Category: Evora

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The Lotus Evora just got better!

It’s been a busy year for Lotus; the arrival of the acclaimed Exige S; featured marque at the Goodwood Festival of Speed; a new flagship retail store in Regent Street; third place in the F1 Drivers’ Championship and fourth in the F1 Constructors’ Championship; and amongst various racing exploits, another series win for a Lotus with an Evora GTC taking the MSA British Endurance Championship.

Lotus Evora Sport Racer

Following the excitement of this race series win, the new Evora ‘Sports Racer’ is a visually enhanced and optimised version of the mid-engined 3.5 litre V6 sports car, available in both naturally-aspirated or supercharged variants. The Evora ‘Sports Racer’ proves its value on the pocket, as well as on the road and track – it delivers phenomenal performance, exclusive style, incredible excitement and genuine affordability!

There are three main factors that set the ‘Sports Racer’ apart from the existing Evora range; firstly, it receives a unique exterior colour scheme with an optimised interior to match. Secondly, it comes fully loaded, boasting Lotus’ ultimate specification. While thirdly, it’s more affordable than ever, representing great value. Here’s the detail:

Aesthetics:

The Evora ‘Sports Racer’ is available in a choice of four colours: Aspen White, Carbon Grey, Nightfall Blue and Ardent Red. To stand out from the crowd, the ‘Sports Racer’ receives unique contrasting accents of gloss black across the roof, front splitter, rear diffuser and side sills, exaggerating the Evora’s aggressive stance and sleek silhouette. Further black elements include black rear badging, black door mirror pods and gloss black forged wheels with a choice of either red or black brake calipers which all work to give the ‘Sports Racer’ a more dramatic and focused appearance.

Inside, the 2+2 seating option is standard and comes adorned with black leather ‘Premium Sports’ seats trimmed with red contrast piping and stitching. The dash, doors and centre console receive a liberal dose of Slate Grey SuedeTexTM with red contrast stitching, highlighting the car’s sporting character.

Like your interiors a bit louder? Go for Venom Red leather ‘Premium Sports’ seats with black contrast piping and stitching. All Evora ‘Sport Racer’ interiors are complemented by gunmetal dashboard panels, as is standard in the Evora S.

Gadgets:

The Evora ‘Sports Racer’ comes loaded with optional extras as standard. The ‘Sports Pack’ provides switchable sports mode with sharper throttle response, increased rpm limit and sportier setting for Dynamic Performance Management (DPM), sports diffuser and cross-drilled brake discs. The ‘Tech Pack’ provides upgraded speakers and stereo system, DVD player, 7″ WVGA touch screen display, Bluetooth® mobile phone connection, USB connection for various iPod® models, MP3 players and memory sticks, tyre pressure monitoring, cruise control and rear parking sensors. This is topped of with electric power-fold mirrors and a reversing camera as standard.

Price:

Available in the UK and across Europe, the Evora ‘Sports Racer’ adds outstanding value to the already exceptional Evora range, priced in the UK at £57,900* for the Evora with 280 PS or £65,900* for the 350 PS supercharged Evora S. For UK customers, the cost benefits are clear; by opting for the pre-packaged Evora ‘Sports Racer’ savings range from £6,450 to £7,150 respectively.

Lotus Evora race cars

This year Team Bullrun won the title in the MSA British Endurance Championship in the newly developed Evora GTC and Alex Job Racing has been enjoying success in the ALMS series with the Evora GTE. Meanwhile, the Evora GT4 has been racing successfully in the Brazilian GT, the Iberian Supercar Trophy, Campeonato de España/IBER GT, Cameonato de Portugal GT, the Dutch GT championship and 24 hour races in Dubai, Barcelona and at Silverstone. The Evora GT4 is also competing in Lotus Cup series across the globe.

Press release from Lotus

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Evora on Showtime

Following on from the placement of the Lotus Evora on Desperate Housewives, Lotus has now gotten the Evora onto two different Showtime shows.

