Long standing reader, now member from Germany

[hml_xy]

Hello everybody,

my name is Heiner and I´m from Germany. Some may know me from TLF already .

I´ve been lurking around this forum pretty much since the beginning but now feel that I finally had to register.
Too many times already I thought I´d like to jump in on a thread and leave my 2 cents .

I´ve been driving a couple Lotus since a few years (Evora GT430 Sport / Esprit S1 / Elan Sprint) and am about to finally pick up my Emira (and because I know the question will come ... verbally committed pre-announcement and ordered in written the morning after announcement ). It´s been sitting at the dealer for a while already, but it finally got road registered today and I may be able to collect it tomorrow!

Looking forward to a fruitful forum membership And hope it won´t take too long until collection day for all of you as well.

 

[VL3X]

Hello everybody,

my name is Heiner and I´m from Germany. Some may know me from TLF already .

I´ve been lurking around this forum pretty much since the beginning but now feel that I finally had to register.
Too many times already I thought I´d like to jump in on a thread and leave my 2 cents .

I´ve been driving a couple Lotus since a few years (Evora GT430 Sport / Esprit S1 / Elan Sprint) and am about to finally pick up my Emira (and because I know the question will come ... verbally committed pre-announcement and ordered in written the morning after announcement ). It´s been sitting at the dealer for a while already, but it finally got road registered today and I may be able to collect it tomorrow!

Looking forward to a fruitful forum membership And hope it won´t take too long until collection day for all of you as well.

Welcome and congrats! Can't wait to hear your thoughts and comparisons.

 

[digilotus]

Hello everybody,

my name is Heiner and I´m from Germany. Some may know me from TLF already .

I´ve been lurking around this forum pretty much since the beginning but now feel that I finally had to register.
Too many times already I thought I´d like to jump in on a thread and leave my 2 cents .

I´ve been driving a couple Lotus since a few years (Evora GT430 Sport / Esprit S1 / Elan Sprint) and am about to finally pick up my Emira (and because I know the question will come ... verbally committed pre-announcement and ordered in written the morning after announcement ). It´s been sitting at the dealer for a while already, but it finally got road registered today and I may be able to collect it tomorrow!

Looking forward to a fruitful forum membership And hope it won´t take too long until collection day for all of you as well.

Welcome and congratulations on imminently getting an Emira!

I'm curious - are you keeping the GT430 Sport? There's not many around...

 

[hml_xy]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

@digilotus: True - in fact there were only 8 (!) made according to the certificate of ownership. 5 LHD and mine is the only one in it´s colour (battleship grey).
For now, yes - my plan is to keep it and see if there is too much redundancy between the two. Let´s see how it goes. I am not in a rush and may keep it for a while.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Very interested to hear your comparisons between Emira and Evora GT430 Sport!

 

[hml_xy]

@GetawayDriving I´ll provide a nice write up once I have formed an opinion. I did drive Evora 400 prior to the GT430 Sport a few times (not as excessive as the GT430, until now did 20.000km in it) but can tell you that the Oehlins with Michelin Cup 2´s and the weight of around 1250kg (ish) make it not a fair comparison.
The GT430 is _very_ dialed in and a different beast. Probably not so much in terms of straight line speed but I do not expect the Emira to be on the same level. In fact, this is actually what I am looking forward to - because the GT430 is simply not a daily driver. More than once I had headache after a long roadtrip in it from it´s noise level (it sounds beautiful but is extremely loud). It is a weekend car and I am not good enough of a driver to bring it even close to it´s limits. But yes, I am also very keen to experience the difference in feel between the two.

 

[Leonard]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

@digilotus: True - in fact there were only 8 (!) made according to the certificate of ownership. 5 LHD and mine is the only one in it´s colour (battleship grey).
For now, yes - my plan is to keep it and see if there is too much redundancy between the two. Let´s see how it goes. I am not in a rush and may keep it for a while.

Welcome! And I think we need to see photos of the Evora as well Sounds epic in that colour grey

 

[supersix]

Wow, that's great news it's waiting at the dealership! Congrats @hml_xy and welcome!

