Emira vs McLaren 570S

[Noahsdad]

I have owned many a fast car and tracked them several times a year. Each one faster than the next. Ultimately, I got to a 991.1 Turbo with mods that put it over 600hp along with suspension upgrades. It was blindingly fast off the line and at the track. But after a year or so it just didn't do it for me. On the street i could never explore its potential, which made it feel very plain and unexciting. (Nice looking car though) And i the canyons it was scary fast. On the track, its PDk was fantastic, but took away my driving engagement. The steering was also quite dull. I realized that what I really enjoyed about having a special car was more about driving feel and engagement, not just speed. Its also gotta have the "turn around and look at it after you park" looks. I find that the Emira really hits the sweet spot for me. Incredible design, modern electronics, etc. and plenty of power to enjoy the track and mountain roads. An Emira with a good driver is always faster than most other super cars with a poor/average driver. Its reliability is also a big plus. It reminds me of my first European sports car that I truly miss and wish I kept. (1973 911E). So far I am super happy with my Emira v6.

 

[efbleft]

you can order emiras with a removable roof for the '27s I believe

 

[LotusB]

I have owned many a fast car and tracked them several times a year. Each one faster than the next. Ultimately, I got to a 991.1 Turbo with mods that put it over 600hp along with suspension upgrades. It was blindingly fast off the line and at the track. But after a year or so it just didn't do it for me. On the street i could never explore its potential, which made it feel very plain and unexciting. (Nice looking car though) And i the canyons it was scary fast. On the track, its PDk was fantastic, but took away my driving engagement. The steering was also quite dull. I realized that what I really enjoyed about having a special car was more about driving feel and engagement, not just speed. Its also gotta have the "turn around and look at it after you park" looks. I find that the Emira really hits the sweet spot for me. Incredible design, modern electronics, etc. and plenty of power to enjoy the track and mountain roads. An Emira with a good driver is always faster than most other super cars with a poor/average driver. Its reliability is also a big plus. It reminds me of my first European sports car that I truly miss and wish I kept. (1973 911E). So far I am super happy with my Emira v6.

Funny you say this, one of my buddies had a 992 GT3 (or GT3 RS, I don't recall) and he said something similar. He ended up getting a McLaren 600LT for some similar reasons to what you stated. He loves it.

I'm still in love with mine too, no regrets

you can order emiras with a removable roof for the '27s I believe

It's basically a removable sunroof, not a convertible. But hey, Lotus is trying...

 

[Lotus F1]

I have to disagree that the McLaren 570s is more rare. I see them all the time however I don't see a lotus Emira all that often. Now towards the performance. If you get a jb4, titanium exhaust with downpipe and no cat, lightweight battery, lightweight seats, lightweight Wheels, the car performance will be on par with the 570s. I didn't even do all those things and I've got my car to do a low 11 second quarter mile 0-60 3.2. I paid $93,000 brand new for AMG DCT FE.

 

[LotusB]

I have to disagree that the McLaren 570s is more rare. I see them all the time however I don't see a lotus Emira all that often. Now towards the performance. If you get a jb4, titanium exhaust with downpipe and no cat, lightweight battery, lightweight seats, lightweight Wheels, the car performance will be on par with the 570s. I didn't even do all those things and I've got my car to do a low 11 second quarter mile 0-60 3.2. I paid $93,000 brand new for AMG DCT FE.

I have no doubt you can make the AMG/DCT version pretty quick. The 570s will do 0-60 in 2.7s however, no mods (don't go based on factory published specs). I feel a huge difference between the two. Both cars weight about the same, but the McLaren has a detuned V8 TT that revs to 8.5k RPM and it feels SOO nice to me.

It's hard to find production numbers, but there were <4k 570s' produced globally, whereas there are more than that Emira's produced every year. I read in March of last year they celebrated 10k Emiras produced. I definitely see way more of them on the road. So objectively McLarens are definitely a lot more rare.

Anyways, that's not the important part, the important part is what you enjoy and what your priorities are. We all optimize for what we value. As long as you enjoy your car, that's all that matters, and you don't have to justify it to anyone. There's always someone on either end of the value curve that'll think you spent too much or it's not enough.

 

[Concept24]

I have no doubt you can make the AMG/DCT version pretty quick. The 570s will do 0-60 in 2.7s however, no mods (don't go based on factory published specs). I feel a huge difference between the two. Both cars weight about the same, but the McLaren has a detuned V8 TT that revs to 8.5k RPM and it feels SOO nice to me.

