Tag: premiere

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Lotus Double Premieres during Pebble Beach Week 2011

Lotus will again have a significant presence during the upcoming Pebble Beach week of automotive events showcasing the Lotus Evora GTE Road Car Concept and the Exige Matte Black Final Edition

World Premiere of the new Lotus Evora GTE Road Car Concept

The new Lotus Evora GTE Road Car Concept will be unveiled to the world for the first time within the Lotus exhibit at the McCall’s Motorworks Revival event Wednesday night, August 17, at the Monterey Jet Center.

The Lotus Evora GTE is a race car developed with a single-minded aim to be successful in the new global motorsport GTE category, which includes the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours.

To celebrate this ground breaking car, Lotus has built the race-inspired Evora GTE Road Car Concept. This high-strung Evora elicits over 420 bhp from its race-developed engine, fed through a sequential AMT racing gearbox and put to the pavement through ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels with center-lock hubs shod with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires.

The Evora GTE Road Car Concept isn’t merely a paint scheme or homage to a race car – this is a serious race car that makes for a very serious road car.

The Evora GTE Road Car Concept will later be shown within the Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach Thursday, August 18 through mid-day Saturday, August 20 before being moved onto the Concept Car Lawn for display throughout the remainder of the Concours weekend.

US Premiere of the North American only Exige Matte Black Final Edition

To mark the end of an era of Exige production, Lotus has created the Exige Matte Black Final Edition – exclusively for North America. The Exige is one of the world’s greatest sports cars, and this Final Edition of the motoring icon will premiere within the Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach Thursday, August 18 through Sunday, August 21.

With power upgraded to 257 bhp, an exclusive Matte Black paint finish providing a stealthy presence, black Alacantara sport seats and a high level of standard equipment, the Exige Matte Black Final Edition makes a striking statement.

Only 25 examples of this Exige will be built, each with their own numbered plate, which should help make these cars instantly collectible.

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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