Lotus Emira vs 2023 Corvette Z06

[Cachaco131]

I agree with above. I own an manual M2CS with carbon ceramics and it is under rated out of the factory at 444bhp. At the wheels some have dyno'ed it at 482, close to 500 at the crank. Honestly, it's too fast for the road. It's just about perfect for the track. I am a serious amateur enthusiast driver with 4-8 track days per year and virtually every weekend out driving.

Now given that, I am 99% sure the Emira FE will be slower but more fun than my CS. More light weight, supercharged throttle response, lower center of gravity, dedicated sports car chassis, Lotus tuning and handling.

Lastly, for perspective I also have an manual R56 Mini Cooper S on Ohlins R&T and other handling mods, and stock engine besides intercooler. It is by far the most fun on the road and even in flat the twisties. Lightweight matters for enjoyment and cars are getting HEAVY. Only up hill in the mountains does it fall behind the M2CS in fun given only 178hp.

So I am so excited for my FE manual, sport suspension coming in Oct or Nov. Pretty sure it's going to be the most fun car I have ever owned and I love my CS and Mini.

My R56 is a blast and humbles most $100k+ sports cars in tight turns. Shame it's not a great highway commuter, but it's a lot of fun and makes my F80 feel like a pig.

 

[firstlotus]

Then you can go watch this one.

That was great, thanks...!

 

[xen]

I never understood the "too much power for the street" mindset. Do people think the gas pedal is an on/off button? Not trying to be a jerk here, but genuinely confused. Do folks not have self control or the ability to modulate their speed with their foot?

I daily drive a quick 3.1sec 0-60 car, and while 90% of the time I don't need it, the other 10% of the time I'd gladly take more. In other words, it's very enjoyable to always have enough power on tap at virtually any moment. It's actually saved me from a few dangerous situations on the road. I honestly can't ever think of a time I've thought ,"this car has too much power" in any vehicle I've ever driven.

I have no doubt the Emira will be a blast to drive for what it is, but are people just trying convince themselves it will be enough? Or maybe it's because many Lotus enthusiasts live in the UK with smaller and rougher roads?

Same here, it’s really just confirmation bias. The litmus test - give the same people a chance to swap their cars for a 550bhp Emira at no cost and see how many respond with a few paragraphs about how 400bhp is perfect and decline the offer.

Conversely should Lotus release a much lighter version would they complain and ask Lotus to detune their engines to keep the magical balance as their car is now too fast for the road.

I have my doubts in either case.

400bhp is a good number for the Emira but let’s stop pretending like more wouldn’t make for a better car.

 

[Cachaco131]

Same here, it’s really just confirmation bias. The litmus test - give the same people a chance to swap their cars for a 550bhp Emira at no cost and see how many respond with a few paragraphs about how 400bhp is perfect and decline the offer.

Conversely should Lotus release a much lighter version would they complain and ask Lotus to detune their engines to keep the magical balance as their car is now too fast for the road.

I have my doubts in either case.

400bhp is a good number for the Emira but let’s stop pretending like more wouldn’t make for a better car.

"Better" is subjective. My E46 M3 at ~330hp is underpowered by today's standards, but I can use all of it and it can put down the power relatively well. More power would actually make that car "worse" for me, it would be less easy to push the limits without sudden surprises, and it would turn it into more of a muscle car, which I dislike. I'll never buy any American muscle car. So not everyone agrees with your point of view. My F80 has a lot more hp and is scarier and I trust it a lot less than the E46. Ask me which one will I sell first...

 

[richbrown]

View attachment 1075

Is anyone considering ordering the new Z06? Pricing hasn't been officially released, but it's rumored to start around $90k. Totally different animal then the Emira. 670hp & 0-60 in 2.1 secs. I only ask since the pricing could be close to the Emira FE.

Did have a good look at this as have seen the mighty Corvettes thunder round Le Mans many times. Finally with RHD so ready for UK roads. Like the front but rear end design not great and just looks a bit of mess sadly.