First a Chilli Red Evora has appeared on a couple of episodes of Californication as one the cars that belongs to the “Samurai Apocalypse” character. The car is barely visible on the driveway (top left below) and it is only the Lotus fans who will notice its presence.

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The second placement is having the Evora being driven by one of the clients of the Galweather consultancy on the new show House of Lies. The car is much more recognizable in this video but since the character driving it is exposed as fraudulent it may not be the best PR placement in the world.

House of Lies

Lotus is obviously trying hard to get noticed especially in the US market but so far none of the efforts are even close to the Esprits that James Bond drove in the late 70s and early 80s.

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2012 Lotus Evora Updates

Price
Base price increase of $2000 for Evora however Sport Pack is now standard so really a $500 increase in price since that option goes for $1500.

Sat Nav
One of the most prominent interior modifications has come from the change in Satellite Navigation System. Both the Evora & Evora S Tech Pack option will now feature the Pioneer F930BT.

Highlights of the new unit include:

  • Direct Ipod or Iphone Control
  • An App mode that enables you to listen to music and video from your Ipod or Iphone apps
  • Eco Drive, which evaluates your driving performance including accelaration, braking and C02 emissions
  • TTS (Text to Speech) which provides detailed voice guidance messages in 18 languages, relaying traffic information and suggest new routes based on Traffic Message Channel

Exterior Colour Options
There is a selection of new exterior colours, including 3 colours unique to the Evora.

Standard colours – 2 colours

  • Ardent Red
  • Solar Yellow

Metallic colours (optional) – 6 colours

  • Racing Green
  • Sienna Brown
  • Starlight Black
  • Arctic Silver
  • Carbon Grey
  • Nightfall Blue

Premium colours (optional) – 3 common colours with the range
+ 3 Evora specific colours

  • Velvet Red
  • Aspen White
  • Laser Blue
  • Amethyst Grey/Only available on Evora
  • Frost Blue/Only available on Evora
  • Autumn Bronze/Only available on Evora

Motorsport colours

  • Motorsport Black
  • Motorsport Green

Floor Mats
A new design of floor mats will be available as part of the Premium
Packs. A new logo will be introduced along with refined, high quality
leather piping.

Brake Callipers
Red Caliper Brakes are now standard on the Evora S and are part of teh Sport Pack on the Evora.

New Wheel Styles
There will be a range of 7 wheels for the MY12 Evora with 2 new additions:

  • Design wheel, Gunmetal Grey, forged (19″ front and 20″ rear)
  • Design wheel, Gloss Black, forged (19″ front and 20″ rear)

New Exhaust
The new exhaust for MY12 improves the engine note, giving the Evora a sportier tone. Within the exhaust a valve opens above 4700 rpm, changing the flow of exhaust gases, increasing the volume. When the sport button is depressed the valve stays permanently open, giving an exhaust sound commensurate with the car performance.

The exhaust gas primary flow path goes through a multi chamber silencing system which reduces noise. This silencing system generates excessive back pressure at higher engine rpm and could damage the engine. The valve activation occurs to protect the engine from the back pressure, allowing only a small amount of exhaust gas to pass through
the silencing system.

The naturally aspirated Evora with no Sport Pack will open its valve at 4700 rpm but only the sport button in the Sport Pack will override it.

Interior
Three different optional Premium interiors can now be specified on the Evora range: Premium, Premium Suede Tex or Premium Sport.

The leather grade has been improved over MY11 giving an immediate better quality perception of the car. The interior colour break down will also change. The cabin will now be fully trimmed in the colour of the Premium Pack selected.

Premium
For the Premium option there is a wide range of leather colours including Ebony Black, Ivory White, Venom Red, Cognac Brown, Imperial Blue, Cocoa Brown and Ash Grey.

Premium SuedeTex®
A double material seat with Ebony Black Leather and Slate Grey Suede Tex® is also available.

White with premium option all stitching in piping is in the same tonal colour as the selected leather. It is also important to note that all seats also come with tonal piping and the Lotus roundel embossed into the headrest.

