Baby supercar vibes

[seriously]

After owning the Emira for only a few days I’m so impressed by how the car looks in person. My son asked is this a sportscar or a supercar? It certainly doesn’t have the specs or price tag of a supercar but I do think the design is legitimately baby supercar.

There are so many design elements that you never see in a car within this price range. Many have been stated already but are impressive in person.

1. Exposed gear linkage with LED lighting- spyker, pagani?
2. Visible engine with vented engine bay- Ferrari, R8?
3. Vented hood- 992 GT3 RS
4. Super wide body construction with vertical headlights- 488, Evija?
5. Vented rear bumper- evija, ford GT?
6. Aggressive exposed rear diffuser- more cars have this now- 4c, etc.

As I stared at the car more I realized something that really impacts the overall car’s proportion and design language is the extreme cab forward design. Looked at from the side and above you see the windshield starts at the middle of the center of the front tire creating a really short front hood and aggressive rake in the profile. This is more proportioned like a ferrari or a Lamborghini as a result vs something like a cayman where the front windshield starts behind the front tire resulting in a more upright canopy. This design choice I think forces everything else in place and makes the car look more like a supercar than a typical sports car. It also affects the way the car feels when driving it. The windshield is so far in front of you and wide. The front hood is short. It feels different than a typical car. Given this design choice it’s a shame that the engine is not in front of the rear wheel and instead on top of it since there is room to pull it forward. I assume this would cost too much money to accommodate and instead provides the benefit of a more spacious cabin.

I’m a fan of design in all forms and think Lotus really nailed it with the Emira. While it does look like a baby Ferrari, it REALLY benefited from lifting the design language of the Evija and marrying it with the evora layout and drivetrain. This is not even getting into the lines of the car that intersect in many different ways from side profile, front, rear, etc. so cohesive.

I looked up some side by sides where this cab forward design becomes really obvious.

 

[Lotus64]

Several of my buddies have referred to my Emira as supercar. I even catch myself calling it my super. The looks and construction evoke supercar design that's so reminescent of Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren thats it's hard not to. It's more than just a sports car.

 

[cyanmauve]

I’ve said this on other threads- I think the design is better than the usual higher-end sportscars/supercars the Emira is compared to.

The proportions looks better to my eye than those of a 458/488 or a huracan. It definitely looks less “exotic”, but I think the design proportions and scale is better. A lot of mid-engine supercars look too stretched to me.

 

[GetawayDriving]

I think this car is in the conversation with the most beautiful cars of all time. It may not have the same drama as today’s supers or hypers, but every angle is perfect and I can’t think of another car in the post 40 years I’ve felt that way about.

As for whether it is super, I think this car is an homage to 90s supercars like the Ferrari 360 in the same way the Miata is an homage to the Elan.

 

[Nova]

The engine's CG is in front of the rear wheel, although probably not as much as a Ferrari or Lambo. The location of the engine is limited by the transmission choice, it's kind of stuck there. The engine could probably be moved forward more if they make it longitudinal mount and switch to a different transmission...

You are right about the cab forward design and it does have consequences about feel. Compared to a more "normal" sports car where the driver sits well behind the center point of the wheelbase, the the driver in an Emira is sitting right about the mid-point of the wheelbase. So whereas most of us are used to the amplified sensation of turning, the Emira makes the driver feels like he is "pulling" the car along rather than "pushing" it along in a turn. To get an amplified sense of this sensation, imagine sitting at the front of a bus versus the rear of a bus while it is making a turn. So yes, the cab forward design of the Emira feels more like driving a bus.

Regarding design and proportion, two things working against the Emira is absolute size and ratio of the greenhouse to the rest of the car. The Emira is smaller than the "full size" super cars, plus the greenhouse is relatively large compared to its overall length. This is one reason I really like the full black pack, because it makes the greenhouse look smaller than it is.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

While the Emira is pretty beautiful, it looks a bit stubby.

 

[kitkat]

No clue how the baby supercar vibes will age but everyone seems to love it right now.

 

[seriously]

While the Emira is pretty beautiful, it looks a bit stubby.

I agree. I’m pretty sure that’s why they added the lower black pack to make the car look a bit skinnier and longer.

Also think this car is pretty different feeling based on light vs dark and upper black pack vs no upper black pack. Pretty cool that owners could customize to their preference.

 

[ManOfSteel]

It's a beautiful exotic sportscar. In 2024 it's nowhere near a supercar.

