Different spec. Emira Safety Car for BGT at Silverstone this weekend

Great to see a different spec. of Emira fulfilling the Safety Car role for the British GT Championship at Silverstone this weekend. Not road registered and fresh from the factory.

V6 FE, LHD, Manual, Sports, PS Cup 2, Shadow Grey, Black Pack, Diamond Cut, Red Callipers, Tan Leather,.

And the Safety Car driver says she loves it.

 

[note89]

The seats are made by Lear i was told on the tour. "It's does not make sense for us to make seats when they better and cheaper" well so far that does not seem to be the case.

The handmade seats they did for their old models are really nice.

 

[NicolasB]

Perhaps the problem is that they take them apart to add bolstering and then workers are stretching the leather back over them in the factory and it just doesn't go on the same way as it would have?

I don't know; sporty seats are THE main components of a great interior, they are the showpiece. If the first thing you see is a saggy couch-looking thing, rather than a taught, firm device to hold you in around the twisties, then it will not have that "wow" factor. I would probably sell them for a high-end aftermarket seat, which would be really sad to have to do that. I'm thinking the Z06 seats won't have this issue, and they aren't a fancy Lear/Ferrari seat. Hope these photos, the first we are seeing of a finished interior, are not an accurate representation of a final production seat.

 

[digilotus]

We know they are not final seats as the last iteration apparently have the three indented/embossed accents on the seat backrest cushion (as per configurator). There was also a post recently about the base foam not yet being final - I hope that resolves the sagging issue. To me the problem is the base foam isn't thick or hard enough that permits too much leather stretch.

I hope that Lotus know what they're doing here! Something as fundamental as seats should have been completed quite a while ago rather than being down to the wire.

 

[Porter]

Honestly I suspect the wrinkle issue is likely inherent to the soft, thin grade of leather they've chosen. They are using full grain ox hides at 1.1mm to 1.4mm thickness. That's ~3/64ths inch. It's a lovely material but not thick enough to give much structure.

A thread on it here: https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/leather-quality-a-real-answer-from-lotus.1052/

 

[digilotus]

Honestly I suspect the wrinkle issue is likely inherent to the soft, thin grade of leather they've chosen. They are using full grain ox hides at 1.1mm to 1.4mm thickness. That's ~3/64ths inch. It's a lovely material but not thick enough to give much structure.

A thread on it here: https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/leather-quality-a-real-answer-from-lotus.1052/

The leather chosen is really wonderful quality. Its not too thin - I have similar leather thickness in other cars.

The challenge is the seat foam. If it has too much give that soft and supple leather will stretch and contour to the shape of your gluteus maximus rather than the seat cushion.

 

[jamesbxxx]

The seats are made by Lear i was told on the tour. "It's does not make sense for us to make seats when they better and cheaper" well so far that does not seem to be the case.

The handmade seats they did for their old models are really nice.

Seat frames made by Lear. Lotus add the padding and leather etc. Supplied in bits by others, assembled in Hethel would be more accurate.

 

[Eagle7]

These might be test seats. If they're trying different foam densities, they have to be removing the leather to change out the foam cushion, then putting it back on. If it was me, I'd also use the production leather to see how it looks and reacts to the different foam cushions too.

I remember awhile ago we saw seats in rows at the factory, covered in plastic that showed the ice leather color too. It would make sense that they'd be testing the seats, cushions and leather at some point during development and validation.

 

[digilotus]

A trick to shrink stretched leather is to get a hair dryer on high for 15mins and heat it up. Or just leave your car in the hot summer sun with the windows closed for a day. Should be tight as a drum (until it stretches again!)

 

[VL3X]

lol the seats look like an absolute joke. From fit to finish, uneven layers, saggy bolsters…. Even to have them in a car that will be showcased and photographed to the world to see across social media platforms these days. Lotus genuinely have zero clue. Or an attitude close enough is good enough whilst we get our sh*t together.

I’ve said it before and will say it again, they can aspire and act as a big mainstream player. But at the moment they are not even a whimper or shadow on what other manufacturers do and how they execute.

I’m genuinely worried 😟 for our FE cars and what they’ll be when we get them. I hope I don’t spend more time at the dealer, than on the road.