 

[xen]

"Better" is subjective. My E46 M3 at ~330hp is underpowered by today's standards, but I can use all of it and it can put down the power relatively well. More power would actually make that car "worse" for me, it would be less easy to push the limits without sudden surprises, and it would turn it into more of a muscle car, which I dislike. I'll never buy any American muscle car. So not everyone agrees with your point of view. My F80 has a lot more hp and is scarier and I trust it a lot less than the E46. Ask me which one will I sell first...

Pushing 500bhp through a Model T also wouldn't make it a better car - but you knew that already.

We're speaking about the Emira here that's already had more power in a lighter configuration with zero complaints about usability. Adding a lot more power to a 20 year old car on a 20+ year old platform isn't really a comparison now is it.

 

[Leonard]

I never understood the "too much power for the street" mindset. Do people think the gas pedal is an on/off button? Not trying to be a jerk here, but genuinely confused. Do folks not have self control or the ability to modulate their speed with their foot?

Smaller more bendy roads is definitely a consideration in UK
The main reason around talking about too much power (in my humble opinion) is more power generally means less useable power in regards being given able to work your engine through the rev range repeatedly so you get that full engagement of working through the gears up to the higher rev range. No fun doing triple digit speeds in a mere few seconds (or less) for a lot of folk

 

[xen]

Smaller more bendy roads is definitely a consideration in UK
The main reason around talking about too much power (in my humble opinion) is more power generally means less useable power in regards being given able to work your engine through the rev range repeatedly so you get that full engagement of working through the gears up to the higher rev range. No fun doing triple digit speeds in a mere few seconds (or less) for a lot of folk

This is fair but the vast majority of modern performance cars are already ‘too much’ for the road by that metric. A 250bhp hot hatch is essentially what’s being described.

Regarding useable power, most of the performance cars today are forced induction. You get peak torque fairly early in the rev range so you really don’t ever need to work the engine hard.

You don’t get full power everywhere so a 600bhp car doesn’t mean you tap the throttle and kick the rear out. It just means you have a ton of headroom should you need it.

 

[Leonard]

This is fair but the vast majority of modern performance cars are already ‘too much’ for the road by that metric. A 250bhp hot hatch is essentially what’s being described.

Regarding useable power, most of the performance cars today are forced induction. You get peak torque fairly early in the rev range so you really don’t ever need to work the engine hard.

You don’t get full power everywhere so a 600bhp car doesn’t mean you tap the throttle and kick the rear out. It just means you have a ton of headroom should you need it.

No I do see the argument. Although I do actually think 300bhp is the sweet spot for the road, 400bhp is more than enough If I lived in the USA may be a different story

 

[EspritGuy]

I was watching a podcast on The Smoking Tire with Chris Harris and they were discussing the issue of too much power for the street, and how it actually takes away the enjoyment of driving. Some cars are getting so powerful and such a handful, that you can't for a second take your focus away from keeping it under control. It was very interesting to hear the host and Harris talking about how they've become no longer impressed with tons of horsepower, but are more interested in other aspects of a car as whether or not it's a good or great car.

I feel the same way. How much power do I need to enjoy driving the car? My AWD Alfa Romeo Giulia has about 300 hp (I have a tune), weighs about 3,700 lbs, and it's a lot of fun to drive. That's a weight to power ratio of 12.33. According to Car&Driver, their test car did 0-60 in 5.5 seconds. The Emira FE is supposed to be about 3200 lbs with 416 hp, so that's a weight to power ratio of 7.69. With being 500 lbs lighter, and having 116 more horsepower than my Alfa, it's going to feel a LOT faster, so if driving the Alfa is fun, how much more of a blast is the Emira going to be?

If people were honest, the 0-60 debate isn't about speed but rather bragging rights.

 

[Ronin]

View attachment 1075

Is anyone considering ordering the new Z06? Pricing hasn't been officially released, but it's rumored to start around $90k. Totally different animal then the Emira. 670hp & 0-60 in 2.1 secs. I only ask since the pricing could be close to the Emira FE.

