I spent an afternoon with the 420 Sport. Ask me anything?

[GetawayDriving]

How’s the Bluetooth ? Do you have voice control, NAV, and manual SOS?

This car had those features because it was a Canadian spec. US spec cars won't have connected services.

 

[GetawayDriving]

The louvered tailgate looks really high quality - well done Lotus.

Did I also spot physical steering wheel buttons?!

Yes! The steering buttons are real buttons. No more capacitive rockers. The wheel itself is a huge upgrade. The leather on the outside, Alcantara on the inside with carbon fiber paddles feels very premium in the hand and looks great.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Is the glass roof very hot inside?

I find my Emira without sunroof is very hot inside. I didn't notice a difference either way in the 420, and it was a very hot day with a lot of direct sun.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Titanium exhaust and finishers, any guesses on who makes it for Lotus?​

When the rear hatch becomes available for purchase... TAKE more of my money LOTUS. And GRP start sourcing a place to make the side piano black parts (vents) in carbon too. And another question about the hatch was the underside "finished" or ruff carbon?

You know I never thought to look at the underside of that panel. I don't know. I'll tell you this: They haven't fixed the wonky trunk latch

 

[Tai]

Then it would cost even more and everyone would complain that they can just get a porsche or something else for that kind of money.
I’m sure Lotus crunched the engineering and manufacturing numbers.
I’ve done most of the work they have done to this spec. Everyone should just be thankful and stop crying about what they should have done, and be happy with what they have done!

Idk man theyve always had a targa and it didnt add and extra 50k. Plus paying 150 for a car thats been specked to 138k isnt a big deal. Its lotus not giving us what we want, what the market has and charging way over 100k

 

[NE12SD8]

For me, the multimatic suspension is what makes this car. Once a few get their hands on it I'm guessing the reviews will be really good for the way the car drives. Also, these and the question asked about the Nitron's are fully adjustable so can be more compliant or less depending on damping and springs.

So does the suspension feel more springy? I have the sport suspension i4 and it feels like I'm sitting in a trampoline with people walking around me. This was one of my personal dislikes compared to say a C8 corvette where its a smoother ride. The recoil is too much in my opinion.

 

[sk8nSam]

What were the shock settings? Perhaps they could be softened for the street.

 

[Honcho]

So does the suspension feel more springy? I have the sport suspension i4 and it feels like I'm sitting in a trampoline with people walking around me. This was one of my personal dislikes compared to say a C8 corvette where its a smoother ride. The recoil is too much in my opinion.

When you say springy, I assuming you are talking about the car rebounding too fast after a bump and not how hard the suspension is? 2 or 3 way shocks you can adjust the rebound independently of how hard the shocks can be adjusted under compression. 1-way shocks like the Nitron r1's you are adjusting both the compression and the rebound damping at the same time. If you find you want more rebound damping with one ways you are also adding more compression damping which will give a harder ride. If you get the R1's custom valved you can have more rebound damping than compression for every click you add on. They're all tuneable to your personal preferences.

 

[Brokenblinker]

No

So does the suspension feel more springy? I have the sport suspension i4 and it feels like I'm sitting in a trampoline with people walking around me. This was one of my personal dislikes compared to say a C8 corvette where its a smoother ride. The recoil is too much in my opinion.

2 things are true.

The base C8 is more of a GT. It is decidedly less connected.

The C8 Z06 is very impressive. The magnaride does a good job being compliant while keeping the body in control, but is also less communicative.

 

[Foosh]

No

2 things are true.

The base C8 is more of a GT. It is decidedly less connected.

The C8 Z06 is very impressive. The magnaride does a good job being compliant while keeping the body in control, but is also less communicative.

The above is very true, one can more easily achieve personal best lap times in C8 Z06, over an Emira or a 911, because the car is astonishingly good with its Magnetic Selective Ride Control (MSRC) and Performance Traction Management (PTM) systems. Those systems take great care of the driver and allow one to push very hard while correcting driver mistakes, but there is very little driver feedback.

We own an E-Ray along with our 911 and Emira, and the E-Ray is definitely the quickest, but it's the car is doing most the work.

 

[THE SIG]

Airflow was excellent. No buffeting.

Very happy to hear that. I've got this on my spec and my order goes in next month.