Premium Sport
On the Premium Sport option a range of four leather colours are available, Ebony Black, Venom Red, Cocoa Brown and Imperial Blue. The seat itself now has a different stitch pattern, carbon effect leather inserts, a contrast stitch, which is also replicated throughout the rest of the interior. In the Premium Sport Pack the Lotus roundel emblem will be embroidered onto the headrest.

Other improvements

  • Chrome Door Handles
  • Headlights-Xenon standard fit
  • Gear Knob-Better
  • Vent & Door Surrounds-In leather
  • Close Ratio 6 Speed Manual Gearbox-Standard
  • Interior Grab Handle-From plastic to leather

Download the 2012 Lotus Evora Brochure (PDF)

via Abraham Reyes/Newport European Motorcars

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Lotus Evora featured on Desperate Housewives

Lotus PR has had a great coup with the Lotus Evora being featured in a long segment on the hit AB show Desperate Housewives.

The car is shown and mentioned by name multiple times along with shots of the main characters getting taken in by the driving experience. By working a mention of the price into the show, Lotus has manged to make it simulateousely aspirational and affordable – kudos to Dany and the team.

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It’s an Evora but not as you know it

Lotus Evora S 3qtr front

Ahead of the official unveil at the Paris Motor Show on September 30th, Lotus announce the latest evolution of the award winning Evora – the Evora S and Evora IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) option.

Lotus has taken the award winning Evora and re-created it with a 350 PS 3.5l V6 engine to create the Evora S. Dany Bahar Lotus’ Chief Executive Officer summed it up beautifully when he said: “You don’t realise what you were missing from your driving experience until you get behind the wheel of the Evora S.”

So apart from the obvious power difference, how is the Evora S different to the standard Evora? It’s another question we put to the CEO (given that he’s spent a little time behind the wheel, we thought he’d be best placed to answer questions). This is what he said: “It’s the next level of Evora experience. It communicates with you better, the suspension setting has been fine tuned for added power and control so it responds even more to direction. It’s an instinctual car, the experience is pure.”

“We were proud of the Evora but we’re even prouder of the Evora S, I feel like it does the true Lotus experience justice. The really great thing is that as we move forward the standard Evora should also benefit from some of these developments.”

Lotus Evora S 3qtr_rear

The Evora S comes with a sport pack as standard featuring a ‘sport’ button which allows the driver to control throttle response and activate the exhaust by-pass valve. The sport button also raises the instantaneous rev limit and changes the dynamic stability control settings resulting in a total experience change. There are cross-drilled brakes for improved cooling. And here’s a heads up for those who buy into the old adage ‘you can tell the men from the boys by the size of their toys’: the external emotion of the Evora S has been improved with a completely new active exhaust which means that at the push of a button the car sounds just as dramatic as it feels.

Commenting on the Evora S, Lotus Chief Commercial Officer Andreas Prillmann said: “The Evora S is a natural progression for us but more than that, it’s a taste of what people can come to expect from the next generation of Lotus cars. It retains core Lotus values such as performance through lightweight but it also gives more than that. It’s the perfect combination of top performance, style and comfort. Form doesn’t sacrifice function in the case of the Evora S.”

So there you have it folks, the next generation of Lotus Evora, the Evora S, set to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show.

But that’s not all. In addition to the Evora S, Lotus also presents the IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) option. This inception of the seven-time-award-winning (who’s counting? We are!) Evora sees an automatic 6-speed gearbox with Lotus developed transmission control with a 3.5 l V6 engine delivering 280 PS assuring a superior automatic driving experience.

Lotus Evora IPS Shifters

The IPS version of the Evora allows the driver to switch between manual paddle shift and automatic drive modes. The driver also has the option of selecting ‘sport’ mode which showcases the Lotus sport driving experience allowing the driver to really feel each gear shift and be in complete control of the transmission.

