Engine swap fantasy

TomE

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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

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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

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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.
 

Leonard

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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.... 🤣
 

kratedisease

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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.
 

TomE

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.
 

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