Under the skin: Why the Lotus Emira's four is more exciting than its V6

[Joeszo31]

30k AUD - think of it as a likely 10-15k premium in USD.

The Chevy thing is complicated - the C8 is a wonderful car but the target market for them is mostly not interested in being associated with the elderly, cliqueish owner community that dominates the ownership experience of the older Corvettes. The "jean shorts and New Balance sneakers on a pudgy older conservative white guy" stereotype is unfortunately the dominant one around that brand. That's not an appealing set of cultural signals for the Millennial buyers they desperately want to attract. The Corvette marketing people really need to do something to break those stereotypes and show the brand as something more than that.

Lotus, despite being English, is mostly free from those negative cultural touchpoints, in the same way that Porsche is. They are aspirational brands for young highly educated professionals, in addition to the expected petrolheads who also love these brands.

I wouldn't say you're incorrect in describing the bulk of the Corvette buyers in the USA. But it's clear Chevy doesn't really have a marketing problem because they are selling every Corvette they can possibly produce. As you already know, it is rather expensive to live in the United States, and as a result, buyers tend to be older and more established, regardless of the shoes they wear or whether the buyer is a libtard or conservative. I bought a Corvette convertible when I was 25 and enjoyed the hell out of it. It was a positive experience and definitely one that would have me consider the C8. I never really cared about aspirational brands for brand's sake. I've owned a 911 and eventually sold it, partially because I never bonded with the car. It lacked soul and excitement. Which may explain why I have an Elise now, and am considering (with deposit) the Emira.

 

[SilvesterZ]

Here some opinion about this topic from Germany.
I placed a deposit for the emira and it will be the AMG engine.
I am in the lucky position to own an Exige 430 Cup and several other cars.
The Toyota V6 engine is superb. 430bhp and 1080kg makes this car to a track monster. Nordschleife under 8 minutes.
But......the AMG 139 engine will for sure generate the same fun. AMG will use this engine in the new C63! A 4 Zylinder instead of the old V8.
In Germany this engine is good for 470hp.
Dual clutch and paddle shift are state of art und Mercedes AMG stands for quality.
As most of the cars in Germany have stickshift we see it from a different angle.
For sure tuner like Komotec will soon find a solution to power up the 360bhp to 400+
without massiv changes to the engine. The potential of the AMG engine is enormous.
The Toyota engine is at its limit. The effort to encrease power is much more and the gearbox then will be the next limiter.
The dual clutch gearbox is the second highlight because of being a real gearbox not automatic. Once you drove it you don't want to miss it anymore.
So it will be the AMG engine and the dual clutch gearbox.
Only which color to choose is the question.......

 

[Cwolf]

I look at it this way. Who is going to the track regularly and who is going to be driving their car in more day to day situations. The nearest track to me is 2.5 hours away and I would have to schedule a weekend. I would rather have a manual so I can enjoy my daily driving. I am non interested in track times, but I am interested in the involvement and daily driving of a manual trans.

 

[PaulP]

I look at it this way. Who is going to the track regularly and who is going to be driving their car in more day to day situations. The nearest track to me is 2.5 hours away and I would have to schedule a weekend. I would rather have a manual so I can enjoy my daily driving. I am non interested in track times, but I am interested in the involvement and daily driving of a manual trans.

I’m the exact opposite- maybe I have more stop and go traffic. A dcs all day long for me. I’ve done the stick shift manual thing and it gets old in city traffic. DCS gives me personally the same fun via paddle shifting with ability to just zone out if I want.

 

[Cwolf]

That definitely makes sense!

 

[EspritGuy]

View attachment 144

The Lotus Emira’s M139 engine is hand-built by Mercedes-AMG on a ‘one man, one engine’ basis
​

The familiar supercharged 3.5-litre Toyota V6 engine might be the obvious choice for many buyers of the new Lotus Emira, but the smart money could well be on the alternative: the turbocharged 2.0-litre Mercedes-AMG unit.

The M139 is the latest four-cylinder engine from Affalterbach, and it is claimed to be the most powerful turbocharged four-cylinder production engine in the world.

In AMG applications, there are two versions, one producing 382bhp and 204lb ft and the other delivering 415bhp and 369lb ft. Lotus quotes the power output of the Emira “across the range” as being between 355bhp and 395bhp, encompassing both V6 and four-cylinder engines. At those relatively conservative levels, the door is left wide open for Lotus to further tap into the AMG engine’s huge potential in the future.

Sheer performance aside, an engine’s attributes have a major influence on how thrilling a car is to drive, or not. The M139 is free-revving at the top end, thanks to a torque curve that extends maximum torque up to 5000rpm in both AMG versions of the engine. It is high-revving, too, with the redline at 7200rpm, and its maker claims its power delivery is similar to that of a naturally aspirated engine.

The design of the induction and exhaust system has a lot to do with that. The turbocharger is twin-scroll, which means it is fed from the exhaust manifold through separate passages, with two cylinders feeding each scroll.

The advantage is fast response at low engine speeds combined with enough capacity to produce high power at the top end. Pairing the exhaust ports avoids exhaust back-pressure created by the presence of the turbo hampering the scavenging of exhaust from the engine. The compressor and turbine of the charger spin in roller bearings that reduce friction and improve response as they whizz up to a maximum of 169,000rpm.

