TOP GEAR Review ?...... Total specualtion

[PaulP]

For someone of his stature and current place in the auto review world, I would imagine being put on Ferarri’s naughty list would be a lot more pressure to avoid than Lotus. I expect him to be up front. Of course with all automotive reviews you have to read between the lines and listen for what is not said as well as what is said.

Hence there will probably be 20 pages of comments after this episode airs

#forthepopcorn

 

[EspritGuy]

I found this article interesting reading:

https://www.hotcars.com/why-top-gears-chris-harris-banned-driving-ferraris/

It would be interesting to know what stipulations / restrictions Lotus has placed on the TG and other press test drives.

But Chris Harris is one of the few motoring journalists I highly respect, is actually a very capable (if sometimes a little vivacious) driver and is not afraid to go 'against the wind' in his opinions. So if he has free rein on the Emira I will be very interested in what he has to say; if it is a restricted drive in a potentially non-standard-spec car at Hethel I'm not really interested.

So punish the reviewer who catches the manufacturer for gaming the system. Like thats going to go well. The next step is a worse story about the retribution. Short term thinking with long term results. Makes me think of the many times a journalist was told a car can't be available in time. Now you know the code.

 

[TomE]

Maybe I missed it, but what are we thinking the margin is on the Emira? I realize there is a ton of R&D and chassis, paint, interior work... but the 2GR-FE crate motor is like $3k, Edlebrock 1740 supercharger kit is ~$4k, Bilstein B8s with Eibach pros all around are <$1k.... we're at $8k. I'm figuring the car costs about $30k to produce....

That's just a few of the major mechanical components. You've got the interior and trim, electrical systems, braking, cooling, glass, lighting, technology etc. Then you've got the labour effort to paint it, build it and inspect it. Then you need to add in the amortised costs of the development programme and build of the new production facility. Plus sales and marketing and distribution costs.

I'm not an expert on auto industry accounting but I doubt the all-in costs for Lotus give them a margin better than Porsche's 20%, which is industry-leading. If they've done well they'll be above 10% and might get higher if they increase volumes to 15,000 per year as that gets more units to spread the fixed costs over.

 

[TomE]

I found this article interesting reading:

https://www.hotcars.com/why-top-gears-chris-harris-banned-driving-ferraris/

It would be interesting to know what stipulations / restrictions Lotus has placed on the TG and other press test drives.

But Chris Harris is one of the few motoring journalists I highly respect, is actually a very capable (if sometimes a little vivacious) driver and is not afraid to go 'against the wind' in his opinions. So if he has free rein on the Emira I will be very interested in what he has to say; if it is a restricted drive in a potentially non-standard-spec car at Hethel I'm not really interested.

He also publicly fell out with Lotus and wasn't invited to test drives of the Evora 400 because of what he wrote. It was something along the lines of the UK motoring press should stop saying overly-nice things about British built cars when what they really needed was honest and blunt feedback about needing to do much better.

I assume they've patched that up. I think it's unlikely TG will have agreed to Lotus exerting any direct editorial control over what their review says. Chris Harris will probably say some things Lotus would prefer him not to. He's already done the "rehashed Evora" thing and he's bound to make comparisons to a Cayman, which to be fair is what Lotus want too provided it's positive and reasonable.

 

[4GIV8M3]

Regarding the Emira being a new platform I would love to see that they addressed all the gearing issues of the Evoras. Hopefully it's not the exact same engine/trans/final drive as the Evora because that would be disappointing.

 

[VL3X]

Regarding the Emira being a new platform I would love to see that they addressed all the gearing issues of the Evoras. Hopefully it's not the exact same engine/trans/final drive as the Evora because that would be disappointing.

It's the exact same transmission and gearing.

 

[xen]

He also publicly fell out with Lotus and wasn't invited to test drives of the Evora 400 because of what he wrote. It was something along the lines of the UK motoring press should stop saying overly-nice things about British built cars when what they really needed was honest and blunt feedback about needing to do much better.

I assume they've patched that up. I think it's unlikely TG will have agreed to Lotus exerting any direct editorial control over what their review says. Chris Harris will probably say some things Lotus would prefer him not to. He's already done the "rehashed Evora" thing and he's bound to make comparisons to a Cayman, which to be fair is what Lotus want too provided it's positive and reasonable.

The old top gear maybe, I’m not sure about the new one. Being the first to review a car as anticipated as this surely comes with upsides both parties understand - exposure, views, engagement etc. The cynic in me assumes there’ll be some quid pro quo, even if as a gentleman’s agreement. I of course hope not.

Harry’s Garage tends to be my real-world go to so I hope he gets his hands on one early.

 

[richbrown]

Highest margins on cars are the premium brands and make around 20% - Porsche are in this league. A decent margin is around 10 per cent for firms like BMW. Volume manufacturers like Ford make as little as 1-2%.

I think the numbers are higher than this. https://www.motor1.com/news/370815/porsche-911-profit/

 

[PaulP]

The old top gear maybe, I’m not sure about the new one. Being the first to review a car as anticipated as this surely comes with upsides both parties understand - exposure, views, engagement etc. The cynic in me assumes there’ll be some quid pro quo, even if as a gentleman’s agreement. I of course hope not.

