Soldato
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Nice one Gibbo. Have to say I’m very jealous of having the phone call to order such a car. 
Poll: Lotus Emira Discussion
- Thread starter Mysterae_
- Start date
Nice one @Gibbo - They didn't give me a specific number but stated in the first 100 to have the order secured. Excited now. I hate waiting 
Similar to what you've outlined above, the FE is about 30% discount at least on the options vs a base specced up according to what i've been told by various Lotus sales folk. Key is residuals and the fact you get it in 2022 not '23 though!
Similar to what you've outlined above, the FE is about 30% discount at least on the options vs a base specced up according to what i've been told by various Lotus sales folk. Key is residuals and the fact you get it in 2022 not '23 though!
Not long off the phone with Lotus, they confirmed following to me:
- UK largest demand worldwide so far, with around 3500 deposits here and USA expected to be catching up soon.
- I am in the first production batch so should have a car April/May next year
He did not confirm as such but he hinted that a launch edition V6 works out cheaper than a base V6 with all same options added as the launch edition includes all the packs and KEF 10 speaker audio.
He confirmed the DIN weight for the V6 launch edition manual at 1458kg and joked that the ten speakers adds some weight.
He said they don’t have concrete figures yet but road tax, delivery and plates will add a further £2200-£2800 additional to the price.
He also said the demand is way beyond expectations and that the Hethel facility was originally primed to build around 550 cars per year but now they are going to expand on that with the new facility here in U.K. and he confirmed all Emiras will be built in the U.K. and the Chinese facility will be more regular Lotus cars due in the future.
He has arranged an one on one meeting and will personally show me the car in detail and bring metal painted samples of the green and wants to keep in touch when I’ve taken delivery for feedback.
Also again confirmed it’s an Evora chassis but heavily modified with a front wider track for improved front end and a totally rebuilt rear end, V6 cars also have a mechanical LSD, gearing ratios for the manual remain same as Evora.
On suspension he said the sports option might be a tad firm at low speeds for some particular on cup tyres but you can option Goodyear tyre on sports suspension. He said however the sports suspension setup still rides better than a modern German competitor on run flats so for many it won’t be considered firm. Touring and sports are same ride height and touring will be incredible setup for B roads.
He confirmed base car options in 2023 will include more colours but FE cars are priced aggressively, whereas base cars with options added will cost more.
I did not ask about V6 lifespan or finance options but it’s stuff I can ask when finalising my spec when I meet him at the Lotus event.
In short great to discuss a car with someone who has driven it and had a role in engineering side etc and really knows their stuff.
So final on road price with all options will be 79-80k !
Can you share who "he" is as other people posting on other forums seem to be talking to agency type people when they get their call? If you're willing/interested, could also be worth posting info on TheLotusForums as you've managed to get more information out of Lotus than anyone else and I'm sure it would be appreciated.
First year road tax should be £1910 with 234 g/km CO2 stated on the configurator so that's going to make up most of the £2200-£2800
Wonder if the A45 engine detune will get it in under 190g/km as the A45 is at 192g/km, £895 vs. £1345.
Soldato
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I imagine the frontal area and weight of the lotus will help that CO2 step without having to touch the engine.
Can you share who "he" is as other people posting on other forums seem to be talking to agency type people when they get their call? If you're willing/interested, could also be worth posting info on TheLotusForums as you've managed to get more information out of Lotus than anyone else and I'm sure it would be appreciated.
First year road tax should be £1910 with 234 g/km CO2 stated on the configurator so that's going to make up most of the £2200-£2800
Wonder if the A45 engine detune will get it in under 190g/km as the A45 is at 192g/km, £895 vs. £1345.
I dislike naming people just in case he has said something to me which I have then posted on here that was maybe a slip of the tongue and sensitive or incorrect information, the result then is someone getting in trouble. All I will say he is not agency staff and has worked at Lotus for over 20 years, I think he called me because I was asking Oakmere some technical questions they did not have the answers for so they put a message into someone technical or in the know at Lotus and the guy just called me from his mobile and we just had a good chin wag about cars in general and really enjoyed the fact I was someone who is a genuine enthusiast with quite a bit of experience and so just got talking.