It's hard to find production numbers, but there were <4k 570s' produced globally, whereas there are more than that Emira's produced every year. I read in March of last year they celebrated 10k Emiras produced. I definitely see way more of them on the road. So objectively McLarens are definitely a lot more rare.

Anyways, that's not the important part, the important part is what you enjoy and what your priorities are. We all optimize for what we value. As long as you enjoy your car, that's all that matters, and you don't have to justify it to anyone. There's always someone on either end of the value curve that'll think you spent too much or it's not enough.

I've rented many cars and have driven both a 570S and Ferrari 488 GTB on a track in Las Vegas. The first car I rented via Turo was the 2019 McLaren 570S Spider (in 2019). And after renting a 911 4S and C8 Corvette along with slower but nice other cars, nothing thrilled me more than the 570S. There are no slow McLarens, and few other sportscars have dihedral-like doors.
At some point I placed a deposit/reservation for am Emira. However, while waiting one year for some to be available in the US, I discovered that their reliability in the UK was not very good. The nearest dealership is over 80 miles away, so I ended up canceling my reservation.
In November of 23, I found a new 45th Anniversary GR Supra in Mikan Blast (orange) color. Dealerships did not allow potential custmers to test-drive Supras, but a local owner let me drive his tuned/larger turboed GR Supra. Its acceleration was very similar to the that of the 570S. I immediated started my search for one before finding the 45th Anniversary model. Exclusivity is great, since only about 2500 Supras were produced, annually since late 2019. Only 900 45ths were sold and of those, half are white and half are the Mikan Blast orange. But even my stock Supra puts out 368 lb-ft of torque at 1800 RPM. I cannot emphasize enough how good that feels. I still love the look of the Emira and look/acceleration of the McLaren, but for $67,500, it's tough to beat the exclusivity bang-for-the-buck of the Supra. Now about that Ariel Atom 4................

 

[Lotus F1]

Clearly you don't live in South Florida I can't go to the store without running into a McLaren. I mean the McLaren to Lotus Emira ratio is not even close so I'm not sure why you think McLaren's are rare. McLaren 570S EmiraEstimated U.S. 2,500 – 3,500 units, Lotus 1,500 – 2,500 units

 

[Concept24]

Clearly you don't live in South Florida I can't go to the store without running into a McLaren. I mean the McLaren to Lotus Emira ratio is not even close so I'm not sure why you think McLaren's are rare. McLaren 570S EmiraEstimated U.S. 2,500 – 3,500 units, Lotus 1,500 – 2,500 units

I'm in San Diego, so McLarens are rare, but so is my GR Supra with an average annual production of about 2500. The most common high-end cars around here are 911s. C8 Corvettes are everywhere, also. Remember, also that the closest Lotus dealership is over 80 miles away. The closest McLaren dealership is in San Diego. I made the following video to show you what a typical Saturday morning is like in Rancho Santa Fe, a town in which $20M+ estates are very common.

 

[thisguyinsd]

I'm in San Diego, so McLarens are rare, but so is my GR Supra with an average annual production of about 2500. The most common high-end cars around here are 911s. C8 Corvettes are everywhere, also. Remember, also that the closest Lotus dealership is over 80 miles away. The closest McLaren dealership is in San Diego. I made the following video to show you what a typical Saturday morning is like in Rancho Santa Fe, a town in which $20M+ estates are very common.

There is Lotus of San Diego on Balboa Ave.

 

[Rcktmn]

Where are you seeing this low of GR Supra production numbers? Only source I can find says over 30k in just North America alone https://carbuzz.com/toyota-gr-supra-final-sales-may/

Anecdotally, I live in a smaller city out west and I see a ton of C8 Corvettes and quite a few Supras. Barely ever see McLarens or Lotus

 

[Concept24]

There is Lotus of San Diego on Balboa Ave.

Can you find an official website? When I was inquiring in 2022, I was told the closest Lotus dealership was in Orange County.

 

[Concept24]

Where are you seeing this low of GR Supra production numbers? Only source I can find says over 30k in just North America alone https://carbuzz.com/toyota-gr-supra-final-sales-may/

Anecdotally, I live in a smaller city out west and I see a ton of C8 Corvettes and quite a few Supras. Barely ever see McLarens or Lotus

Total sales of GR Supras was 30,664 according to my sources. Total US sales of C8 Corvettes was 170,800 or almost 6X higher than GR Supras.
During the same period, all McLaren sales were about 16,000 (estimated, since no sales figures were available after 2021) in the US, so McLaren cars are not exactly super-rare compared to GR Supras.

