[VIDEO] C8 Corvette Z06 vs Lotus Emira in Clash of Throttle House’s Last Two Cars of the Year

If Throttle House isn’t our favorite YouTube channel, then it has certainly worked its way onto our Mount Rushmore in the genre. When the two entertaining figureheads and their crew hit publish, we’re inclined to reciprocate by hitting play, and that’s doubly true when they get their half-English, half-Canadian mitts on the squircular wheel of America’s Sports Car, which is precisely what happened this week.

It isn’t just any version of America’s Sports Car, either. The lads have themselves a genuine Bluegrass State exotic on loan in the flat-plane, dual overhead cam 2023 Z06. This is a car they liked so much when it came out that they unanimously named it the best car they drove in 2022. In the following and most recent calendar year, that prestigious honor went to the new, but tragically not long for this world Lotus Emira after they were won over by an unforgettable back canyon drive.

Well, after a year’s long wait and a canceled order from one of the impatient presenters, TH finally got Lotus’ latest to its test track, which was an occasion that made the duo curious: if the Emira and the Z06 “shared a year,” which one would have rolled away victorious in their car of the year competition?

Sizing Up the Competition

Before we cut to the chase, we think some background is in order. The Emira has been billed by its makers as the last internal combustion vehicle they’ll ever build. It takes over for the now-retired Evora GT, from which it borrows the bulk of its architecture. It features a bonded aluminum structure and a slight physical footprint – it is an astonishing 12.2 inches shorter from bow to stern and more than five inches narrower than a Z06 – to check in at a feathery 3,278 lbs.

When the lion’s share of your Lotus knowledge comes from the C4 ZR-1 era when the firm designed the legendary LT5 V8 for its then-parent company, the next section of the Emira’s spec sheet comes as a bit of a surprise. The final authentic car from this staple of the sporting British automotive industry, a firm decorated in rich racing history that briefly graced us with one of the all-time great Corvette powerplants, is motivated by a supercharged version of the same 3.5L V6 found in the last-generation Toyota Camry. With the blower, It makes an even 400 horsepower, which gives it a respectable – but not quite as good as a 2002 C5 Z06, to say little of the three burlier Z’s that have come since – weight-to-power ratio of 8.2 lbs. per HP. To make up for its decidedly pedestrian (but reliable!) power unit is a mandatory six-speed manual transmission, as God intended (there’s an AMG-sourced turbo-four that pairs exclusively with an eight-speed auto, supposedly on its way to the US, but after California singlehandedly held up orders for 17 months and the car slated to bow out in the next couple of years, we wouldn’t hold our breath on this entry-level option). All told, this “First Edition” V6 small-batch Euro lightweight checks in around $108,000, which isn’t too bad for the honor of owning the last Lotus that won’t have company founder Colin “simplify and add lightness” Chapman rolling in his grave.

Ready to Rumble

Alright, back to the Throttle House video where, after exchanging some pleasantries, it was time for tried-and-true drag and roll races, which both develop exactly how you’d expect a straight-line contest between a 400-horse car and a 670-horse car to go down. It’s too bad that this video wasn’t ready to go for the 4th because the American completely wipes the floor with the stuffy blue Redcoat in what can only be described as the most triumphant patriotic moment of the year! With that foregone conclusion reached, it’s time for some individual track impressions before the laying of lap times. Thomas (the Canuck) continues in the Lotus here. He repeatedly dubs the Emira “the most communicative car available,” but unlike his drive in the wild, one sizable hiccup materializes on track. Thomas, a known graduate of the Chris Harris School of Video Production and Tire Smoke, can’t get the Lotus sideways, and its lack of a fun side leads to visible frustration in the host who was betting on the Lotus to seize the day.

When the camera pans to James (the Brit) and the Black on Adrenaline Red Z06, there’s no such trouble getting it up, so to speak. Sliding around and giving our ears all they can handle of the LT6’s glorious banshee howl also causes some genuine spur-of-the-moment sound bites that should be plugged directly into the 2025 Z06’s marketing material. Everyday review terms like “Brilliant” and a dumbfounded “I love this car” precede real money shots like “we get caught up in the supercar or not supercar debate… but I’m not sure there is much of a debate, to be honest, because this thing is twice as exciting as an Audi R8 and if that was already borderline supercar, what the hell does that make this,” and “I struggle to think how the ZR1 and Zora are going to be any more emotional than this, I get the lap times, but I just don’t know how you can beat this!” We watched this segment several times because that Z06 and the enthusiasm that it inspires are absolutely contagious!

Then, at the 12:12 mark, it’s back to head-to-head mode, with Tommy taking the reins of both for 10/10ths lap times in a best-of-three format. Watching from the onboard camera, it is immediately apparent that the Z06 is in a completely different league of speed than the Lotus, but for what they are, both perform admirably at the TH circuit. When the dust settles, the Emira receives first reveal honors. Ironically, its 1:11.5 slides neatly into the 14th position on the leaderboard, a spot that was previously owned by the C8 Corvette Stingray Z51. Even though the short nature of the track played to its advantage, taking down a car with a 95-pony advantage and a quick-shifting DCT is still an impressive feat for the manual Lotus swansong, but that good feeling is quickly pushed to the background when it becomes time for the Z’s number.

After some teasing of their remarkable top five – a club that includes the 1:08.59 of the C7 ZR1, the Viper ACR’s 1:07.55, and the 1:06.67 highwater mark of the extreme winged 992 Porsche 911 GT3 RS – and trickery involving initially spilling the Z’s “slow” lap of 1:07.37, and one brilliantly timed commercial break from the YouTube algorithm, it is finally revealed that the Z06 fired off a personal best of 1:06.56, securely planting its flag at the very peak of the channel’s record book!

After that monumental achievement, the video concludes with the hosts’ decision on the driving question of the episode: which is the better car of the year? This closing argument primarily consists of the pair doting over the Lotus like it’s the prettiest girl at the bar while turning their backs on her less-attractive friend on the next stool, but despite now hailing the Emira as “the most engaging car on sale,” they do the right thing in the end noting that they wished the fancy, pretty little Brit that admittedly entered as the favorite had a little more fun-loving Alabama sorority girl in her. Even with a new lap record under its belt, it’s the Z06’s off-the-charts delivery of smiles per gallon at the limit that makes it the unanimous winner of this showdown of, and we quote, “two of the most desirable cars of the decade,” or simply champions!

Source:
Throttle House / YouTube

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