#fortherisktakers

They should have stuck with Sparco sourced seats... The bolstering, stitched crest, harness pass-through.. The Emira leathers just look like an early 90s luxury car.

I do like the contrast black stirpe down the center though and wish that carried over to the Alcantara seats (matching the contrast stitching).

 

[jamesbxxx]

It is indeed a joke that Lotus haven't supplied photos of cars and interiors, but that's because there aren't any finished ones to show. Supplying the safety car must have seen like a PR opportunity too good to miss, but now the internet is full of pictures they don't want the world to see, as they are not representative of the finished article.... Do the departments communicate?!

 

[TomE]

Seat frames made by Lear. Lotus add the padding and leather etc. Supplied in bits by others, assembled in Hethel would be more accurate.

The original plan was to have the Emira seats as bought in items (remember the section in the New Dawn video about Lotus closing their in-house trim shop).

I'm assuming they weren't happy with the initial versions and decided to bring part of the assembly in-house. That may also have been due to Covid and/or the extra time to go through multiple iterations if totally reliant on an external supplier.

It's been apparent ever since the reveal and show car that they aren't happy with the seat and even now, two months from first customer delivery, they still haven't finalised it.

 

[switchlanez]

I'd been following the Emira since its reveal last July and it took me up until yesterday to realize, unlike the auto, the manual doesn't have the dark blue and white First Edition badge with Union Jack pattern between the gear selector and start button.

 

[NickR]

The original plan was to have the Emira seats as bought in items (remember the section in the New Dawn video about Lotus closing their in-house trim shop).

I'm assuming they weren't happy with the initial versions and decided to bring part of the assembly in-house. That may also have been due to Covid and/or the extra time to go through multiple iterations if totally reliant on an external supplier.

It's been apparent ever since the reveal and show car that they aren't happy with the seat and even now, two months from first customer delivery, they still haven't finalised it.

Ever feel like Lotus have taken their cues from software development with 'agile' and 'iterative' design philosophy?
Feels close to the wire if they really will be manufacturing our July delivery cars.

 

[TomE]

I'd been following the Emira since its reveal last July and it took me up until yesterday to realize, unlike the auto, the manual doesn't have the dark blue and white First Edition badge with Union Jack pattern between the gear selector and start button.

There's no space to put one on the manual. It's on the i4 and I assume will be on the auto V6 but not seen a picture to confirm it. There's no shifter stick with the V6 auto so should be room for the badge.

Emira V6 manual

Emira i4 DCT

Evora V6 IPS auto

 

[VL3X]

I'd been following the Emira since its reveal last July and it took me up until yesterday to realize, unlike the auto, the manual doesn't have the dark blue and white First Edition badge with Union Jack pattern between the gear selector and start button.

Correct. For whatever reason, there's no interior badge, emblem, number plaque, or anything special to signify a First Edition with manual transmission other than the triangular emblem on the exterior.

 

[Tonyshepp]

A trick to shrink stretched leather is to get a hair dryer on high for 15mins and heat it up. Or just leave your car in the hot summer sun with the windows closed for a day. Should be tight as a drum (until it stretches again!)

Good to know when the wife wants a Botox top up 😀

 

[switchlanez]

There's no space to put one on the manual. It's on the i4 and I assume will be on the auto V6 but not seen a picture to confirm it. There's no shifter stick with the V6 auto so should be room for the badge.

Emira V6 manual
View attachment 5291

Emira i4 DCT
View attachment 5290

Evora V6 IPS auto
View attachment 5292

Yes, the available real estate (or lack thereof) came as part of my realization.

 

[VL3X]

They could have done like Porsche does... pin it to the base of the shift boot.
View attachment 5333

Or on the dash like every other Lotus... I'm really surprised and disappointed they aren't doing anything special and unique for the FEs.

 

[EF_Guest234]

Great to see the pictures of this safety car. Is this the final spec of the interior? Slightly disappointed in the plainness of the seats. They have a perfect opportunity to increase the high end look and feel with some subtly stitching design.

 

[andyss]

Great to see the pictures of this safety car. Is this the final spec of the interior? Slightly disappointed in the plainness of the seats. They have a perfect opportunity to increase the high end look and feel with some subtly stitching design.

No, they're not current spec seats - there's more detailing on the latest