Harry’s Garage tends to be my real-world go to so I hope he gets his hands on one early.

I’ve never actually watched the new one. Watched every single episode of the old one but was so pissed when they fired Clarkson I stopped watching.

The old show certainly wasn’t afraid to say what they thought.

The American version was garbage.

 

[NickR]

I’ve never actually watched the new one. Watched every single episode of the old one but was so pissed when they fired Clarkson I stopped watching.

The old show certainly wasn’t afraid to say what they thought.

The American version was garbage.

The Chris Evans ones were terrible. I stopped watching then.

 

[TomE]

I think the numbers are higher than this. https://www.motor1.com/news/370815/porsche-911-profit/

Interesting article, thanks for posting. 47% margin on the 911 is huge. The value of an “evolve” approach and encouraging people to buy options on top of base model.

 

[andrew6382]

The Chris Evans ones were terrible. I stopped watching then.

You and me both...... my partner calls him the shouty man The three now are OK ish... some times find the show a little and turn over

 

[FrenchBred]

This is a fascinatingly geeky twitter account. A relatively recent illustration of manufacturer profit margins here:

 

[richbrown]

Interesting article, thanks for posting. 47% margin on the 911 is huge. The value of an “evolve” approach and encouraging people to buy options on top of base model.

Interesting article, thanks for posting. 47% margin on the 911 is huge. The value of an “evolve” approach and encouraging people to buy options on top of base model.

crazy ! Good luck to Lotus whatever their margin. Rather it goes into a British based company and team.

 

[freefall_junkie]

I wonder if Chris Harris and other journalists will get to try the Emira in all 3 suspension/tyre combinations. It could make quite a difference to perceptions of the car. Harris obviously has a penchant for ragging a car sideways round a track, so Sports + Cup2s might be most to his liking.

Interestingly recent reviews of the Porsche GT3 and GT3 Touring suggest the two behave quite differently on the road, even though the suspension set ups are the same. It seems that regular tyres vs the Cup2s make all the difference.

 

[Tonyshepp]

I wonder if Chris Harris and other journalists will get to try the Emira in all 3 suspension/tyre combinations. It could make quite a difference to perceptions of the car. Harris obviously has a penchant for ragging a car sideways round a track, so Sports + Cup2s might be most to his liking.

Interestingly recent reviews of the Porsche GT3 and GT3 Touring suggest the two behave quite differently on the road, even though the suspension set ups are the same. It seems that regular tyres vs the Cup2s make all the difference.

I read the same about the Porsche GT3 and tried to liken my choice of Touring to the GT3 Touring. I'm sure Chris will be driving Sports Suspension on Cup2's on the track, whereas other reviewers may try touring on the roads - at least im hoping.

 

[andrew6382]

I wonder if Chris Harris and other journalists will get to try the Emira in all 3 suspension/tyre combinations. It could make quite a difference to perceptions of the car. Harris obviously has a penchant for ragging a car sideways round a track, so Sports + Cup2s might be most to his liking.

Interestingly recent reviews of the Porsche GT3 and GT3 Touring suggest the two behave quite differently on the road, even though the suspension set ups are the same. It seems that regular tyres vs the Cup2s make all the difference.

3 suspension..... erm there is only two sports or touring they are not mode, you either order your car with sports suspensoin or touring....... the others are modes ...... gearbox/engine mode and traction control

 

[eclat2emira]

Bigger Picture...

When thinking about what Lotus Cars' margin aspiration for the Emira is (which doesn't really affect any of us unless price increases arrive) it is worth remembering that Lotus is just part of Geely's stable of brands where there will be shared development resources and costs and Lotus will also deliver value as Halo brand as well as an automotive engineering company.

To me it feels like the strategy is to crank up the Lotus love and appreciation of it's core skills and values by launching the Emira, before leveraging the brand across a wider range based on the strengthened brand. This makes the success of the Emira - as a sports car but also as a well engineered, well made and well supported product - even more important.

 

[freefall_junkie]

3 suspension..... erm there is only two sports or touring they are not mode, you either order your car with sports suspensoin or touring....... the others are modes ...... gearbox/engine mode and traction control

Yes, that is kinda my point - they are not switchable modes but there are 3 combinations so you would need 3 different cars to try them: Touring + Goodyears, Sports + Goodyears, Sports + Cup2s. I've gone for Sports + Goodyears after a last minutes change from the Cup2s. I am hoping that is the sweet spot me for for spirited road driving with the odd track day.

 

[eclat2emira]

Yes, that is kinda my point - they are not switchable modes but there are 3 combinations so you would need 3 different cars to try them: Touring + Goodyears, Sports + Goodyears, Sports + Cup2s. I've gone for Sports + Goodyears after a last minutes change from the Cup2s. I am hoping that is the sweet spot me for for spirited road driving with the odd track day.

Totally agree - the ability to try all 3 combinations before committing would be great but won't be happening any time soon, if at all . I'm not sure any other sports cars would offer this either - demos always seem to be very limited. I am banking on Touring being sporty enough for me 95% of the time. Wheels and tyres I can swap out if i need to.

If I decide to trade the V6 for an i4 down the line I can swap chassis if I feel the inclination.
Like all things Emira, the choosing is both heaven and hell!