[wtwo3]

Didn't think this day would come so soon... but I traded in my beloved M3. I absolutely adored this car, but I hated what it became - somehow over my years of ownership this platform turned into a Tik Tok influencer car, and all the kids with rich parents began driving them (and crashing them). I know that shouldn't bother me, but it did as a 40 year old who'd worked my entire life to get into a position to be able to afford one. I just didn't want to be associated with that crowd anymore.

All that being said - it alone wasn't enough for me to simply get rid of my car. I still absolutely loved it and loved driving it.




About a week ago I saw a stunning bright blue Lotus Emira drive by - and that got me thinking. I looked into it more - went for a test drive, and loved it - But I told myself I'm not trading in my perfectly fine M3 for this unless the numbers make sense. The dealer worked with me on the numbers and the stars aligned - I got a great deal and the deal was done.








I'm not oblivious to Lotus's questionable reliability concerns - but I felt ok with it considering it's a 3rd car for me, and it's under warranty for several years. Looking forward to making some new memories!

[Pauly Wauly]

What happened?? Where`s the 911?


JK

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Pauly Wauly

What happened?? Where`s the 911?


JK

This is a temporary departure I got a great deal on the Emira - and I'm hoping pricing stays steady over the next couple years. 911 is still on the horizon - but pricing has become completely outrageous - really hard for me to justify.

[Pauly Wauly]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

This is a temporary departure I got a great deal on the Emira - and I'm hoping pricing stays steady over the next couple years. 911 is still on the horizon - but pricing has become completely outrageous - really hard for me to justify.

Yeah, Porsche prices are insane.

[johnboy00]

I had the same issue with my 2019 Dodge Charger Scat Pack. I loved driving the car, and it gave me 41,000 trouble-free miles over 7 years of ownership. But I tired of worrying about it being stolen so easily, and being associated with street takeovers and police pursuits.

[Efthreeoh]

Wouldn't this bumper sticker been a less expensive fix?

[allinon72]

I sympathize with your thoughts on the M culture in general...it's taken an unsavory turn and seems to be leading more in that direction. BMW has leaned into the social media crowd with just about every new design in the last several years - that's their new target market and it shows. Banks are happy to oblige...those who want a G80 bad enough shall have one, even if it's until the repo man shows up.

Now, every car scene since the model T has had their bad apples, but it's way worse now. F80s, G80s, you name it. As I entered 40s I transitioned to the F90, and it's perfect for me. But you'll never escape trying to be raced at every stoplight, especially with that Lotus in that color!

[Davil]

Lovely! So much better than buying the default accountant’s choice.

Please post a review in here when you’ve had it a while and some more pictures.

You know I really don’t like the G80 much but yours somehow looked rather tasty.

[baron95]

That Lotus is the most beautiful sports car at the moment. Not a bad line on it.

Lack of reliability and lack of internal storage space for trips or track day gear is what keeps me away from it.

Enjoy the car and make new memories.

Apparently the refresh of the Emira will have a 4-speed auto as the only choice. Not a typo - 4 speed.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by baron95

That Lotus is the most beautiful sports car at the moment. Not a bad line on it.

Lack of reliability and lack of internal storage space for trips or track day gear is what keeps me away from it.

Enjoy the car and make new memories.

Apparently the refresh of the Emira will have a 4-speed auto as the only choice. Not a typo - 4 speed.

The lack of reliability was pretty much the only thing that gave me pause - ultimately the car's under warranty for several years, so I figured let's give it a shot. The powertrain should be bulletproof, I'll just have to deal with the random little gremlines that may pop up from time to time.

With the new hybrid V6 and 4-speed auto coming, my hope is values for this SC V6 6MT stay strong.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Davil

Lovely! So much better than buying the default accountant’s choice.

Please post a review in here when you’ve had it a while and some more pictures.

You know I really don’t like the G80 much but yours somehow looked rather tasty.

Initial impressions on it:

It's defintely slower than the G80 (granted I haven't been able to push the Emira yet because it's still in break-in). But you feel and hear a lot more in this car, whereas the G80 is practically a luxury car by comparison.

Handling is an interestring one - weight transfer on the Emira is far superior - considering there's much less weight to be dealth with. But the interesting thing I'm still getting used to and learning is, in the G80, you could more or less plow through a corner and it would rotate via BMW's magic. In the Emira, if you try to do that it'll understeer. Since weight distribution is 60/40 rear biased in the Emira, you have to intentionally load up the front wheels before making that turn, and then it'll handle like it's on rails. This is my first mid-engine car, so it's a bit of a learning curve for me to get it right. You can't drive like an idiot and be saved by the car like you can in the G80.

The transmission and shift feel is definitely much more mechanical than the G80's rubbery shifter. The pedal box is also much more crowded in the Emira - presumably for heel-toe ease. The G80 spoiled me though with auto rev-matching, which the Emira doesn't have. So I need to build up the muscle memory again to blip the throttle on downshifts.