 

[hml_xy]

Welcome! And I think we need to see photos of the Evora as well Sounds epic in that colour grey

@Leonard : Sure Just had a quick look through my Google Photos albums and found these here:

Supercar parking at Goodwood 2019:

And the campsite H at Goodwood on all the other days of the same year

Some snap a guy took leaving the Nordschleife carpark (the gravel place next to the ticket shop)

Next to the Esprit S1:

Carbon fibre seats on delivery day (they have given bruises to multiple passengers - not because of my driving )

 

[Leonard]

@Leonard : Sure Just had a quick look through my Google Photos albums and found these here:

Supercar parking at Goodwood 2019:
View attachment 10119

And the campsite H at Goodwood on all the other days of the same year
View attachment 10122
Some snap a guy took leaving the Nordschleife carpark (the gravel place next to the ticket shop)
View attachment 10121
Next to the Esprit S1:
View attachment 10120
Carbon fibre seats on delivery day (they have given bruises to multiple passengers - not because of my driving )
View attachment 10123

OMG that I can get VERY excited about. Love the fact it is the small wing version as well, even coooler.
What an absolute stunner.
The S1 is lovely as well

 

[hml_xy]

Thanks ! Yes, I also like the GT430 Sport better (no idea why the less sporty one is called Sport ). Didn´t want the "normal" GT430 but something a little bit more (dare I say it..) "GT3 Touring" style ... and it turns out this variant is even much rarer since Lotus did never build the 60 they had planned.

 

[Pops68]

Hello everybody,

my name is Heiner and I´m from Germany. Some may know me from TLF already .

I´ve been lurking around this forum pretty much since the beginning but now feel that I finally had to register.
Too many times already I thought I´d like to jump in on a thread and leave my 2 cents .

I´ve been driving a couple Lotus since a few years (Evora GT430 Sport / Esprit S1 / Elan Sprint) and am about to finally pick up my Emira (and because I know the question will come ... verbally committed pre-announcement and ordered in written the morning after announcement ). It´s been sitting at the dealer for a while already, but it finally got road registered today and I may be able to collect it tomorrow!

Looking forward to a fruitful forum membership And hope it won´t take too long until collection day for all of you as well.

Congrats on finally getting your Emira!! Yes we're envious..

 

[TomE]

Great to have you on here publicly Heiner. Look forward to continuing our chats started over on TLF and having your input on here. Some of your TLF pics have already been cross-posted on here (with attribution).

Pleased to hear your dealer has now sorted out registration and collection is “soon”

Looking forward to your driving impressions and comparisons with the Evora. The GT430 Sport is even rarer than the GT430 and a lovely machine - only a little bit jealous!

 

[hml_xy]

Thanks for the warm welcome @TomE

"Soon" I might be able to post some more photos and report first hand.

Also looking forward to visit the UK next season again. A Lotus / Emira meet up at FOS would be awesome. Or you guys come over to Germany and we'll meet at the Ring. And there is 75 years Lotus next year where I am quite sure Hethel will announce something for very ... soon.

 

[TomE]

There will be plenty of UK Emira meets and drives next year once we have our cars. A road trip somewhere in Europe is also very tempting.

 

[JimH]

There will be plenty of UK Emira meets and drives next year once we have our cars. A road trip somewhere in Europe is also very tempting.

Ypres Lotus Day – Probably the best Lotus event in the world ;)

ypreslotusday.be

I've been meaning to go to this for years, but something else (not least a global pandemic) has got in the way so far.

It's always on Ascension Day regardless of day of the week - so 2023 will be Thursday May 18th and it's in my diary (but 2023 registrations are not open yet)!

 

[hml_xy]

I am happy to announce that I was able to pick up the car today! It is still so surreal but I can already say that I totally adore the car!

I was surprised that I got a nice little giftbox with a color sample in the Emira shape (and the key inside it), together with a carbon cutout for the second key.

The ride on the tour suspension is sublime, exactly what I was hoping it would be. But to my surprise I have to say that it sits about 1cm higher than the sport suspension cars! First I couldnt believe it but I compared it side by side and my car definitely sits a bit higher!

The pedal box is in my opinion better than in the Evora and the gearshift is a bit smoother and shorter. I'd say definitely an enhancement compared to the old generation. But - there is gearbox noise galore! Even more than in my Evora to be honest. I just file under character of the drivetrain from now on. It plays well with the supercharger (which is very dominant in the engine compartment). Overall - nothing to complain so far, in fact positively surprised. Ok, the parking sensor is a bit sensitive but maybe there is a setting somewhere. Now off to another drive ...

