SJB Classic Article - Lotus Go Hard with Two New Evora Models for the Geneva Motor Show

Originally Posted on SJB Supercars - http://www.sjbsupercars.com/single-post/2016/03/06/Lotus-Go-Hard-with-Two-New-Evora-Models-for-the-Geneva-Motor-Show

March 6, 2016 | Sean Smith

The small Norfolk manufacturer are pushing their limits as new Evora 400 roadster and Evora 410 break cover aiming for Porsche’s supremacy. Sean Smith reports.

British sports car maker, Lotus, have created two new additions to the top line model of their range, the Lotus Evora. The small company, owned by Malaysian car maker, Proton, have been hard at work readying a roadster version of their hottest car of last year, the Lotus Evora 400. I say of last year as they have now revealed the 410, possibly the hottest conventional Lotus ever made.

Firstly the 400 roadster. This new car is a direct relation to the 400 which was launched last year by the company, it shares the same 3.5ltr Toyota V6 engine as all Lotus Evora cars have paired with a supercharger taking the power from the base car’s 280bhp to 400bhp, giving the car its name. The 400 roadster’s chassis has been strengthened by Lotus and as a result the company say that the car will be no less stiff than the hard top coupe version with no more weight added to the car.

Lotus boss Jean-Marc Gales said the car will be crucial to Lotus sales in the USA, expecting sales to be around the 600 mark. Lotus have been recovering ever since ex-CEO Dany Bahar launched his overambitious plans to push Lotus up market with the 5 car plan back in 2010. The Evora, launched the year before, was the only survivor from that stage of Lotus as the 5 new cars never quite made the light of day. The company have had trouble since then with their F1, Indycar and Le Mans projects all being unsuccessful or short-lived. The company has been modernising all of their cars since then and the 400 roadster is the newest example.

That is until this week, when Lotus launched the Evora 410. This car is debatably the most hard-core, normal Lotus ever made, this is excluding the 3-Eleven revealed a couple of months ago. The new 410 gets its name by taking the 3-Eleven’s engine spec. The slight power increase over the 400 and now a whopping 130bhp more than the base car. Lotus say the top speed of the car is 186mph, 0-60 can be done in 4.0 seconds and it weighs in at 1325kg, obviously more than the stripped out 3-Eleven but more than 110kg lighter than the original Evora.

The car is undoubtedly a small powerhouse in performance with 315bhp per tonne, nearly as high as the top line 911 GT3 which produces 347bhp per tonne, although that car does it by having 80bhp more than the Lotus, whereas the Brit has the weight advantage of being 95kg lighter. Not that that is a bad thing as it back up the age old adage of Lotus where you don’t need the power to have the better car, and you can be certain the Lotus chassis will keep it competitive through the corners. Lotus have lowered the 410 by 5mm over even the 400, claiming this sharpens the handling even more.

The last point I have on the Evora 410 is the engine cover on the back of the car. Obviously there for aerodynamics it reminds me of the Lotus Exige and the S1 variant. This obviously shows that Lotus are indeed pushing with this car to take as much fight to Porsche as they can.

What do you think of the new Lotus Evora roadster and 410? Would you buy one over a Porsche or another high performance sports car? Get in contact with us via Facebook, search SJB Supercars, Twitter @SJBSupercars and follow us on Instagram.

(Images courtesy of lotuscars.com, autocar.co.uk, carmagazine.co.uk, photobucket.com and autoblog.com – Please click on the images for the original sources.)