[jmn444]

wider front track width is most likely the gain, but also could be the cup2 sizes might be in slightly diff compounds. I know a gt350r cup 2 is WAY WAY WAY grippier than the cup 2's that came on my evora gt.

 

[jmn444]

Or the car might have slightly different alignment specs as well.

 

[GuppyCaptain]

I have a GT, and I tested the demo car at Motorcars of Atlanta with the sport suspension. The GT is still the livelier and more raw car than the Emira. It is the car if you want to get out and cut up with your friends down some back roads. The Emira is pretty toned down, and compliant version of that — or for bettter term, more 'practical' for everyday usability. Don't get me wrong, the Emira is a fantastic looking car with a nice interior, but from a performance perspective, the GT is still a much better 'Lotus' than the outgoing. The Evora's steering is sharper and can be tossed around pretty easily, whereas the Emira is definitely more stable and comfortable due to its wider track.

In my view, they're not really made to replace one another but rather to suit different preferences. Do you prefer back road driving and canyon carving? Choose the Evora GT. If you just want to drive around on the street and be comfortable for weekend dates, the Emira is the way to go. That's how I see it. Unless they come out with a newer variant like the Emira S or R, I don't see myself getting rid of the GT for a less performing car just because it's the latest hype. Keep the Evora GT and if you're one of those guys in the market, I genuinely recommend getting the GT (especially one with the carbon pack for resale down the road) over the Emira if you want to experience true modern day Lotus DNA.

Amen brother. I just don’t see why one would prefer the Emira over the GT. It’s got less power and more weight. The GT is more lively in handling and stands out more in a crowd. I don’t know…I just don’t get it. There’s no way I’d trade my GT for one, but to each their own. The only reason mine’s on the market is to fund the purchase of a 600LT.

 

[Danny_r34]

After finally seeing an Emira in the flesh this weekend at a local Italian car show, I have some thoughts.....
The owner of the Emira stated that it was the first one sold in California. I was very intrigued to see what this model was all about, and he allowed folks to open doors and the boot to take a good look around. I thought the green color with the yellow calipers appropriate and in keeping with the oversized Lotus logo on the hood. I also liked the stainless speaker grills for the KEF sound system. Frenched in door handles were beautiful. That was about where the positives stopped for me, and where I started to ask myself if this car truly embodies the Lotus sprit.
At that show, in a sea of Italian supercars, the Emira blended in well and looked like one of the crowd. My Evora GT stood out as an individual, distinct from the group. There was a pristine Exige there too, and it looked simply amazing and very "Lotus". In days of yor, when you saw a Lotus, you always knew it was a Lotus. I saw a blue Emira go by on the freeway last week, and it took me about ten seconds to realize it was an Emira and not a Ferarri. The blue color was the tip off, but I still was left wondering if it was indeed an Emira.
Looking deeper into the Emira revealed some very non Lotus features. The engine surround looked so cheap and production line. The seats, while nicely assembled, seemed too overstuffed and under bolstered. The electronic display just turned me off completely since it could be any basic SUV in there. I prefer the dash on a Hyundai Santa Cruz! No carbon fiber door sill covers also was a disappointment. Not even a Lotus logo! I felt like I was crawling into a Volvo station wagon. I also noticed the rotor assembly looked cheap, poorly cast, and less race oriented. The rims were a nice design, but not forged or machined with a crisp look to them. You could truly feel the Asian influence on the interior design, and not in a good way, just a generic way. As to the body design, it is pretty no doubt, but is it Lotus?
For the past three years, I have been contemplating whether I would be awestruck by the Emira, and want to let go of my Evora GT, but my mind is at total peace now, knowing that I have the last Lotus to leave the factory that embodies the Lotus spirit one hundred percent in every aspect. That is a really good feeling after three years of doubt.

Thanks for this very detailed write up explaining the differences between these two vehicles. Having only seen these cars at local events but not being able to drive them yet has been challenging to truly compare them.