 

[Rcktmn]

Total sales of GR Supras was 30,664 according to my sources. Total US sales of C8 Corvettes was 170,800 or almost 6X higher than GR Supras.
During the same period, all McLaren sales were about 16,000 (estimated, since no sales figures were available after 2021) in the US, so McLaren cars are not exactly super-rare compared to GR Supras.

The difference for small cities is there’s always a Toyota dealer and never a McLaren, Lotus or any exotic dealers. So much more likely to see Supras where I am

 

[thisguyinsd]

Can you find an official website? When I was inquiring in 2022, I was told the closest Lotus dealership was in Orange County.

lotusofsandiego.com

 

[thisguyinsd]

lotusofsandiego.com

Lotus of San Diego opened November of 2024.

 

[grezex]

Lotus San Diego is my local dealer, and I definitely see more McLarens driving around (weekends) than Emira's by a long shot, at least around North County and La Jolla.
Had a neighbor with 570s Spider and there's a couple 720 (750? I don't know my MClarens) roaming around.
I even see more 2nd gen R8's than Emira's...

Only recently had I seen one other Emira regularly aside from my buddy's and I's here.

 

[Concept24]

Lotus of San Diego opened November of 2024.

That explains my dilemma, two years prior.

 

[Concept24]

Lotus San Diego is my local dealer, and I definitely see more McLarens driving around (weekends) than Emira's by a long shot, at least around North County and La Jolla.
Had a neighbor with 570s Spider and there's a couple 720 (750? I don't know my MClarens) roaming around.
I even see more 2nd gen R8's than Emira's...

Only recently had I seen one other Emira regularly aside from my buddy's and I's here.

McLarens have seen around many years before the Emira started being sold in the US. Did your neighbor have any reliability issues with his 570S Spider? I think the most reliable higher-end (>$150K) sportscar is the gen 2 NSX. I was also looking at those.

 

[grezex]

McLarens have seen around many years before the Emira started being sold in the US. Did your neighbor have any reliability issues with his 570S Spider? I think the most reliable higher-end (>$150K) sportscar is the gen 2 NSX. I was also looking at those.

Yes of course, but just replying to your "rare in San Diego" comment, it's definitely not relatively from my experience.
I'm sure Emira's will become more common too; after chatting with SD Lotus recently they're doing very well in sales.

We didn't really chat about any long-term reliability of 570S Spider, just driving experiences.
I toyed with idea of MClaren (Artura) and MCPURA, but I have small garage with a 4-post that just cannot accommodate the super cool doors.

When not dailyed I'm inclined to think you don't hear about issues as much as the handful that posts online.
But even with that, the general track record of British cars has not been great.
Service center of exotics vs BMW and Acura? Yeah, it should be in everyone's consideration when purchasing.

I'm sure if I didn't track my Emira I'd be just fine and not complain about its reliability (well, maybe except some of the early overheating).
Then again, being First Edition I kind of set expectations there will be some problems.

 

[Concept24]

Yes of course, but just replying to your "rare in San Diego" comment, it's definitely not relatively from my experience.
I'm sure Emira's will become more common too; after chatting with SD Lotus recently they're doing very well in sales.

We didn't really chat about any long-term reliability of 570S Spider, just driving experiences.
I toyed with idea of MClaren (Artura) and MCPURA, but I have small garage with a 4-post that just cannot accommodate the super cool doors.

When not dailyed I'm inclined to think you don't hear about issues as much as the handful that posts online.
But even with that, the general track record of British cars has not been great.
Service center of exotics vs BMW and Acura? Yeah, it should be in everyone's consideration when purchasing.

I'm sure if I didn't track my Emira I'd be just fine and not complain about its reliability (well, maybe except some of the early overheating).
Then again, being First Edition I kind of set expectations there will be some problems.

I guess I don't drive as much as you do, nor do I drive much in La Jolla or Rancho Santa Fe. By the way, when I was considering the Emira, I found that there was (is) a Lotus repair shop, possibly in Kearny Mesa, but while they're likely well-experienced with the Toyota manual transmission, the new electronics is a different matter.
There is a McLaren Service facility in Sorrento Valley, and a new and used car sales in La Jolla.