Elsewhere, the piezo direct fuel injectors and spark plugs have been repositioned, making room to significantly increase the size of the exhaust valves (compared with those in the previous M133 engine), allowing freer passage of the exhaust from the combustion chambers.

The engine also has two-stage injection, with a second set of solenoid port injectors firing additional fuel into the inlet manifold at high power output. There have been some changes made in order to install the engine into the Emira. Although still mounted transversely, it sits amidships and drives the rear wheels.

In AMG cars, it has been rotated through 180deg (compared with the old M133) to improve packaging. This puts the exhaust and turbo at the back, against the firewall, with the induction system at the front in the front-wheel-drive AMG cars, but the engine has been adapted to fit the Emira with a new air intake system and a new exhaust system.

It sounds like a compelling package: this new hand-built engine could potentially be the best-ever four-pot fitted to a Lotus.

Source

Thanks for the story. I've pondered the engine question and settled on the AMG choice. And, wish a manual could be paired with it.

 

[richbrown]

I wouldn't say you're incorrect in describing the bulk of the Corvette buyers in the USA. But it's clear Chevy doesn't really have a marketing problem because they are selling every Corvette they can possibly produce. As you already know, it is rather expensive to live in the United States, and as a result, buyers tend to be older and more established, regardless of the shoes they wear or whether the buyer is a libtard or conservative. I bought a Corvette convertible when I was 25 and enjoyed the hell out of it. It was a positive experience and definitely one that would have me consider the C8. I never really cared about aspirational brands for brand's sake. I've owned a 911 and eventually sold it, partially because I never bonded with the car. It lacked soul and excitement. Which may explain why I have an Elise now, and am considering (with deposit) the Emira.

I’ve got my deposit in and wanted the V6 but with an estimated £75k base price and a £15k premium over an AMG 4 cylinder it may move me back into 911 992 carrera territory. I’ve had a 997 carrera and loved the usability and relatively low maintenance. Hopefully the base lotus spec will be good as I could see with options it creeping into £80k+. Fingers crossed as I’m sure the Emira will be a superb car and success story.

 

[stefmaster]

No manual, no care. Doesn’t matter how fast or how much cheaper it is, my performance vehicles need a manual.

As my Dad once said to me... "You drive the car, the car doesn't drive you..." ;oP

 

[Schumacher]

You can modify the M139 to about 590HP. There is a lot of tuning left in that motor. The Toyota is hard to bump past 460HP. I will be plenty happy with a tune and the Toyota. I have to admit I like a dct and owned one in a M3. I loved it, but it is still not a manual. Using the Toyota is a way to keep the cost down.

 

[tjlazer]

It’s interesting that the gearbox has a major influence on the engine choice, I thought the sound was the biggest factor! No question that an amg engine will be special, personally I’ve done the 2 door coupe with a manual (2 x z4ms for 5 years as a daily). I’m happy to move on to the newer platform, I don’t miss the clutch pedal so much these days 😎

 

[CHEESE]

No manual, no care. Doesn’t matter how fast or how much cheaper it is, my performance vehicles need a manual.

This. Could get a much faster MR car for about half the price (C8 Corvette), but it's missing the thing that makes it fun.

 

[Balboa]

I remember when Honda introduced the S2000 and was so excited to proclaim it was the most powerful naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engine EVER! Who cares it was still an anemic 2.0 - I would have much rather had the 6th most powerful V-6 as the S2000 was out-powered by most everything on the road.

 

[HoweBank]

I have opted for the V6 for the reasons discussed.

sound, low down linear perfromance and manual box.

I have an S1 exige and love it to bits but flogging it through gears whilst enjoyable is also draining.

cc's make such a difference to enjoy both moods. personal opinions of course

 

[Maverick1]

It's a very easy choice for me.
I want the car that gives me the most driving pleasure the most driver involvement and engagement and that's with the manual transmission and that's with the V6.
Also, the V6 will undoubtedly have the more adventurous exhaust note so it's really a win-win for the V6.
Keep this in mind gentleman this is the last manual transmission, ice engine powered Lotus will ever be making, everything else is going to be Electric.
With that amazing "hum" from its 500hp equivalent electric motor, and it's loads of torque from its engaging single speed transmission. 😉

 

[DPB]

All USA FE deposit holders (except me) should change to the i4 specification.

 

[brainf18]

No manual, no care. Doesn’t matter how fast or how much cheaper it is, my performance vehicles need a manual.

And the I4 has no LSD...That's a deal breaker!

 

[Johnson]

Do we have access to the torque curves of both engines? I don’t tend to rev my engines during normal driving, and I’m guessing the V6 is more suited to leisurely gearshifts.

 

[ksegg]

No manual, no care. Doesn’t matter how fast or how much cheaper it is, my performance vehicles need a manual.

100%

 

[Tailslides]

Really wanted manual, we already have a superb PDK flat 6 and a manual MX-5, the Emira is going to be a mix of the two, manual and six cylinders.

 

[Lankan]

Really wanted manual, we already have a superb PDK flat 6 and a manual MX-5, the Emira is going to be a mix of the two, manual and six cylinders.

...with an exhaust note to match: