the Caterham 420 is probably better and I will probably get one, a test drive would be nice though.
I have driven many other cars and I do love my 300HP backdated 911, see profile photo, it is very torquey hah... pulls like a train and such and airy cabin... but I dont think I went wow, I do upon looking at it though.
Its all relative, and nearly everyone on here has driven and probably owned better cars than the Emira, so I think you do need to be prepared and not have unrealistic expectations, which I think is the problem with some journalists. They expected it to be a cayman killer, its not, nothing is or ever will be now, only the 911 has killed the cayman as it prevented it from being as good as it could be, until the very end.
I would also say, IMHO, if you expect this car to be better than the Evora, with 430 HP, and 1250 odd kilos, its physically impossible, no matter what Gav says, how can it be, physics are physics, although a wider track may help in some ways, but not, I doubt very much whether Tom and the other Evora owners will think wow, this is the future.
Clearly its a step fwd in tech, and design and what have you, but basically it is the same car, engine, gear box, chassis // ish, BUT it is legal in the US, EU and is cheaper and for my money looks so much better (the evora looks great at the back, but the rest for me is not great). So again, I think all the reviews are 100% correct.
Harry thinks the car is great, a usable Lotus, a modern day Esprit, looks to die for and usable, with ENOUGH power to get you into trouble, but MORE than enough handling to keep you out of it. Evos arrogant, but truthful criticisms are also true, but like Harry, you probably wont care if you EVEN notice.
I really DO apologise as I realise my comments for the most part are not what some of you wanted to hear, BUT of course you need to try it yourself. I am just one person and I am not a multimillionaire with a car collection the size to fill a rather large barn, nor am I am track animal, clearly not my calling, but I am critical and I do expect a lot from people and companies, too much in most cases.
.
To try to end on a positive note, there is NOTHING out there for less than 85k that looks anywhere near as good! It drives great!! Its almost an exige in a grown ups body, sure it is. It sounds good, different to the 6cyl porsche, but not worse and yes, maybe better. It is a step forward, although other steps could be taken too and maybe they will. I am happy I have one/two on order and I am happy I went manual, but I would be very interested to try the AMG unit when it comes out, why not?
Just be realistic everyone..... I am sure 95% of people going in with their eyes open will be glad they bought the car, BUT, know that Lotus is still the ROMANTIC's choice, not necessarily the best choice, but IT IS MY CHOICE!
attaches some files, even silver wheels...... will talk about colours below with more files.
Again, I maybe too critical, sorry if I have ruined your day a little, go watch harry's vid again

I had a ferrari california, just to tick the ferrari box at the time but it was WAY better than I imagined. Had the carbon buckets, best seats ever, better than the carbon buckets in my gt4.

It was however shoddy built and un reliable

 

[xen]

this is what the driving instructor told me, the same one who has done many hours development work on the Race GT4 version, so I would hope he knows. I certainly dont remember seeing this or hearing it before, but it wouldnt be the 1st thing I have missed on here.

The exact opposite has been widely reported, numerous times. I'd be very shocked if this were true (not doubting your information, just the change)

 

[emiraspain]

I had a ferrari california, just to tick the ferrari box at the time but it was WAY better than I imagined. Had the carbon buckets, best seats ever, better than the carbon buckets in my gt4.

It was however shoddy built and un reliable

but what an engine..
yes I drove one for a weekend from a car club in barcelona where i was a member, they had 2... BOTH of them had a failed gear box within the first year and 5000 km, think they were from the maserati of the time, but the Mercedes SLS also had 2 broken window screens due to the angle they chose to use, the rake...
I now like the Roma, apart from that front grill, but every other ferrari I really think is a bit of a design floor.
I think the older, much older ferraris were far more elegant, the newer ones are almost japanese in their design...

thanks for sharing... u will keep the GT4? or sold it already...

 

[emiraspain]

The exact opposite has been widely reported, numerous times. I'd be very shocked if this were true (not doubting your information, just the change)

There I cannot disagree.... I dont trust most things I hear, but this is certainly how the cars were set up, the guy put his fingers into both gaps..... and seemed to be 100% knowledgeable ... a top driver... and works freelance for Lotus a great deal.

 

[Magma]

EMIRA left over text

10. Speed - So I could not ask the guy to do a 0-60 test, as not production and I dont think he would have been too obliging and less so if my airbnb breakfast came up to visit the alcantara dash.
What I can say is this, the car feeeeels fast, even when it is not going fast. At 80mph I felt I was doing 100mph. In my Ionic 5 at 80 I feel I am doing 60. Obviously the seating position helps and you are low down etc. For enjoyment and safety, its a good thing if you car feels its going faster than it is, IMO. if you are a track rat, then maybe this isnt ideal but I cant help you there.
I personally think my ionic 5 in sports mode would match or beat it 0-60, which IMO is very bad, but it does have 600 NM torque. I hope to be proven wrong, we shall see when the official cars are statistically tested by the users / journos.
I would add, as I have maintained allllll along, if you want a serious track toy, get something else. Get an Exige, get a GT4, Ariel Atom, Lotus 7/11 whatever, but if you want a cool car that will be fun around a track and great handling, then fine, get the Emira. Just dont expect it to outdo your friends in their tried and tested GT4's or even the boring GTS's.
I would also add, if you have a Ferrari, or an Audi A8, or a GT 3.... any car like that over 100k, why are you here? This car will not be as good, its NOT a competitor to any of these cars, any more than a vantage or an F type is, so dont waste your time. There is nothing about the Lotus Emira that will compare to any ferrari model currently on sale, or any 911 model come to that. Now, if you dont want to run the risk of your ferrari heading into the gravel or worse still the wall, then fine, but do accept this is a milky bar, and you have Lindt, the milky bar tastes great, IF thats what you like, but it will never compare to Lindt for many reasons, components, investment, manufacturing etc etc..

11. THAT RUBBER STRIP - so, one of the guys who was there was Japanese, living in America. He knows quite a lot about Toyota and the Evora and works in Insurance. I will repeat what he said, obviously I DONT know if its true or not, but he thinks it is and its what he has been told.
In the USA, a car must be able to crash at 3mph without any damage being caused. Appppparently, the rubber strip is needed to prevent the front end hitting and damaging the bonnet at that speed.
Make of that what you will, it is not what Lotus have told us and of course it makes no sense that EU/UK cars would follow the same rule... but there you go.
.
12. Components - the same Japanese guy said that Lotus used to use quite a few Toyota parts around the engine, water bottle, tubes, etc etc. Now, looking at the uncovered engine, and its surroundings, which were all on display, the truth is the whole area looked a bit cheap. He said they are using Geely parts instead now, to save money, but they are not the same quality and they certainly dont look great, but you wont see them most of the time I guess.
.
I could go on and I may add some more later, but I think you're bored by now. Obviously being a bit sick dampened my day and having spent 12/17 months waiting and seeing things and talking about it, has taken its toll also. There are very few cars I have gotten into and thought wow, upon driving them, here are a few:
Mercedes SLS. 550 odd NA engine - dangerously quick and yes wow
Ferrari California - yes the cheap ferrari made me want to drive a lot faster than I should
Lotus Exige 380 - so not the most powerful, but wow, yes wow..... great little car, shame its as ugly as a bus joined to a taxi (sorry if u have one, but the Elise is way cuter... the early exige was cool )
Aston DBS - for its looks back then...and engine... cool key too
My first westfield NA 180 HP blacktop zetec engine, still probably my favorite car of all time, but I am sure the Caterham 420 is probably better and I will probably get one, a test drive would be nice though.
I have driven many other cars and I do love my 300HP backdated 911, see profile photo, it is very torquey hah... pulls like a train and such and airy cabin... but I dont think I went wow, I do upon looking at it though.
Its all relative, and nearly everyone on here has driven and probably owned better cars than the Emira, so I think you do need to be prepared and not have unrealistic expectations, which I think is the problem with some journalists. They expected it to be a cayman killer, its not, nothing is or ever will be now, only the 911 has killed the cayman as it prevented it from being as good as it could be, until the very end.
I would also say, IMHO, if you expect this car to be better than the Evora, with 430 HP, and 1250 odd kilos, its physically impossible, no matter what Gav says, how can it be, physics are physics, although a wider track may help in some ways, but not, I doubt very much whether Tom and the other Evora owners will think wow, this is the future.
Clearly its a step fwd in tech, and design and what have you, but basically it is the same car, engine, gear box, chassis // ish, BUT it is legal in the US, EU and is cheaper and for my money looks so much better (the evora looks great at the back, but the rest for me is not great). So again, I think all the reviews are 100% correct.
Harry thinks the car is great, a usable Lotus, a modern day Esprit, looks to die for and usable, with ENOUGH power to get you into trouble, but MORE than enough handling to keep you out of it. Evos arrogant, but truthful criticisms are also true, but like Harry, you probably wont care if you EVEN notice.
I really DO apologise as I realise my comments for the most part are not what some of you wanted to hear, BUT of course you need to try it yourself. I am just one person and I am not a multimillionaire with a car collection the size to fill a rather large barn, nor am I am track animal, clearly not my calling, but I am critical and I do expect a lot from people and companies, too much in most cases.
.
To try to end on a positive note, there is NOTHING out there for less than 85k that looks anywhere near as good! It drives great!! Its almost an exige in a grown ups body, sure it is. It sounds good, different to the 6cyl porsche, but not worse and yes, maybe better. It is a step forward, although other steps could be taken too and maybe they will. I am happy I have one/two on order and I am happy I went manual, but I would be very interested to try the AMG unit when it comes out, why not?
Just be realistic everyone..... I am sure 95% of people going in with their eyes open will be glad they bought the car, BUT, know that Lotus is still the ROMANTIC's choice, not necessarily the best choice, but IT IS MY CHOICE!
attaches some files, even silver wheels...... will talk about colours below with more files.
Again, I maybe too critical, sorry if I have ruined your day a little, go watch harry's vid again

