Lotus Emira

[r0tor]

Lotus's last ICE car.... Good grief I want one 

https://youtu.be/NKZwiTQQhmI

[Submariner]

It's quite sexy.

[Payman]

Beautiful, and a six speed manual. Holy crap yes.

[SJ_GTI]

Looks great and seems like it will be a blast to drive. Shame I won't be able to afford one though. 

[r0tor]

In the age of $80k pickup trucks being bought by the middle class, it seems pretty reasonable

[SJ_GTI]

In the age of $80k pickup trucks being bought by the middle class, it seems pretty reasonable

I think it is a good deal for the price, but it is still a price outside my limits on car spending. A V6 with manual might be the best sports car under 100k when it hits the market.

[Payman]

I think it is a good deal for the price, but it is still a price outside my limits on car spending. A V6 with manual might be the best sports car under 100k when it hits the market.

I think I'd have the AMG sourced 4 cyl 6 speed.

[SJ_GTI]

I think I'd have the AMG sourced 4 cyl 6 speed.

FWIW, the AMG engine is DCT only. I'd probably prefer the V6 anyway myself, but getting a manual with the V6 makes it more preferable for me.

[Payman]

FWIW, the AMG engine is DCT only. I'd probably prefer the V6 anyway myself, but getting a manual with the V6 makes it more preferable for me.

Dang. To me the AMG with manual seems a more appropriate setup.

[MrH]

A supercharged toyota V6 >>>> boosted to hell AMG 4 cylinder.

[SJ_GTI]

A supercharged toyota V6 >>>> boosted to hell AMG 4 cylinder.

I would certainly expect to prefer the V6, but I wouldn't write off an AMG engine that I've never actually driven myself. But one being manual and the other being DCT pretty much guarantees I'd prefer the V6. That being said, I would expect the AMG w/ DCT to be the better combo for pure performance.

[Payman]

A supercharged toyota V6 >>>> boosted to hell AMG 4 cylinder.

How do you know that?

[Payman]

I mean, we haven't seen the specs on either engine yet, how much they're boosted, torque figures, rpm redlines, or how they sound yet. All I'm saying is the AMG 4 cyl sounds like a more compelling option for a small Lotus semi-exotic sports car.

[MrH]

More displacement, Toyota reliability, and better exhaust note = clear win.  I don't need to know anything else about the engines honestly.

[Payman]

More displacement, Toyota reliability, and better exhaust note = clear win.  I don't need to know anything else about the engines honestly.

Huh. Okay. Not clear to me but fine. How do you know about the exhaust note?

[CaminoRacer]

Huh. Okay. Not clear to me but fine. How do you know about the exhaust note?

The AMG 4's sound like a tractor most of the time. Similar to the Abarths and Boxster turbo 4.

[Payman]

The AMG 4's sound like a tractor most of the time. Similar to the Abarths and Boxster turbo 4.

The Fiat 500 Abarth sounds awesome!

[Payman]

A lot of V6's don't sound too great either.

[MrH]

It's way easier to make a V6 sound good than a 4 cylinder.  Very different harmonics at play.  I prefer the sound of V6s for sure.

[SJ_GTI]

Certainly the odds are that the V6 will sound better, given past history. AMG does make some of the best engines, period, though so I would be willing to give them a shot if they came with a manual (and I could actually afford to buy one of these  ). Some of the comments I've seen on other boards suggest that the AMG engine will be the more expensive option.

[Submariner]

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/mercedes-benz/amg-a45

The A45 has the same engine, and TG seems to love it.

[Payman]

It's way easier to make a V6 sound good than a 4 cylinder.  Very different harmonics at play.  I prefer the sound of V6s for sure.

Personally, the high revving 2.0T in the S2000 makes it a much more compelling car than if they went with the Accord's V6.

[MrH]

Personally, the high revving 2.0T in the S2000 makes it a much more compelling car than if they went with the Accord's V6.

The 2.0 in the Ap1 is a very different engine than the massively boosted AMG engine

[Payman]

Until I heard the Camaro's V6, there was never a V6 sound that I liked.

[SJ_GTI]

I very much prefer my BMW's 3.0 I6 over my Golf's 2.0T. Despite a ~65-70 HP deficit if feels so much smooth and of course with the top down also sounds better. But Its not a world changing difference...the main advantage is really the more linear/analog power delivery. Based on my supercharged V6 I had in my S4, I suspect the power delivery in the Toyota supercharged V6 will feel a lot more linear and smoother than the 2.0T. But its just a guess.

[MX793]

Until I heard the Camaro's V6, there was never a V6 sound that I liked.

SVT Contour sounded fantastic.  The old Ferrari/Dino V6 as well as older Alfa V6s.

[r0tor]

There will be undoubtedly more drama with the AMG 4 as it spools up and gets drunk on boost

[Submariner]

AMG claims they have tuned the engine to be more NA-like in power delivery.  We will see.

[cawimmer430]

The AMG motor in the Emira is from the A35 AMG, which is a beefed-up and modified version of the amazing motor in my A250.

I've not driven an A35 AMG, but I know the engine in my car. It's incredibly smooth, quiet and very responsive and with 224-horsepower / 350 Nm on tap it's not slow. In fact when I am driving fast on the Autobahn the motor is hardly audible - the wind noises are louder. I'm happy with the responsiveness (no turbo-lag) and performance. The only real downside is the mega torque steer but that's not the engine's fault.

[Payman]

I very much prefer my BMW's 3.0 I6 over my Golf's 2.0T. Despite a ~65-70 HP deficit if feels so much smooth and of course with the top down also sounds better. But Its not a world changing difference...the main advantage is really the more linear/analog power delivery. Based on my supercharged V6 I had in my S4, I suspect the power delivery in the Toyota supercharged V6 will feel a lot more linear and smoother than the 2.0T. But its just a guess.

I6 and V6 are completely different animals.