FWIW, my MK7 GTI is tuned and lighter than a Golf R and an absolute blast around the track! To be completely honest, it felt faster than the Evora GT I drove (I mentioned this before too - likely due to the agressive torque curve from the turbo). It's also averages ~35MPG on roadtrips and was about a quarter of the price brand new. The reliable and reputable stage 1+ (93 octane) tune from Unitronic was only $600 and gained me nearly 100HP and 90TQ! You can barely get an intake for the Lotus 2GR set up for $600 and that will get you maybe 10HP.
And that's why I'm keeping the GTI as my daily driver. It's an extremely fun and capeable daily, but the Lotus will be a totally different driving experience with the mid-engine RWD set up and the excitement that comes with driving an exotic sportscar. The GTI is cheap and easy to maintain and modify, so I won't cry if something happens at the track or complain when I need to change brakes. Golfs are everywhere though and the community is very young - I'm looking forward to something more mature and exotic.
That being said, I did struggle a bit justifying the Emira purchase. Its just a special car and the mid-engine RWD manual transmission combo checks all the boxes for me.