Really appreciate all the time you put into your review and your candid honesty. Thank you!

 

[virtualmacho]

Thanks for the write-up @emiraspain . We now have updates on our favorite topics (wheel gap and bonnet strip) and in addition, some new things to chew on (touchpad "intuitiveness" and stereo sound) while we wait for our cars !

 

[vision]

this is what the driving instructor told me, the same one who has done many hours development work on the Race GT4 version, so I would hope he knows. I certainly dont remember seeing this or hearing it before, but it wouldnt be the 1st thing I have missed on here.

I find this "war and peace epic" commendable but what a a load of utter rubbish. Get you do not like the car and regarding KEF, why would you want to test it when you are on a track day and its not the finished product? I honestly give give

 

[Leonard]

EMIRA left over text

10. Speed - So I could not ask the guy to do a 0-60 test, as not production and I dont think he would have been too obliging and less so if my airbnb breakfast came up to visit the alcantara dash.
What I can say is this, the car feeeeels fast, even when it is not going fast. At 80mph I felt I was doing 100mph. In my Ionic 5 at 80 I feel I am doing 60. Obviously the seating position helps and you are low down etc. For enjoyment and safety, its a good thing if you car feels its going faster than it is, IMO. if you are a track rat, then maybe this isnt ideal but I cant help you there.
I personally think my ionic 5 in sports mode would match or beat it 0-60, which IMO is very bad, but it does have 600 NM torque. I hope to be proven wrong, we shall see when the official cars are statistically tested by the users / journos.
I would add, as I have maintained allllll along, if you want a serious track toy, get something else. Get an Exige, get a GT4, Ariel Atom, Lotus 7/11 whatever, but if you want a cool car that will be fun around a track and great handling, then fine, get the Emira. Just dont expect it to outdo your friends in their tried and tested GT4's or even the boring GTS's.
I would also add, if you have a Ferrari, or an Audi A8, or a GT 3.... any car like that over 100k, why are you here? This car will not be as good, its NOT a competitor to any of these cars, any more than a vantage or an F type is, so dont waste your time. There is nothing about the Lotus Emira that will compare to any ferrari model currently on sale, or any 911 model come to that. Now, if you dont want to run the risk of your ferrari heading into the gravel or worse still the wall, then fine, but do accept this is a milky bar, and you have Lindt, the milky bar tastes great, IF thats what you like, but it will never compare to Lindt for many reasons, components, investment, manufacturing etc etc..