Asking price without options maybe. I mean the Emira FE without options is at roughly $93k USD and that is without options. I am betting the price with options of the corvette will be well into $100k.

 

[4thedrivers]

View attachment 1075

Is anyone considering ordering the new Z06? Pricing hasn't been officially released, but it's rumored to start around $90k. Totally different animal then the Emira. 670hp & 0-60 in 2.1 secs. I only ask since the pricing could be close to the Emira FE.

I was smitten with the new C8 Z06, and placed a deposit back in November. The demand was so overwhelming, that the dealer response was to initiate a 2nd deposit amount to weed out the pretenders and flippers. I could not justify tying up the cash for 3 to 4 years waiting for a call (maybe) to finalize my specs. Hell, my local dealer is marking up the base C8 Stingray by $20K. Lotus here I come!

 

[NicolasB]

I had a Z06 deposit at one dealer since 2020, but pulled it. I am still #5 at a more local dealer where I have a cousin that is a salesman. Waiting to see it in person, because the back-end just doesn't flow, but I am a sucker for engine sound, which that car has. Would destroy an Emira at the track, but I don't have a local track to use, and just drive around backroads by myself mostly anyway. I also prefer the manual transmission option, so that combined with the looks and exclusivity of the Lotus, that's where I am leaning so far.

 

[Leonard]

I had a Z06 deposit at one dealer since 2020, but pulled it. I am still #5 at a more local dealer where I have a cousin that is a salesman. Waiting to see it in person, because the back-end just doesn't flow, but I am a sucker for engine sound, which that car has. Would destroy an Emira at the track, but I don't have a local track to use, and just drive around backroads by myself mostly anyway. I also prefer the manual transmission option, so that combined with the looks and exclusivity of the Lotus, that's where I am leaning so far.

I think it would depend on what track to be honest!

 

[Climber]

I had a Z06 deposit at one dealer since 2020, but pulled it. I am still #5 at a more local dealer where I have a cousin that is a salesman. Waiting to see it in person, because the back-end just doesn't flow, but I am a sucker for engine sound, which that car has. Would destroy an Emira at the track, but I don't have a local track to use, and just drive around backroads by myself mostly anyway. I also prefer the manual transmission option, so that combined with the looks and exclusivity of the Lotus, that's where I am leaning so far.

I also looked at the Z06 because of the engine, and convertible. I love open air driving.. You can enjoy the can just rolling around.. no need to visit the jail house…
However isn’t a Chevy…. That really gets to me, guess I’m racist!
Ferrari Lamborghini McLaren Porsche Maserati “Lotus “all are in a different class.
Even more so than BMW, Audi, Alpine

The second and more importantly this Corvette is ugly, stupid ugly. They had the opportunity to build something really spectacular… The Z06 is an improvement… but,,,, I just what something timeless… The lotus esprit is one of the Most recognizable wedges out there..
really hope the next James Bond 007 is given an Emira…
Hey can we push for that???

 

[Leonard]

really hope the next James Bond 007 is given an Emira…
Hey can we push for that???

Depends how much Lotus want to pay. Hopefully Geely will stump up! Be pretty cool

 

[Johnson]

Would it be safe to say the Mercedes i4 and the Z06 flat plane are probably the most advanced engines that will ever exist? I believe most ICE manufacturers are now abandoning these in favour of electric/hybrid powertrains.

 

[Maverick1]

I plan on getting both the Emira and the Z06.
They may end in being the last of the great ice cars, as hybrids and ev's will be the future in sports cars.
The sound and performance of that flat-plane crank in the Z06 is incredible.
Always loved the sound of the Ferrari 458, but didn't want the heavy maintenance costs, now the Z06 gives me that incredible sound and great performance.

 

[~el~jefe~]

Z06 with its flat plane crank v8 is just one of the best cars to get, if it holds up to mileage. who knows. It is not a pretty car, but it should berreally cool. It is going to be obvious when one is pinning the redline driving around.

Emira is a better car. lol.

 

[Leonard]