 

[marc1adrien]

Proportions on this thing are fantastic. To my eye it looks like a modern Dino.

This video gives a designer's perspective and is very interesting:

 

[308tr6]

Great design, but in my view not a supercar. A supercar to me means "exotic". Emira has the looks in most regards, although it is a bit stubby, and not the sweet ass that is common to supercars, not the crazy power and general OMG.

But in terms of a mid-level sportscar at $100k ish. Nothing comes close looks wise and certainly not driver experience, which is superb.

This is a true super car rear view.

 

[FlyNavy01]

Great design, but in my view not a supercar. A supercar to me means "exotic". Emira has the looks in most regards, although it is a bit stubby, and not the sweet ass that is common to supercars, not the crazy power and general OMG.

But in terms of a mid-level sportscar at $100k ish. Nothing comes close looks wise and certainly not driver experience, which is superb.

This is a true super car rear view.View attachment 45732

Subjective of course. I think that rear end looks way too busy and the oversized diffuser is hideous.

 

[scc.131.fe]

Great design, but in my view not a supercar. A supercar to me means "exotic". Emira has the looks in most regards, although it is a bit stubby, and not the sweet ass that is common to supercars, not the crazy power and general OMG.

But in terms of a mid-level sportscar at $100k ish. Nothing comes close looks wise and certainly not driver experience, which is superb.

This is a true super car rear view.View attachment 45732

Supercars are supposed to be ugly?

 

[308tr6]

Subjective of course. I think that rear end looks way too busy and the oversized diffuser is hideous.

I understand your perspective - you probably wouldn't like the flames shooting out the top mounted exhaust either - ha! But my point is simply supercars start bending the norm and illicit a more visceral response good bad or otherwise.

 

[luciddaydream]

There was another thread on this before.
I dont like calling it a baby anything.
It makes it seem like a wannabe or something..

Or like a short bus is to a regular bus.

I just see it for what it is: a mean lean little sportscar.

The size is perfect to me.

Supercars are bloated and often outlandish looking.
And pumped up in HP.

 

[308tr6]

Supercars are supposed to be ugly?

Same car, different perspective. Maybe ugly to some, but it sort of looks like.....hmmm
dare I say an Emira?

 

[luciddaydream]

I think Mclarens look sorta bad.
I am not sure who is really doing looks right aside from Emira and 911s.
Maybe Astons sometimes. Maybe sort of the Huracan, at times
Ferrari gets close soemtimes but seems to miss the mark a bit.
Just my opinion tho

 

[Nova]

Yea, I think Lamborghini and Aston Martin are doing great car designs. Ferrari is hit or miss for me - my current favorite is the Roma.

The 911 does look very nice. They have optimized that design quite nicely.

 

[luciddaydream]

Yea, I think Lamborghini and Aston Martin are doing great car designs. Ferrari is hit or miss for me - my current favorite is the Roma.

The 911 does look very nice. They have optimized that design quite nicely.

Yeah I liked the Roma too and I was loosely looking at one. Drove it. So expensive though.

I like more classy looking cars like that. But now when I lookat it and then look at an Emira the Emira looks better.

I think older Ferraris are beautiful. But yeah modern supercars just often look too outlandish I feel.


I dont LOVE the Emira's rear from a low angle. I don't love all the black at the bottom. I prefer a how a licese plate breaks it up.

 

[scc.131.fe]

Same car, different perspective. Maybe ugly to some, but it sort of looks like.....hmmm
dare I say an Emira?

No doubt the Emira is a "shared features" car with many others, and that doesn't bother me. My personal taste for a road car is to lean more towards beauty and less towards pure function.

That Mclaren looks "pure function - function is beauty" which I think is appropriate for a track car that is road-legal. But it's also part of why I haven't bought a Mclaren. If I ever get more in to track driving then maybe it would fit the bill.

But when I look at the rear end of a 964 Turbo, Gen1 NSX, V8 Vantage (1st gen Gaydon), 550/575 Maranello, Jag F-type, etc, it's so apparent that someone with an artistic eye designed the rear end with pride and joy. It seems like Mclaren said "just let the engineers finish the back end."

When I first saw the Emira online I thought the rear bumper looked a bit like someone streched laffy taffy across the rear subrame and glued a diffuser to it. But it grew on me (especially seeing how it's the more every-day version of Evija styling) and I love the fact that no one confuses the back end of the Emira for anything else. I suppose the same can be said for Mclaren, and for that I give them credit. I always know one when I see one!