Petition to demand disclosure of Hethel Visit

[eriegz]

Yeah, after the 13th or 14th "I'll take another crack at this tonight" / "Just need to check with the other guy first" / "Relax everyone, updates are coming soon", it started to dawn on me that maybe these guys simply enjoy being the center of attention, and that there was no "revelations" for us after all...

Sort of like that one friend we all had growing up? You know, the one who rode a motorcycle to school? Except no you can't see it because he actually parks it 5 blocks from here, and walks the rest of the way. And also, he has a supermodel girlfriend, but you wouldn't know her, she goes to another school. Also, his dad drives monster trucks for a living and is best friends with Hulk Hogan, and every summer Hulk Hogan invites their entire family down to his vacation home in Puerto Vallarta...

 

[TomE]

there were two of them...there for everything...hardly need to tag team it or have it in manuscript form. I understand one of them has had personal situation changes and maybe now wont get the car, but in the time it took him to explain all those things in the 3 messages since being at Lotus, he could have highlighted what ever it is that they "know".
Or the other partner in crime could do it on his own... I am as mystified by these two guys as I am by Lotus...and thats saying something.

There is nothing as strange as folk they say..... by the time they say anything, it will be public knowledge .. i any case I am sure they know nothing about UK delivery issues, which is if anything the main talking point now.

We never know what is really going on in other people’s lives. In this situation @Next Decade has hinted at it, so let’s be sympathetic rather than critical. If it was us in his position we’d like support from our fellow car enthusiasts.

Hope you manage to sort out your difficulties and sorry to hear you may have to drop out of your slot.

 

[Hapkin]

The video from Harry's gives you most of what we saw. I would add that paint quality looks insanely better on production cars than any of the prototypes.

The aluminum bonding process is fascinating and it looks like they have upped their game with tolerances with Emira, not just carried over from Evora. Should help with longevity and quality and probably contributes to some of the weight gain.

They throw out a ton of brand new parts from the stock V6 engine as it comes in. Also the transmission is built to lotus spec by Toyota. Looks like the wiring is cleaner than on Evora GT. More looming. Steel rear subframe for V6, Aluminum for i4.

Materials interior are night and day better on Emira vs Evora. Softer more luxurious but also put together better.

Exterior panel gaps interior and exterior are far better on production vs prototypes. Switch gear and screen much more high end and from Volvo and Link and co.

Each assembly station has torque tracking power tools to make sure the screws are being put in to spec to the appropriate torque beyond just the green hashmarks. This is tracked via software for quality control.

Each station has a quality control manager that watches and signs off on each car at each station before it goes to the next on the robotic carrier.

GT4 prototype was out on the track when I drove Emira. It used a 1900 Harrop supercharger instead of the 1740 Edelbrock on FE. I wondered if that's a mule for the GT/GT410/GT430 or indeed the GT4.

They have a virtual dyno like road at the end that dials I'm alignment, and does some quality checks. Very cool to see. Very sophisticated.

They have entire connected adjacent building dedicated to final checks and quality. No badges go in unless it passes final quality.

The laser quality station was very impressive and new for Emira. @Next Decade knows more about this since he is the engineer.

There is a jig contraption that is the most accurate Emira in the world that all Emiras are based of. I wish we could have taken pictures since it wasn't on Harry's video.

Rear subframe assembled seperately from front subframe and separate from passenger cell.

All in all, I am impressed. Sorry I can deep dive on the engineering. That's @Next Decade 's forte.


Edit: a few other things regarding the dynamics now that I've had a time to really let it settle in. Having driven the Emira hard and easily on the heffal track. It really is a flow car. If you honestly become one with the car, it rewards you immensely. If you try and manhandle it, it misbehaves mildly. Still fun but not at the peak of its capabilities. I think this is the difference between all the Porsche and BMW cars I've driven versus Lotus.

There are times during my track sessions with emera that I felt so gelled with the car and it was clear the vehicle dynamics, engineering intent and decisions were dead on.

With regard to the shifter feel it is so positive, part of the mechanical analog feeling of the car and I think that if you are the primary driver of the car, you won't have any issues with it because inevitably the cables will loosen incrementally over time, but you won't notice it somewhere to how you won't notice yourself aging till you look at old pictures.

