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What is it?

Here it is at last: the longed-for Lotus which takes all the lessons that Hethel has learned from the rule-changing Elise over 13 years, and combines them with a superb 276bhp 3.5-litre Toyota-sourced V6 in a bigger mid-engined package to make a genuinely refined long-distance high-performance sports car.

The new Lotus Evora is also the world’s one-and-only mid-engined 2+2, and it takes Lotus directly into Porsche Cayman territory, even if, at its proposed 2000 c...Read the full article

If any of you bankers or hedge fund managers have some disposal income left, do yourself (and us) a favour and buy this car. It will teach you about subtlety and delicacy, and help support exactly the kind of industry that Britain needs.

PS do you think Lotus would accept a scrappage discount? I'm struggling slightly to find the deposit...

scrap:

If any of you bankers or hedge fund managers have some disposal income left, do yourself (and us) a favour and buy this car. It will teach you about subtlety and delicacy

I think it will take more than the Evora to teach hedge fund managers subtlety or delicacy!

As for the car, I'm not a great fan of the styling, particularly the 550 Maranello nose or the convoluted mess around the base of the C Pillar, but I'm sure it will be great to drive, the question, as before, is will people buy it over a Cayman S?

Good effort from Lotus in terms of combining sharp dynamics with decent refinement (at last), but considering the questionable trim issues, interior quality and long term reliability some potential buyers might find the asking price a bit steep.

btw, who owns Lotus these days?

 Proton.

JP

Nice rear, shame about the face.

Toyota sourced 3.5 V6 - the Lexus IS350 musters 305 horses...maybe the extra ponies will be unleashed in a special edition?

This car looks really nice in red especially the rear, however its far too expensive!! £48000 pounds!!!

For the price of this and a few options you could be in a BMW M3 or Merc C63 AMG???

I know what I would have!

Great to hear the Evora mostly stacks up - that's very good news.

The only slight reservations have to be the slightly dumpy looks and the sort of volumes they're talking about. It's true that in industry terms 2,000 units is an almost piffling number but in the context of Lotus it's an awful lot of cars to sell at levels well above their normal price range (Esprit notwithstanding - and how many of those were they selling towards the end?). Still, if they can pull it off, that would be marvellous.

That is one hideous design, looks like something out of the mid seventies to early eighties. I don’t doubt their ability to build a fine chassis, because they are Lotus after all, but why would anyone buy this over a Cayman S? And sourcing engines from Toyota may look good to the bean counters, but to a prospective buyer in this segment it looks like a shortcut. For all that is holy, please design a British engine for this car, it deserves it. You have homegrown expertise, use it.

jprestidge:

 Proton.

 

JP

Thanks.

I'm surprised we haven't yet had any Protons models with "chassis developed by Lotus" slogan as an enticement........or has there been such a model and I just happened to miss it?

The stylist will never be out of work at least.  There are always one or two start up kit car firms on the lookout for someone who'll work for nothing.

They didn't pay him, did they?

 It reminds me of the FWD Mk2 Elan. That had excellent engineering but poor styling too. Very disappointing when you consider the purposeful Elise/Exige design.