 

[csoulellis]

I had a 2011 Evora (NA) and now a 2024 Emira. This thread went a bit off the rails but here is my take. By the way, I also had an Elise S (S3).
My Evora had the base 3.5L, 276 hp. It was a great engine. Linear power delivery, quick, smooth, and good note. The interior was gorgeous - acres of cognac leather everywhere, dash and door cards swathed in luxury. Aluminum trim around buttons. It was the old-school sublime, like a bespoke Jaguar from the glory days. It was comfortable as hell, drove buttery smooth over crappy roads even better than my Lexus SUV. A few years ago I got a chance to drive an Evora GT (I believe it was a 2021), and it was obviously way faster with a much more austere/angular interior and exterior. The chassis felt way stiffer, the whole thing felt dialed up to 10 and more frenetic/stiff/race-focused. Gone was the luxurious British bespoke feel. The exterior was less curvaceous and broken up by more angles, vents, the weird split rear wing treatment, etc. I liked it, for different reasons of course, but I felt like my 2011 basic NA Evora was far more "Lotus" than the GT was in the sense that it felt more handmade, tailored, and old school compared to the vastly more modern GT which felt almost German.

I got tired of the Evora eventually after owning it for 12 years, because I like a change now and then. So I traded it in for a 2024 Emira 2L turbo. The Emira is leagues more polished than even the GT I was in from 2020 or 2021. The exterior design is absolutely stunning and unified. It is a total and complete return to the original smooth cohesive design language of the original debut Evora. The interior, interestingly enough, is angular and utilitarian - it's far closer to the GT or even an older Porsche interior (like a 997) than my old Evora, which had a swoopy and luxe interior. The magic is totally gone. The drive, however, is frenetic and insane compared to the both my old NA and the GT - it feels way way faster (I got the 2L turbo) and way crazier. The noises the turbo blowoff valve makes combined with the burbles and pops when you gun it are a lot to take in acoustically. It is nowhere near as smooth and buttery as the 3.5L was but it is way way wilder and quicker. It's way more planted and doesn't rotate anymore the way my old Evora would. I've flung the Emira into the same corners and ripped on the same streets I've been driving my whole life, and I have to say my old Evora was far more fun with a beautiful neutral forgiving rotation right around the driver as the vertical axis. It was sheer nirvana as far as handling is concerned. The GT was too hardcore, and the Emira is even more hardcore than the GT. It doesn't dance anymore, it just glues itself to the asphalt like a supercar and takes way more speed to get it to break a bit. It's basically a no-more-excuses entry into sports car territory, there is nothing the car can't do compared to any modern competitor whether that's performance or fit/finish. You just can't wave off something weird and say "well, it's British or it's handmade or it's a Lotus, you know." The car is impeccably designed and built.

I won't compare my Elise S to the above because I really think it is the apple to the Evora/Emira orange. Plus if you wanna talk "Lotus" it doesn't get more raw than exposed aluminum structural elements and parcel shelves without doors and electric window modules that were chosen because they actually weight less than a manual wind setup.

In summary, since a lot of you seem to prize or place emphasis on how "Lotus" the Evora or Emira is, I don't know what to tell you, because my 2011 Evora, the Evora GT, and the Emira are totally different animals from each other. My Evora was this curvaceous smooth beautiful specimen and the GT is this insect-like track machine that lost all its character in pursuit of performance. The Evora marries the beauty of my old Evora with the insanity of the GT (but faster) so I would argue that the Emira is more "Lotus" than any Evora but my NA was far more "Lotus" to me than the GT i was in. However, I will digress here because if Colin Chapman were alive I don't know what he would have wanted for the brand in today's day and age. After all, all his cars came with 2 seats, the Esprit was swathed in leather and interior luxury as well when it came out, and the Evora was designed with rear seats which can't possibly be compatible with a pure singular racing ethos can it?

 

[Theunz]

Csoulellis said…“I will digress here because if Colin Chapman were alive I don't know what he would have wanted for the brand in today's day and age. After all, all his cars came with 2 seats”

Several early Lotus were plus two, so I think that he would have no problem with the Evora. Me personally, being over 70, feel that the Evora hits the perfect balance between simplicity and comfort while still exhibiting impressive performance.

 

[BlissfullyLotus]

Csoulellis said…“I will digress here because if Colin Chapman were alive I don't know what he would have wanted for the brand in today's day and age. After all, all his cars came with 2 seats”

Several early Lotus were plus two, so I think that he would have no problem with the Evora. Me personally, being over 70, feel that the Evora hits the perfect balance between simplicity and comfort while still exhibiting impressive performance.

While I think most people have a memory of Lotus only making vintage F1 cars, roadsters, the Europa, and Esprit, they claim quite a few different types of cars as their own, per: Classic Lotus Road Cars – vintage innovation | Lotus Cars