He did say he was pretty sure that the road tax fund would be just shy of £2000 for first year and then £500 after that for next five years, the delivery charge they have still not worked out but said its generally around £800, but it is not yet finalised but as the cars come from Hethel and in my case will be going not that far (Cheshire) then that charge could change for the better and hence his thoughts were the OTR additional cost will be around £2800 on top of current pricing. Yes he confirmed the sub 250 g/km and that first year would be just shy of 2k and then £500ish for five years. Delivery was the cost in question as they had a figure of £800 but to him that seemed expensive and as such slim chance but it could reduce, but yes £2800 is looking more likely once plates are added in etc.
I think Lotus need to play for under 190g/km to attract those buyers, the guys who want the additional power can just tune it anyway, next time I chat with him I will ask the question if Lotus will be considering adding their own power packs for customers to purchase from a dealer who own cars as it can be quite lucrative business for them and is appealing to customers who want to tune but would like to maintain warranty.
I am sure you respect my decision to not publish his name, I know how it feels when someone post on the internet that someone said this even if they did not and then the big bosses or the manufacturers supplying the parts are then asking questions as to why was that information disclosed when its under NDA etc.
Fair enough. Great that Lotus are reaching to potential enthusiastic owners.
Still waiting for my phone call, though as it will be to tell them I need to wait for the i4 there’s no rush. Hoping I can make the FE pricing work as I placed deposit the morning after the launch so should be one of the earlier i4 build slots.
Still waiting for my phone call, though as it will be to tell them I need to wait for the i4 there’s no rush. Hoping I can make the FE pricing work as I placed deposit the morning after the launch so should be one of the earlier i4 build slots.
As I say the guy who called me is a long term employee and really cares about the brand he did say that the FE pricing will help residuals because in 2023 those cars should no longer be available and customers ordering base additions with the same options ticked would be paying more.
He also said they have removed some choices from the current configurator like the different wheel designs due to supply issues and trying to streamline production and get production rates up. So some of the prototype car wheels seen at the launch, are now no longer available.
The FE cars will now only have the V forged option available in either diamond cut, black or silver, he said the latter was the least popular but said it was a very good choice of wheel to go for particular if I go for blue or green as he agreed it helps lift the car. I also explained why I did not want black pack simply because its £1200 and cannot be reversed whereas I can wrap the roof black for £300 or far less if I attempt it myself, which he understood.
So right now they have around 3500 deposits just from the UK, the car has not even been reviewed yet by the press or the youtube community so I think its fair to say that even with cancellations that UK number will still be over 3000 cars sold to UK punters once reviews hit as I suspect reviews will be very positive.
He did say it drives similar to the Evora 410 Sport (with sport chassis) but has a better front end and more stable rear end, he did say it was also faster around their test circuit, he did say how many seconds it was but I cannot recall, he said it has something like 30% more downforce which equated to an extra 55kg downforce on the car at a certain speed, again which I cannot recall.
In short it performs better on track by a decent margin compared to an Evora 410 Sport.
He said a lot of people will go with sports chassis just because that is generally how most the customers spec the car, he did say the sport chassis though a bit fussy at low speeds, settles down at high speeds and still rides better than say an M4, but did conclude anyone more interested in road duties that the touring chassis is pretty unbeatable on a typical British B road and is also comfortable at low speed.
The discussion more then went along the lines how the Emira is an attempt to combine three cars in one, so giving the driving dynamics of an Elise and Exige, but with far superior build quality and comfort over what the Evora could offer, he mentioned and getting in and out is much easier and the quality of materials have stepped up and of course that the Emira is a track car that can also double as a fantastic touring car too with cup holders, good cabin storage and decent storage but of course all the mod cons people want in a modern car these days, he said all Emira will be built in the UK in the new 100M facility and that the new 900M Chinese facility will be used for new Lotus products coming in the future that are more lifestyle vehicles rather than sports vehicles.