 

[VL3X]

I am happy to announce that I was able to pick up the car today! It is still so surreal but I can already say that I totally adore the car!

I was surprised that I got a nice little giftbox with a color sample in the Emira shape (and the key inside it), together with a carbon cutout for the second key.

The ride on the tour suspension is sublime, exactly what I was hoping it would be. But to my surprise I have to say that it sits about 1cm higher than the sport suspension cars! First I couldnt believe it but I compared it side by side and my car definitely sits a bit higher!

The pedal box is in my opinion better than in the Evora and the gearshift is a bit smoother and shorter. I'd say definitely an enhancement compared to the old generation. But - there is gearbox noise galore! Even more than in my Evora to be honest. I just file under character of the drivetrain from now on. It plays well with the supercharger (which is very dominant in the engine compartment). Overall - nothing to complain so far, in fact positively surprised. Ok, the parking sensor is a bit sensitive but maybe there is a setting somewhere. Now off to another drive ...

Amazing! Congrats! I'm excited to hear you got a little giftbox too. Did that come from your dealer or directly from Lotus? Interesting about the tour vs sport ride height. I expected that, but I also expect both to settle a bit after a while too. Congrats again and look forward to your continued feedback and experience owning one of the very first Emira!

 

[eriegz]

I am happy to announce that I was able to pick up the car today! It is still so surreal but I can already say that I totally adore the car!

I was surprised that I got a nice little giftbox with a color sample in the Emira shape (and the key inside it), together with a carbon cutout for the second key.

The ride on the tour suspension is sublime, exactly what I was hoping it would be. But to my surprise I have to say that it sits about 1cm higher than the sport suspension cars! First I couldnt believe it but I compared it side by side and my car definitely sits a bit higher!

The pedal box is in my opinion better than in the Evora and the gearshift is a bit smoother and shorter. I'd say definitely an enhancement compared to the old generation. But - there is gearbox noise galore! Even more than in my Evora to be honest. I just file under character of the drivetrain from now on. It plays well with the supercharger (which is very dominant in the engine compartment). Overall - nothing to complain so far, in fact positively surprised. Ok, the parking sensor is a bit sensitive but maybe there is a setting somewhere. Now off to another drive ...

Yes, this is the first I'm hearing about this gift box! I think probably everyone on this forum is hoping for one of those when we receive our cars...

 

[hml_xy]

Yes, I also never heard of these. The manager of the dealer (sorry... "agent" ) said that it's even RFID shielded to prevent capturing of the keys radio frequency! So its supposed to be safe to have it just standing around at home. Neat! Not sure if dealer bonus or standard delivery merchandise

Here is another pic of the box and the carbon inlay for the second key.

I also posted a bit more feedback and impressions on TLF and since I know that it might find some interest around here I just copy/paste my post below:

Thanks everybody for the kind words! It was a (sub-4000rpm) blast - everybody who has one on order can definitely look forward to it. In the best possible way it's a "modern Evora". The goal to speak to a wider audience than the predecessor has definitely been achieved.

I really wonder if the press cars had the "old" gearbox in them because this one is definitely better than what I know from the previous generation. Yes, the gearbox howl is still there (maybe even more than on my Evora?) but the gearshift is definitely tweaked and slicker. For example many of you will know that 1st was sometimes a bit hard to get into - none of that on the Emira! Also less force to put the gears in but in return a "cleaner" shift.

And the steering wheel being chunky... yes, it is very chunky when you place your hands in the 9:00 & 3:00 o'clock positions. But if you do it "right" and put them at 10:00 and 2:00 o'clock it's not too chunky. But yes, I would also prefer a round wheel a bit more.

Power wise I can't really say much after just 200km and no hard accelerations yet but first impression is you feel the difference in weight to the Evora GT430.

Ride quality and steering / brake feel are definitely class leading in my opinion - just like Gav said ... "a true Lotus".

Quirks:

1) Parking sensor behaves like on a modern Aston Martin Vantage - often just turns itself on at a traffic light and starts beeping for no reason. Same part supplier like Aston or a software glitch?

2) The fuel filler opening has a self-closing latch which takes a good bit of force to press open. This has caused a quite a spillage of Shell finest V-Power at the station. Seems I have to work on my technique to accomodate