Evora now or Emira later?

[Matchy]

I am currently very tempted to buy an Evora GT410 (not sport) to keep my Elise S1 company. I previously had a 2011 Evora S and loved it, hugely enjoyable to drive on roads at any speed and in all weathers. When I read the reviews of the GT410 it seems like the perfect car for me but if I wait for 18 months I could have an Emira. Am I mad to consider buying the Evora now ? A couple of dealers have had GT410s in stock for quite some time now which makes me wonder if there is a good deal to be done!

[Ironroz]

Evora now. It will be a lot exclusive than Emira.. tbh emira is pretty much a 400 underneath

[Baldchap]

I have a GT410 that we bought in April.

They're absolutely brilliant. The suspension, steering and chassis are just spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. Why anyone ever bought a 911 whilst these were on sale is beyond me.

[Ironroz]

Baldchap said:

I have a GT410 that we bought in April.

They're absolutely brilliant. The suspension, steering and chassis are just spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. Why anyone ever bought a 911 whilst these were on sale is beyond me.

First of all, lack of marketing from Lotus. Secondly, personal ego. People saw Evora as a glorified Elise or Exige not realising it's a completely different animal and quite possibly one of the best engineered cars ever that can be used daily. Period. What this means is that one who got their hands on any of the 6000 Evoras produced (whether a NA,S, 4xx) will be laughing in the future as they will become very desirable

[plenty]

Given Lotus' track record there is a very good chance that the Emira will be great to drive.

But I can't see the Emira being a hugely better drivers' car than the GT410 (I can't think of many cars on sale today at any price point that are). The improvements will mostly be in perceived quality, interior materials, the superficial things that modern car-buyers want but presumably as an S1 Elise owner you're prepared to overlook.

If Lotus get those things right and also manage to ensure the car is great to drive, then it's a surefire winner. They're already 60% of the way there with styling that most people seem to love.

So it really depends on your priorities. And I don't see GT410 values dropping - quite the opposite in fact as history will show it to be the more focused, purist car compared with the mainstream Emira.

[BertBert]

plenty said:

But I can't see the Emira being a hugely better drivers' car than the GT410 (I can't think of many cars on sale today at any price point that are).

This is what I think too. So I am a little surprised at myself for selling my 410 sport at the end of last year in favour of an Emira due to arrive in June. I may feel a little foolish, but it's not going to be worse and it looks great, so maybe ok! And it's going to be yellow

[s2kjock]

Ironroz said:

Baldchap said:

I have a GT410 that we bought in April.

They're absolutely brilliant. The suspension, steering and chassis are just spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. Why anyone ever bought a 911 whilst these were on sale is beyond me.

First of all, lack of marketing from Lotus. Secondly, personal ego. People saw Evora as a glorified Elise or Exige not realising it's a completely different animal and quite possibly one of the best engineered cars ever that can be used daily. Period. What this means is that one who got their hands on any of the 6000 Evoras produced (whether a NA,S, 4xx) will be laughing in the future as they will become very desirable

I've never driven a 911, but I imagine it has a more solid interior, smaller panel gaps, bits that don't fall off, bits that fit together properly etc - surely that is why people buy them for reasons other than the "prestige" badge if they could afford either?

The first time my Dad saw an Evora in the flesh he assumed it was a kit car

[plenty]

s2kjock said:

Ironroz said:

Baldchap said:

I have a GT410 that we bought in April.

They're absolutely brilliant. The suspension, steering and chassis are just spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. Why anyone ever bought a 911 whilst these were on sale is beyond me.

First of all, lack of marketing from Lotus. Secondly, personal ego. People saw Evora as a glorified Elise or Exige not realising it's a completely different animal and quite possibly one of the best engineered cars ever that can be used daily. Period. What this means is that one who got their hands on any of the 6000 Evoras produced (whether a NA,S, 4xx) will be laughing in the future as they will become very desirable

I've never driven a 911, but I imagine it has a more solid interior, smaller panel gaps, bits that don't fall off, bits that fit together properly etc - surely that is why people buy them for reasons other than the "prestige" badge if they could afford either?

The first time my Dad saw an Evora in the flesh he assumed it was a kit car

You are both correct. No Lotus will ever outsell a 911. But if Lotus had done a better job of marketing the Evora it would have sold more. There are still enough people out there who are willing to tolerate 7/10 build for a 10/10 driving experience. But even for most of these people the Evora wasn't on the radar.