Lotus Evora IPS Interior

Commenting on the development Dany Bahar said: “The Evora IPS is set to broaden the appeal of the Evora and reach out to a slightly different market. We hope it will be popular with established automatic locations such as Asia, the Middle East and the US. It’s been a long time since Lotus created an automatic and we’ve spent a great deal of time refining this one to make sure that it perfectly complements the Evora drive experience.”

Evora S Technical Specification

Model Evora S
Engine Mid mounted,  transverse 3.5 litre DOHC V6 VVT-I
Emissions see below due to wheel options
Transmission 6 speed manual
Chassis Modular lightweight bonded aluminium structure
Steering Lotus tuned hydraulically-assisted power steering
Suspension Forged aluminium double wishbone suspension
Bilstein high performance gas dampers
Eibach coaxial coil springs
Performance data
Standard wheel option
Fuel consumption – urban 14.5 l/100km
Fuel consumption – extra urban 7.4 l/100km
Fuel consumption – combined 10.0l/100km
CO2 Emissions 235 g/km
19/20” wheel option
Fuel consumption – urban 14.6 I/100km
Fuel consumption – extra urban 7.6 I/100km
Fuel consumption – combined 10.2 I/100km
CO2 Emissions 239 g/km
Max power 350 PS / 257.5 kW @ 7000 rpm
Max torque 400 Nm / 295 lb ft @ 4500 rpm
0-60 mph 4.6s
0-100 km/h 4.8s
Maximum speed 172mph
Vehicle mass (unladen) 1437kg

Evora IPS Option Technical Specification

Engine Mid mounted,  transverse 3.5 litre DOHC V6 VVT-I
Emissions 208 g/km
Transmission Electronically controlled 6 speed automatic
Chassis Modular lightweight bonded aluminium structure
Steering Lotus tuned hydraulically-assisted power steering
Suspension Forged aluminium double wishbone suspension
Bilstein high performance gas dampers
Eibach coaxial coil springs
Performance data
Fuel consumption – urban 12.6 l/100km
Fuel consumption – extra urban 6.6 l/100km
Fuel consumption – combined 8.8 l/100km
CO2 Emissions 208 g/km
Max power 280 PS / 206 KW @ 6400rpm
Max torque 350 Nm / 258 lb ft @ 4700rpm
0-60 mph 5.3s
0-100 km/h 5.5s
Maximum speed 155mph
Vehicle mass (unladen) 1436 kg

[press release from Lotus]

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Evora Cup GT4 North American Premiere

Evora GT4 Cup
While the Lotus Exos was deservedly getting all the press after the Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion, Lotus also held the North American Premiere of the Evora GT4 Cup car at the same time.

Evora GT4 Cup
Developed from the highly acclaimed Lotus Evora sports car, the Lotus Evora Cup GT4 race car has been engineered to give drivers a competitive racing package straight “out of the box”. The car has been developed in conjunction with a number of prestigious technical partners and features a world class chassis, steering and brakes delivering exceptional ride and handling.

Evora GT4 Cup engine bay
Photo © Jack Fried

The Cosworth tuned engine is bored out to a 4 litre capacity and produces 360 bhp (Vs 3.5L and 280 bhp in the road car). Further upgrades include a six speed sequential paddle shift racing gearbox, full FIA specification roll cage, FIA-compliant 96 litre fuel system, FIA fire extinguisher system and kill switch. Unladen weight has also been reduced by over 200kg to just 1190kg.

Evora GT4 Cup Rear Wing
Photo © Andy Kern

While the Evora Cup looks quite similar to the road car, there are a number exterior changes to improve downforce such as the beautifully integrated carbon fiber rear wing and diffuser package above. Other downforce enhancements include the front splitter and wheel vents on all four corners. The body panels are also easily removable for easy access to various internals.