11. THAT RUBBER STRIP - so, one of the guys who was there was Japanese, living in America. He knows quite a lot about Toyota and the Evora and works in Insurance. I will repeat what he said, obviously I DONT know if its true or not, but he thinks it is and its what he has been told.
In the USA, a car must be able to crash at 3mph without any damage being caused. Appppparently, the rubber strip is needed to prevent the front end hitting and damaging the bonnet at that speed.
Make of that what you will, it is not what Lotus have told us and of course it makes no sense that EU/UK cars would follow the same rule... but there you go.
.
12. Components - the same Japanese guy said that Lotus used to use quite a few Toyota parts around the engine, water bottle, tubes, etc etc. Now, looking at the uncovered engine, and its surroundings, which were all on display, the truth is the whole area looked a bit cheap. He said they are using Geely parts instead now, to save money, but they are not the same quality and they certainly dont look great, but you wont see them most of the time I guess.
.
I could go on and I may add some more later, but I think you're bored by now. Obviously being a bit sick dampened my day and having spent 12/17 months waiting and seeing things and talking about it, has taken its toll also. There are very few cars I have gotten into and thought wow, upon driving them, here are a few:
Mercedes SLS. 550 odd NA engine - dangerously quick and yes wow
Ferrari California - yes the cheap ferrari made me want to drive a lot faster than I should
Lotus Exige 380 - so not the most powerful, but wow, yes wow..... great little car, shame its as ugly as a bus joined to a taxi (sorry if u have one, but the Elise is way cuter... the early exige was cool )
Aston DBS - for its looks back then...and engine... cool key too
My first westfield NA 180 HP blacktop zetec engine, still probably my favorite car of all time, but I am sure the Caterham 420 is probably better and I will probably get one, a test drive would be nice though.
I have driven many other cars and I do love my 300HP backdated 911, see profile photo, it is very torquey hah... pulls like a train and such and airy cabin... but I dont think I went wow, I do upon looking at it though.
Its all relative, and nearly everyone on here has driven and probably owned better cars than the Emira, so I think you do need to be prepared and not have unrealistic expectations, which I think is the problem with some journalists. They expected it to be a cayman killer, its not, nothing is or ever will be now, only the 911 has killed the cayman as it prevented it from being as good as it could be, until the very end.
I would also say, IMHO, if you expect this car to be better than the Evora, with 430 HP, and 1250 odd kilos, its physically impossible, no matter what Gav says, how can it be, physics are physics, although a wider track may help in some ways, but not, I doubt very much whether Tom and the other Evora owners will think wow, this is the future.
Clearly its a step fwd in tech, and design and what have you, but basically it is the same car, engine, gear box, chassis // ish, BUT it is legal in the US, EU and is cheaper and for my money looks so much better (the evora looks great at the back, but the rest for me is not great). So again, I think all the reviews are 100% correct.
Harry thinks the car is great, a usable Lotus, a modern day Esprit, looks to die for and usable, with ENOUGH power to get you into trouble, but MORE than enough handling to keep you out of it. Evos arrogant, but truthful criticisms are also true, but like Harry, you probably wont care if you EVEN notice.
I really DO apologise as I realise my comments for the most part are not what some of you wanted to hear, BUT of course you need to try it yourself. I am just one person and I am not a multimillionaire with a car collection the size to fill a rather large barn, nor am I am track animal, clearly not my calling, but I am critical and I do expect a lot from people and companies, too much in most cases.
.
To try to end on a positive note, there is NOTHING out there for less than 85k that looks anywhere near as good! It drives great!! Its almost an exige in a grown ups body, sure it is. It sounds good, different to the 6cyl porsche, but not worse and yes, maybe better. It is a step forward, although other steps could be taken too and maybe they will. I am happy I have one/two on order and I am happy I went manual, but I would be very interested to try the AMG unit when it comes out, why not?
Just be realistic everyone..... I am sure 95% of people going in with their eyes open will be glad they bought the car, BUT, know that Lotus is still the ROMANTIC's choice, not necessarily the best choice, but IT IS MY CHOICE!
attaches some files, even silver wheels...... will talk about colours below with more files.
Again, I maybe too critical, sorry if I have ruined your day a little, go watch harry's vid again

It's terrible but my initial take from all of that is they had best be joking about the difference in ride height between Touring and Sports. If after everything that has been discussed my Lotus is riding as high as my GR Yaris which is a rally car.... I'm going to be peeved.
Cheers for your thoughts and for taking the time to do all of the testing and taking of photos and video Superstar

 

[Leonard]

I find this "war and peace epic" commendable but what a a load of utter rubbish. Get you do not like the car and regarding KEF, why would you want to test it when you are on a track day and its not the finished product? I honestly give give

Err because everyone asked him to test it...
Plus he isn't saying he doesn't like the car, he's simply giving an unbiased view on the positives, negatives

