Engine swap fantasy

[MickOpalak]

I just had a thought...

Imagine a tuned version of the I4 with 500hp swapped into an S2 Elise. Wow.

 

[VL3X]

Imagine a 500HP supercharged 2GR-FE with a stronger manual transmission swapped into an Emira!

 

[Leonard]

I just had a thought...

Imagine a tuned version of the I4 with 500hp swapped into an S2 Elise. Wow.

I said to the Lotus guys at the roadshow that if they had a true motorsport in-house engine in conjunction with cosworth etc they could have started the Emira at 90k and sold FEs at 120k

 

[kitkat]

Imagine a 500HP supercharged 2GR-FE with a stronger manual transmission swapped into an Emira!

What's next you want a 7,000rpm redline?

 

[Leonard]

What's next you want a 7,000rpm redline?

Saw that my Yaris redlines at 7000 today. Made me sad

 

[TomE]

I said to the Lotus guys at the roadshow that if they had a true motorsport in-house engine in conjunction with cosworth etc they could have started the Emira at 90k and sold FEs at 120k

But that's not the price point they are targeting - that's final iteration of Evora money and didn't sell.

Limited benefit in Lotus doing an in-house engine with only 8 years of ICE to go. They worked with Cosworth on a 4.0 NA version of the Toyota for a motorsport car but expensive and low volumes. AMG is their chosen route and should be good and also cheap.

 

[Leonard]

But that's not the price point they are targeting - that's final iteration of Evora money and didn't sell.

Limited benefit in Lotus doing an in-house engine with only 8 years of ICE to go. They worked with Cosworth on a 4.0 NA version of the Toyota for a motorsport car but expensive and low volumes. AMG is their chosen route and should be good and also cheap.

I know, was just an observation, all too late in the day for sure.
Basically I was just saying the Emira looked so good and has moved the game on so much for Lotus as a model, that with a bespoke engine and gearbox they could have sold it as a 911 rival. Although it would be in a niche of its own really being mid engine, more a cut price R8/or Mclaren.
The whole character of the car would change with an 8500 rpm screamer putting out 500 odd bhp in the same 'lightweight' package (sure it could have tipped below 1400kg)

 

[Evotion]

When I put down my deposits, sight unsee, I thought the car might well have 430HP minimum and basically be a more comfy version of the 430 Cup. At the same time, I expected it to be £105K based on the models at that time.

So, the performance is less but the price is a lot less.
Overall, bloody delighted - and then there are the looks.

The smile is coming...... hold steady guys.

 

[frazzer]

whilst we're fantasizing, imagine that Cosworth V12 from GMA dropped into an Emira

 

[Leonard]

whilst we're fantasizing, imagine that Cosworth V12 from GMA dropped into an Emira

Indeed...
I was thinking a nice narrow high revving 4.0 V8 made of two 2.0 fours that could then have been used in a new Elise .
All pie in the sky now though! Bring on the EVs....

 

[Greenblood]

A Hayabusa derived V8, Monobloc JFC V8, 460Hp and 10500 redline!!

 

[kratedisease]

I said to the Lotus guys at the roadshow that if they had a true motorsport in-house engine in conjunction with cosworth etc they could have started the Emira at 90k and sold FEs at 120k

Yup, easy for sure, any day,...... I agree !!

That would be a true dream come true.

 

[wallstbear]

I'd pay $40K-$45K for the M139 to be swapped for an M178.

 

[haaaake]

Just let me rev the 3.5L to 8000rpm pls.

Or yes the 4.0L NA Cosworth version.

 

[TomE]

When I put down my deposits, sight unsee, I thought the car might well have 430HP minimum and basically be a more comfy version of the 430 Cup. At the same time, I expected it to be £105K based on the models at that time.

So, the performance is less but the price is a lot less.
Overall, bloody delighted - and then there are the looks.

The smile is coming...... hold steady guys.

Exactly, the price point has clearly been a big factor. I found out at Goodwood yesterday that Lotus did a private briefing for selected journalists ahead of announcing the Emira pricing and asked them to guess the price - almost all were above £100k and several in base McLaren territory.

They were then told the £60k i4 Base and £76k V6 FE prices and there was a micro-second of stunned silence followed by an explosion of expletives. None of them could believe what Lotus had achieved for the money.

 

[Eagle7]

A carbon fiber body and seats would certainly improve the performance, and be much more likely to be possible than an engine and trans swap. Those are always a lot of work and just never quite seem the same as a factory installation.

Add a couple hundred pounds of "lightness" with the same paint that a factory model comes with, and you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it that it was quite a bit lighter than a standard Emira. As Colin said, more power makes you faster in the straights. Less weight makes you faster everywhere.

 

[Evotion]

Love that - hope it is true! I might recount that in a future video.

Definitely a bargain on looks - power-wise, okay.

I wonder how many deposits Lotus have taken this time around at Goodwood. Did you get a feel for how excited people were, being a whole year later.

If people put down a deposit now, are they actually looking at 2024 deliveries?

 

[Evotion]

If Lotus bring out a 430-450 HP Cup car with carbon seats, interior bits, bonnet, roof and rear spoiler, plus remove a bit of sound deadening and the stereo then I might be up for that.

Otherwise, I won't personally see the point of swapping out an FE for it, and the £30 - £40 extra perhaps (come that time).

 

[Eagle7]

Yeah, by then a Cup car would probably be sitting at around £100k unless by some miracle inflation starts to deflate, but I don't see that happening.

For the price, and for what it's got, the FE may turn out to be the best deal of all.

 

[Evotion]

I'm convinced the Emira is a bargain now and will be considered even more of a bargain over the years.

I still maintain that the price of our early Emiras will never drop down below the price we pay for them.