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Thomas on the Throttle House 2023 Car of the Year - the Lotus Emira

Thomas on the Throttle House 2023 Car of the Year  - the Lotus Emira

So why DID we choose the Lotus Emira as car of the year?

“Because it's epic, duh.”

Well, the choice wasn’t as simple as you might think. 

Some of you might assume that Throttle House choosing a manual, rear drive, sports car as “Throttle House Car Of The Year” (THCOTY) was as predictable as my co host sounding like he just remembered that his name is in fact, “James” when he introduces himself at the beginning of our videos. But believe it or not, we laboured over this decision.

Yes of course, the Emira is stunning, powerful, engaging, and absolutely pure in its mission to involve you in the driving experience, but truth be told, so is the outgoing Lotus Evora. The car on which the Emira is based. Actually the two cars have an identical wheelbase and both are on an Extruded Aluminum chassis (fancy talk for the light and stiff backbone of the car). They share near identical suspension and subframe design, and in both cars Lotus have more or less have supercharged the same version of the 2GR-FE Toyota V6.

The Toyota 2GR-FE with an Edelbrock 1740 supercharger

The Emira is just a bit.. nicer. That's it. Think of it as a silk lining on a highly functional tactical jacket. It still has all the features you’d ever need, but it's a bit more comfortable to wear. Actually, the Emira is just what the Evora should have been from the start. An engaging sports car with a functional, modern interior. Not a huge step forward. So what gives? Why did we choose it?

Well, because the concept of desirability exists. We've talked about this before. And when it comes to cars, it’s difficult to fully explain. 

In the rest of the world desirability is pretty black and white: 

Finally hitting your squat goal at the gym  = desirable. 

Not realizing you squeaked out a little fart in the process = not desirable.  

It's okay to stare

Cars though, are weird. Sometimes it makes no sense why we want one more than the other. I should want a Ferrari 458 Speciale MORE than I want a basic 458 Italia, but I don’t. And I’m not sure exactly why. But I do know that when I look at a picture of a 458 Italia in Rosso, I want to reach down between my legs, and grab the little knob that will ease my desk chair back into a daydream position.

Turns out, the Emira is just that. A car that day-dreams are made of. Totally, unquantifiably, unquestionably, desirable. It hits every single facet of a car design that James and I got into this business for. It’s a simple, engaging, no-nonsense driver’s car from the brand that made themselves famous for simple, engaging, no-nonsense driver’s cars. It drives brilliantly well, but has usable tech inside. It's brash and vicious when it wants to be, but not so punishing that you couldn’t do 1000 miles in it. And to top it all off, nothing looks or drives like it in that price range.

Well, except the Cayman obviously. But pull up to a car meet in a Cayman at the same time as a Seneca Blue Emira rolls in, and you might as well have showed up in a beige carpet delivery van. See? Desirability.

Even when it's beside a DBS - Karston and Greg agree

It might just be an Evora with a bit more refinement, but the Evora was a damn good car. 

A car that incidentally was just a bit of refinement and a new skin away from graduating from good, to great. 

-Thomas Holland

Throttle House on YouTube

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