 

[emiraspain]

COLOURS
briefly as this is completely personal, but I did a few photos and videos with respect to this.
As before, there was the blue, yellow, nimbus grey, regular grey and green cars there, no magma red.
The green car was dirty by the time I video'd it, sorry.
My feelings, for what they are worth.... The green hides the lines of the car. You don't know its green 90% of the time in 90% of the light; it could be green, grey, black or any dark colour from even the slightest distance, but maybe you guys like the mystery.
Also 1 in 12 men are green colour blind, so this is something to bear in mind. I know people that have seen and love the colour, I am not one of them. I think the Emira's lines are its stand out feature and why dull them down... but each to their own.
The Nimbus looks good in photos and does not look bad in person, but I was not unhappy I didnt take someones advice to order it. I would not be unhappy with that colour, its very unusual and brave, but also its cool, a champagne colour for the ages and I don't think it will get old.
The yellow is yellow, a great colour, but not easy to sell and its not going to suit everyone, but yes looks good.
The blue for me is the standout colour, but yes perhaps a bit too shouty for some. Look at me I have a Lotus, but the thing is, I do (will/hope to) have a lotus and I dont mind people knowing it. It punches out and it was also the cleanest car there....maybe it repels the dirt and water more.. haha

The grey, regular grey looks very ordinary, but I think when its polished and with black wheels, it can also look good.
Ive not seen Magma red in person, but I dont care if people say "is that a ferrari", their problem, not one for me...
I took videos too, of colours, but too large.. i will try and remedy them later

 

[emiraspain]

I find this "war and peace epic" commendable but what a a load of utter rubbish. Get you do not like the car and regarding KEF, why would you want to test it when you are on a track day and its not the finished product? I honestly give give

thanks for your kind words. I do like the car actually, but its all relative, and I am still buying it. This you would know if you read to the war and peace end of the next volume or the one after that, various volumes in war n peace you know.

Why would I not test the stereo, when I was specifically asked by two fellow, and polite members, to do so?

Isn't that what we are here for, to help each other out and share opinions and tit bits of info that we get. I think we all know most of the crap on here has to be taken with a pinch of salt and we all need to make our own minds up, but its a forum, and this crap is what we do... some more than others. Dont read it if you dont want to, but by the number of likes, some people do appreciate the efforts of those very few who have had the chance to drive the car. Up until yesterday I had not even SEEN the car in person.
I had a lot of time to do whatever I wanted during my "track day". 8 hours there, 2 hours on the track, 30 mins eating, leaves me plenty of time to investigate things rather than sitting on my xxxx talking crap to the hospitality staff.
The car is, as Lotus say, about 90-95% finished, and I am sure the Keff stereo is a lot closer than that... maybe it will improve, I just say what I saw / heard.

 

[jimbobc]

Great honest review thanks so much for taking the time

 

[emiraspain]

I have the Kef ls50 wirless in the bedroom. Sounds the dogs for a pair of tiny speakers with built in amp.

Much better than bose in terms of the company knowing how to make great sounding products, so I’ll be disappointed if it isn’t better than the fairly crappy bose in my Macan!

I hope you are right....... lets see the cars once in the showrooms in a few weeks...

 

[Mistral]

Thanks for your attention to detail and taking the trouble to write this up.

Did Lotus ask you to complete a questionnaire at the end of the day so that you could provide some feedback on the overall experience?

 

[Pegasi]

I hope you are right....... lets see the cars once in the showrooms in a few weeks...

Is the KEF system LOUD? Can you hear it at 120KPH with the windows down?

 

[kitkat]

Wait what?!?!?

I’m entirely not surprised — from a spring selection point of view it makes sense too.

Edit: To expand — they’re likely using the exact same dampers just with a different more aggressive valving. Everything else will remain the same except for the springs which are only slightly stiffer than touring. With spring selection, they’re going with off the shelf springs and if you pick the same length spring, with a higher spring rate — then the sports would ride higher than the touring. So instead what they likely did was go with a spring that was shorter and stiffer than the touring springs.

Matching ride heights exactly by only changing spring rate is extremely unlikely for a car mfg picking off the shelf springs. No matter what anyone claims, the ride heights can’t be identical unless they have adjustable or different spring perches.

I’m going with sports legitimately being slightly lower than touring.