[Matchy]

Thanks for the responses. I sold my Evora S when I was tempted by a low mileage Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio which was an incredibly capable car particularly at higher speeds but it didn’t make every journey as special as driving the Lotus and enjoying that incredible steering and superb handling.

I buy my cars for the enjoyment of getting in and just driving on roads so the simpler the better (a friend with a Quadrifoglio was raving about the heated steering wheel - a feature I didn’t even know mine had). So I am beginning to conclude that if the Touring Emira has a better interior but will be challenged to better the driving experience of the Evora on roads I should just get an Evora back on the driveway. If the Emira turns out to be incredible I can always join the waiting list and enjoy the Evora while I wait…

PS I have only driven a 911 once - a 997 Carrera S. Rock hard ride (compared to both Evora and Elise) for no obvious handling benefit (on roads at least).

[ParanoidAndroid]

I’m not actually sure how much different it is to the Evora underneath in V6 form. I guess there will be improvements but not sure how noticeable it will be. Guess we will need to wait for the motoring journo’s to drive them. For me though, I still think the Evora looks fantastic, especially in 410/430 guise, the Emira interior doesn’t really bother me given it would be a weekend toy and the Evora will be much rarer!

[plenty]

One thing I do hope they fix in the Emira is the position of the engine. When pushing on in my Evora I was always aware of the big iron lump sat relatively high up.

I'd be interested to know the difference in weight between the AMG and Toyota motors.

[Oilchange]

Big alloy lump as far as I can tell (wiki)

[plenty]

Yes, you're right of course. Don't think an iron V6 would work in a Lotus!

[Lotobear]

plenty said:

One thing I do hope they fix in the Emira is the position of the engine. When pushing on in my Evora I was always aware of the big iron lump sat relatively high up.

I'd be interested to know the difference in weight between the AMG and Toyota motors.

This is one thing I distinctly recall from my Evora - you'd feel it in a crest mid bend, the rear of the car would become noticeably light and you'd feel a significant 'shift' in weight. The only vice though, in so much as it was, otherwise a superb handling car.

[Oilchange]

I did think you were joking plenty but you never can tell here...

On a crest, mid bend, I suspect any mid engine'd car will go light at the rear. Try Avon rise at Combe to see it in action (no don't!)

Nice dilemma by the way

Edited by Oilchange on Friday 11th February 10:22

[plenty]

Oilchange said:

I did think you were joking plenty but you never can tell here...

I'm not. Some Exige V6 owners have also commented on the adverse effects on handling of having a relatively high CoG block in the back of such a low-slung chassis.

It's exacerbated in supercharged cars with the supercharger sitting on top of the lump and more or less at eye level when seated in the car. It's one reason why people rate the NA Evora as a sweeter drive.

Here's the cross-section of an NA (now imagine the supercharger sitting on top of the block).



An Evora with a boxer would be a sweet thing indeed.

[Shnozz]

s2kjock said:

The first time my Dad saw an Evora in the flesh he assumed it was a kit car

Never had that with mine. Many mistook it for a McLaren but never a kit car.

[stevie777777]

Just bought a Red Sport Racer - Love it :-)

[Hothouse]

Sorry, bit late to your question but here's my thoughts for what it's worth. I bought a new GT410 (non sport) last April, the last one available, would you believe without even a test drive because of Covid, although I had test driven an S about 7 years ago. The Evora has been the top of my list for a long time and the GT410 appeared to me as the perfect incarnation of the model. I knew the Emira was about to break cover but didn't even ask any questions about it, comfortable that the Evora was the one for me.
A year on and I'm very happy with my decision. The Emira is unlikely to be a significant improvement in ride and handling, nor in power if in V6 form, will be more numerous, IMHO is a little too similar to the Ferrari/Maca look, and loses the rear seats which are useful for me.
Might have preferred mine in Burnt Orange, but that's not an option for the Emira anyway.
Hopefully I won't be too stung by depreciation but no plans to sell for a long time.

[highway]

The Emira is a far prettier car than the Evora, which looks awkward from some angles. The advent of Emira surely has to hammer prices of the last Evoras, many of which are advertised at over £70k.