Driving the 2024 Lotus Emira & Eletre — Carmudgeon Show w/ Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep. 112

The Lotus Emira is fantastic — and the Carmudgeons have a lot to say about it. The last gasoline-powered Lotus is certainly a looker — but it's very closely related to the Evora it replaces. And while the Evora was always good, was it ever truly great?

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Jason, who owns a Lotus Elise, is always in search of "bad cars" — sports cars that provide experience but make poor transportation devices. Is the Evora enough of an assault on its driver's senses?

Derek isn't a fan of the Elise because of the sounds its creaky body and rattly interior make — he loves a great GT. Is the Evora comfortable enough?

Luckily, the boys have a clear answer to the question: Lotus Evora or Porsche 911?

And then a unanimous decision on the Lotus Eletre, the brand's first SUV: it drives unlike anything else. Jason drove the Eletre as a surprise — without knowing anything about it.

A Lotus engineer told the boys it was a 905-hp Eletre R with 3 motors and torque vectoring. Turns out the 905 hp comes from 2 motors, and what Jason felt and described as the most obvious torque-vectoring he's ever felt is actually rear-wheel steering.

Whatever the cause, the boys both enjoy the SUV's maneuverability and outrageous speed (Lotus claims 0-60 in under 3 seconds.)

Is there a future for Lotus in a heavy-EV world?

There shouldn't be. But Jason and Derek feel there is.

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The Carmudgeon Show is part of the Hagerty Podcast Network.

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