Overall I'm happy with it and there's a lot to learn. The G80 is the easier car to drive fast - but the Emira is much more rewarding if you get it right. Plus it gives you true feeling - you feel the steering and you know what the front tires are doing - you feel the mechanical shifter, the clutch is stiffer with more feedback. And then there's the sounds - so many mechanical sounds whirring and buzzing in the background with each gear shift (all coming from right behind you )

As far as looks go - I never disliked the G80, I felt it had an aggressiveness to it. But it definitely needs more modification to make it look proper. The problem is, most people either keep it stock, or most who do mod it, go overboard. I tried to keep it simple by fixing many of the problems (atrocious ride height for example). The Emira in contrast doesn't need much - a drop and some spacers is all it needs to be perfect.

[PurpleZ]

Sweet car! I almost got an Emira myself, but the local dealer was making the experience so terrible I gave up on the car. If the purchasing experience was so difficult, I couldn’t imagine needing them to service the car under warranty.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by PurpleZ

Sweet car! I almost got an Emira myself, but the local dealer was making the experience so terrible I gave up on the car. If the purchasing experience was so difficult, I couldn’t imagine needing them to service the car under warranty.

That's unfortunate. The dealership experience for me was incredible - and is what heavily contributed to me buying the car. I didn't intend to go in to buy it, but they made it such a painless experience. Really is a head scratcher why some dealers treat potential customers badly, effectively turning away business.

[PurpleZ]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

That's unfortunate. The dealership experience for me was incredible - and is what heavily contributed to me buying the car. I didn't intend to go in to buy it, but they made it such a painless experience. Really is a head scratcher why some dealers treat potential customers badly, effectively turning away business.

First their website shows cars that have been long since sold as available. Even when using their sold/available filter. Heck they are still even showing the same 2024s as available from when I was looking. Then communication was quite slow, days to reply. The nail in the coffin, was after inquiring about a test drive, I was told I would need to find an exotic car rental place and rent one myself. If I did buy a car from them that they would reduce the price by what I paid for the rental.

Every car buying experience I’ve had in my life was a better experience.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by PurpleZ

First their website shows cars that have been long since sold as available. Even when using their sold/available filter. Heck they are still even showing the same 2024s as available from when I was looking. Then communication was quite slow, days to reply. The nail in the coffin, was after inquiring about a test drive, I was told I would need to find an exotic car rental place and rent one myself. If I did buy a car from them that they would reduce the price by what I paid for the rental.

Every car buying experience I’ve had in my life was a better experience.

Wow that's crazy - don't blame you for not having bought one.

[baron95]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

The lack of reliability was pretty much the only thing that gave me pause - ultimately the car's under warranty for several years, so I figured let's give it a shot. The powertrain should be bulletproof, I'll just have to deal with the random little gremlines that may pop up from time to time.

With the new hybrid V6 and 4-speed auto coming, my hope is values for this SC V6 6MT stay strong.

Solid thinking. I hope you enjoy the car. It's just gorgeous.

[baron95]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

In the Emira, if you try to do that it'll understeer. Since weight distribution is 60/40 rear biased in the Emira, you have to intentionally load up the front wheels before making that turn, and then it'll handle like it's on rails.

Use it to your advantage. Fire bomb the corners, trail the brakes in, transition immediately (no coasting) to a bit of throttle to balance the car mid corner, then hammer it on the way out of the corner as the rear tires will have an oversupply of traction.

I have never driven an Emira, but I have driven (briefly) an Evora on track and countless 911s and Caymans - they all like the above and hate coasting mid corner.

[ShocknAwe]

Toss and catch.

Or alternatively stiffen up the chassis and particularly overstiffen the rear like a 911.

Good trade. Don't like the new BMWs.

[Davil]

Originally Posted by PurpleZ

First their website shows cars that have been long since sold as available. Even when using their sold/available filter. Heck they are still even showing the same 2024s as available from when I was looking. Then communication was quite slow, days to reply. The nail in the coffin, was after inquiring about a test drive, I was told I would need to find an exotic car rental place and rent one myself. If I did buy a car from them that they would reduce the price by what I paid for the rental.

Every car buying experience I’ve had in my life was a better experience.

Sounds like Fawlty Towers as a car dealer.

[Mikey240]

I have a soft spot for Lotus cars. I owned an '87 Turbo Esprit Hci for many years and loved it. Lotus was always the underdog and has somehow hung around this long even after being dead to rights so many times.

The Emira is really good looking although those bonnet slats/openings arent my favorite. Still, great looking car and you're gonna have fun with it.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Mikey240

I have a soft spot for Lotus cars. I owned an '87 Turbo Esprit Hci for many years and loved it. Lotus was always the underdog and has somehow hung around this long even after being dead to rights so many times.

The Emira is really good looking although those bonnet slats/openings arent my favorite. Still, great looking car and you're gonna have fun with it.

Yeah the bonnet slats do give it a broken sheetmetal look which I could do without - but on the plus side, they are 100% functional air inlets - so much so that there isn't a frunk for storage.

[Alfisti]

I'll be frank, NFI how anyone drops all that coin on a M3 and stares at the maw all the time, it's fucking horrible to look at. As an older 911 owner, i'd 100% pass on a modern 911 (other than a GT3) and go for the Emira.

I fucking love the Emira, it looks absolutely spectacular, still a bit old school and really turns some heads. Yes the engines are a bit meh but I just think a sports car should be a stand out and this car stands out. Bravo on the choice sir.