The torque delivery is so smooth and not at all lumpy like most forced induction cars. For me that is a plus. Compared to my BMW M2 CS , The lotus is an easier car to drive Although both are sweet in their own way.

I don't feel it needs more power but I do feel it needs more revs so I will certainly be looking into tunes that bring it up to 7200 which would suit it perfectly. For the track. On the road/ canyons you would never feel it or miss it at 6850.

The mid-engined lower center of gravity of Emira is such a sweet feeling. It wants to dance with you and you really feel the low polar inertia as opposed to the BMW with I6 up front and my old 911 Targa 4s with definitive rear bias. You can change directions instantly with the Emira and I think with an alignment to give it slightly more front camber, zero toe it will corner just like a GT4, with more front bite. I'm still on the fence of whether it needs more rear sway bar or not. I could go either way. To be honest. It's quite good as it is.

Probably my favorite thing is how well it rides. It's just soaks up the curb bumps on the track without unsettling the chassis. It communicates so well without beating you up. It feels stiff without being impersonal. To me. It felt far more emotional than my 911 and more than my M2CS, which to be honest are at their best at the track at 10/10ths. The Emira you are giggling at 5/10ths.

The Cup 2's are the right about of sidewall firmness and grip for enthusiasts. Bridgestone Re-71 RS- the new ones will suit it well on the track. Or Advans A052. PS4S for the road instead of Goodyear's would be my choices.

I will add more here as I think about it more.


@Next Decade had written copious notes during our 6 hour tour which I want to share. Both of us are swamped with some serious stuff back home so it may or may not come. That's life.

 

[donskibeat]

@Hapkin - "I wish we could have taken pictures" - still confused about why you have no photos? because when @Next Decade posted on September 21st he clearly said "Oh, and btw, they lifted the embargo on photos...when we walked into the door!!!"

 

[Hapkin]

@Hapkin - "I wish we could have taken pictures" - still confused about why you have no photos? because when @Next Decade posted on September 21st he clearly said "Oh, and btw, they lifted the embargo on photos...when we walked into the door!!!"

We were allowed to take pics in the show room area but not in the factory.

 

[donskibeat]

Okay, so original posts were click bait then...

Still waiting for the promised "extraordinary" details

We have extraordinary details that I have not read on the forums yet

Factory Tour Thread

Gentleman and ladies. @Next Decade and I truly had a unique experience. We're going to collaborate offline and put it all together. Then post it publicly. We have to be very careful given that we saw so much that we can't disclose and I want to be respectful of the company, especially given that...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[Hapkin]

We were allowed to take pics in the show room area but not in the factory.

Also, I have a couple Evijia pics/videos that I would like to share but we were told we can't. Sorry.

 

[Hapkin]

Okay, so original posts were click bait then...

View attachment 10021

Hey man. I think you should try and calm down a bit. I have shared a lot over the last couple of months of my/our experience. It's not a good look on you.

Frankly, in talking with Mat Whindle, I directly asked him why he stopped posted and responding here. He said it's because the posters were borderline abusive and directly aggressive towards him.

He truly wants to spread the word when able, as am I but it's ridiculous responses like your that sours the tone for all of us.

The reality is that Emira is a special car and they are doing the best they can to get them into customer hands without compromising quality. We just have to be patient.

 

[donskibeat]

@Hapkin - no offence meant, just your original posts got us all excited with the promise of photos and "extraordinary" details which just never materialized and we are all eager for any news we can get about the car.

P.S. I am a lady, not a man....

 

[Hapkin]

@Hapkin - no offence meant, just your original posts got us all excited with the promise of photos and "extraordinary" details which just never materialized and we are all eager for any news we can get about the car.

P.S. I am a lady, not a man....

Thx for this. Apologies for gender bias.

 

[Magicman]

Let me summarise what we now know already for the uk buyers

"Lotus will continue to take a massive shit on its home market"

The end.

 

[Hapkin]

Let me summarise what we now know already for the uk buyers

"Lotus will continue to take a massive shit on its home market"

The end.

Only in the short term. I bet you will get 430 variants that the rest of the world won't get.

 

[Magicman]

Only in the short term. I bet you will get 430 variants that the rest of the world won't get.

Nah they'll be China only