Evora GT4 Cup rear bodywork
Photo © Jack Fried

Since the premiere event was being held a Laguna Seca, Lotus had test driver Johnny Mowlem on hand to give prospective buyers some “test rides”. The GGLC was able to speak to Johnny in this exclusive interview to hear his thoughts on the development of the Evora Cup GT4 and how it compares to the street car:

Lotus Challenge Series racer and all around Lotus fan Andy Kern was one of the lucky few that got a ride and gave us this feedback comparing it to his Lotus 211 racecar:

I first thing I noticed going down the pit-out lane was the seamlessness of the paddle-shift sequential box… and next I thought, gee… Johnny’s going to go around the pit out corner at T2 pretty quick, and he did: the car definitely has some serious grip. The next two corners, T3 & T4 are relatively flat; no camber… I usually ease into the brakes so I don’t upset the car too much, then transition into the turn. Johnny waited much later to brake and broke much harder, but it didn’t seem to faze the Evora’s chassis at all, the car just has great grip and poise during transitions. The rest of the ride was more of the same, as the tires warmed up and Johnny broke later and harder than I would have expected; but always completely smoothly. The shifts were so smooth I barely noticed them. The car has good acceleration too… better than my 2-Eleven everywhere with the possible exception of the steep rise from T6 to the corkscrew.

As I’d said, it’s always tough to compare one car from the passenger’s seat with another from the driver’s seat… but the overall impression is that the Evora Cup is very much a Lotus… fantastic braking, tenacious cornering, great chassis dynamics… and maybe somewhat of a welcome surprise… very torquey.

All in all the Evora Cup GT4 appears to be another fantastic race car from Lotus and should do well both as a track day car and as a competition GT4 racer. For more information about the car please visit www.lotusevoracup.com.

For more pictures from the premiere event please use the slideshow below or head directly to our Flickr Set. We request blogs and news outlets that use our content, photos and video to please credit Rahul Nair and the Golden Gate Lotus Club as well as link back to this post.

A huge thanks to our friends at Lotus Cars USA and Boardwalk Lotus for inviting us to the event. News

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Lotus Events during Monterey week

Lotus-T125

SATURDAY, AUGUST 7:
9:00am – 5:00pm: Lotus exhibit in the four-bay garage under the presentation podium structure. North American debut of the Evora Cup GT4 race car and World Premier of the new Lotus T125 ultimate track/race car.

12:20pm – 12:35pm: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 race car on track with Johnny Mowlem providing rides to seriously interested Evora Cup GT4 prospects.

5:00pm – 7:00pm: Reception hosted within Lotus exhibit.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 8:
9:00am – 5:00pm: Lotus exhibit in the four-bay garage under the presentation podium structure. North American debut of the Evora Cup GT4 race car and World Premier of the new Lotus T125 ultimate track/race car.

12:20pm – 12:35pm: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 race car on track with Johnny Mowlem providing rides to seriously interested Evora Cup GT4 prospects.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11:
5:00pm – 10:00pm: Lotus T125, Evora Cup GT4, Evora road car and IndyCar display at the McCall’s Motorworks Revival at the Monterey Jet Center.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13:
9:00am – 6:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach housing the Evora Cup GT4 track/race car and full array of Lotus road-going product portfolio.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14:
9:00am – 6:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach housing the Evora Cup GT4 track/race car and full array of Lotus road-going product portfolio.
12:00pm – 6:00pm: Lotus T125 track/race car displayed on the Concept Car Lawn at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 15:
8:00am – 4:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach housing the Evora Cup GT4 track/race car and full array of Lotus road-going product portfolio.
8:00am – 6:00pm: Lotus T125 track/race car displayed on the Concept Car Lawn at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.

We hope to see as many Lotus aficionados as possible throughout the week!

Best regards,

Kevin Smith

Kevin D. Smith
Marketing and PR Executive
Lotus Cars USA, Inc.

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Making Hybrids sound Sporty

Car & Driver magazine got a demo of the HALOsonic Sound Synthesis developed by Lotus Engineering for the Evora 414E Hybrid concept car. It allows the driver to select a range of different virtual engine configurations so that your hybrid sports car will still sound sporty even while running on electric power. Check out the video below for a full demo including virtual gear shifts.

[via Car & Driver]