In the past they sold a dealer fit supercharger kit. After registration ofc
You could buy a 111r and unofficially turn it in to an SC.
That is good to know.
Be nice if they offer kits for the V6 to boost power to 440-475 region, but I suspect if they do anything it will more be for the AMG because its easy money, flash the cars ECU and charge the punter £1499 for a software flash.
He also said November 5th is deadline for locking orders in, as they need all customers going ahead to lock their spec by this date so they can order in the correct amount of various colour wheels etc and of course other parts to then start building cars. He said some early cars might see a late April delivery but majority shall be May onwards.
One thing I found rather annoying, and I challenged it but got an email back confirming it's by design, not a mistake, is the steering wheel options.
Black leather is standard. You can spec extra options, with alcantara and with different coloured stripes. All very good, and I want.
But you can only do this on Auto and DCT cars. NOT on manual cars. It's black leather or black alcantara only.
Weird!
Further to that - the pictures on the website have steering wheels with different coloured stitching. That's not even an option!
Black leather is standard. You can spec extra options, with alcantara and with different coloured stripes. All very good, and I want.
But you can only do this on Auto and DCT cars. NOT on manual cars. It's black leather or black alcantara only.
Weird!
Further to that - the pictures on the website have steering wheels with different coloured stitching. That's not even an option!
I was wondering why the configurator was not showing the yellow drift stripe....
Does that mean then in a manual with the alcantara wheel it won't have the yellow stitching or the yellow stripe? If true makes sense to just get the no cost leather wheel and then get the wheel done at a later date.
I guess that it's a different steering wheel since the auto one has the flappy paddles?
Yup, I was told it was down to different suppliers for the auto/dct wheel vs the manual wheel. I realise that sounds ridiculous, however I've got the email from Lotus stating this (I'll DM you it for info).
So I've just kept the standard black leather wheel, and will have it custom trimmed later.
Had no further updates but my conclusion on pricing is as follows:
V6 FE - £78-80k OTR (Confirmed within £500 roughly)
I4 FE - 67-71k OTR (No confirmation)
I4 Base - 61-62k OTR (Confirmed within £500 roughly)
V6 Base - 67-69k OTR (Total guess work)
Be interesting on what options the base cars will get and what colour options. Would a good move be to buy an FE car and sell it within year one to get back what paid or a small profit and then spec a base car to exact desired spec if the car is truly epic or of car to see the many limited/special editions that develop which is bound to happen knowing the history of Lotus and how they love a special edition.
V6 FE - £78-80k OTR (Confirmed within £500 roughly)
I4 FE - 67-71k OTR (No confirmation)
I4 Base - 61-62k OTR (Confirmed within £500 roughly)
V6 Base - 67-69k OTR (Total guess work)
Be interesting on what options the base cars will get and what colour options. Would a good move be to buy an FE car and sell it within year one to get back what paid or a small profit and then spec a base car to exact desired spec if the car is truly epic or of car to see the many limited/special editions that develop which is bound to happen knowing the history of Lotus and how they love a special edition.
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Soldato
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Has anyone discussed the fact Emira is actually Arabic for Princess, yet? lol
Enema?
Hi there
Another phone call from Lotus today requesting a further 3k and to lock in my spec.
Confirmed as previously told by director that I don’t have to lock in specification until November 5th and leaving it until then has no impact on my place in the queue. Which is good news for me as I don’t get to see Emira in the flesh until November 4th.
Another phone call from Lotus today requesting a further 3k and to lock in my spec.
Confirmed as previously told by director that I don’t have to lock in specification until November 5th and leaving it until then has no impact on my place in the queue. Which is good news for me as I don’t get to see Emira in the flesh until November 4th.
Still no call from me but I'm seeing it (already have and sat in it at Goodwood) on 9th October...wonder when I will get my call? When did you put the deposit down? Is that £5k in total now then?