Lotus Evora

2+2 Mid-engined Grand Tourer from Lotus Cars, Launched 2008

The Lotus Evora is a 2+2 mid-engined GT (Grand Tourer) launched by Lotus cars in the UK at the British Motorshow in July 2008.

Project Eagle, Lotus Eagle, Ethos

The Lotus Evora

The Evora is a 2+2 mid-engined GT (Grand Tourer) launched by Lotus cars in the UK at the British Motorshow in July 2008. It will be the only mid engined 2+2 in production worldwide. Launch details and reviews are being tracked in this knol.
 
Prototype Evora in Canyon Red - Note that trim and details are still being finalised
Photo courtesey of Andrew Kitson
 
The Evora launch specification was announced at the Geneva Motorshow in March 2009 and production will start for initial delivery to customers in May 2009. The press launch is due in April 2009 at which point first reviews and detailed information on the production vehicles will become available.
 
The Evora is designed to compete against the Porsche Cayman S, with a price at launch of £47,500  for the base (2+0) model (€ 59.990 in Germany). Three additional options packs may be specified at purchase, providing such things as a sports mode and enhanced in car entertainment. The first 450 cars will be built with all options included. Lotus have also stated that the Evora range will eventually be expanded to include a number of different configurations. The range will feature a 'Plus Zero' option without the rear seats, a convertible and a stripped out high performance model. It has been noted that the engine bay is designed to accommodate a turbocharged set-up which could produce up to 400bhp.

Lotus have announced planned production of 2,000 cars a year, of which around 750 are expected to go to the British market.
 
The Launch Car at the British Motorshow
Photo courtesey of Azlan Cuttilan
This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
Creative Commons License

Specification

Engine V6, Mid mounted, transverse Length 4344mm / 14' 3"
Capacity 3456cc / 210 in3 Wheelbase 2575mm / 8' 6"
Max Power 276 bhp @ 6400rpm Wheels Alloy 18in front/ 19in rear
Max Torque 252lb ft @ 4700rpm Tyres 225/40 R18 front 255/35 R19 rear
Transmission 6 Speed Manual, Rear wheel drive Boot 160 Litres
Weight 1350Kg / 2976lbs (Estimate)    
Distribution 39 / 61 (front/rear) 0-60mph Under 5 sec (Estimate)
Power-to-weight   208 bhp/ton (Estimate) Top Speed 162+ mph
Emissions 205 g/km CO2 (Estimate)    
Fuel consumption

32.5 mpg–imp

(8.7 L/100 km / 27 mpg–U.S.)

    
 

Standard On All Models

  • Leather-upholstered seats, upper door trim panels and facia
  • Alpine multi-media system
  • Bergstrom air-conditioning system
  • Anti-lock brakes
  • Switchable Lotus Traction Control (LTC)
  • Driver and passenger airbags
  • Rear seats include ISOFIX mountings for child seats

Options

The following options are available, supplied as three 'packs' that can be added to the base model, and a set of individual upgrades.

Premium Pack

  • Accent lighting
  • Enhanced leather trim interior, choice of colours:
    • Charcoal (Black)
    • Paprika (Red)
    • Chestnut (Tan)
    • Oyster (Magnolia)
  • Floor mats
  • Stowage located on the boot bulkhead


Tech Pack

  • Upgraded Alpine stereo system with:
    • DVD
    • Touch screen
    • Satellite navigation
    • Bluetooth mobile phone connection
    • iPod connection
    • Low Pressure Tyre warning
  • Cruise Control
  • Rear parking sensors


Sport Pack

  • Switchable sport dynamic setting
  • Sports springs and dampers
  • Cross drilled brake disks
  • Upgraded grilles
  • Painted brake calipers


Additional Options

  • Premium audio - Alpine Imprint Dynamic EQ system
  • Reversing camera
  • Powerfold mirrors
  • Bi-Xenon headlamps
  • Forged wheels
  • Stealth Grey wheels (cast or forged upgrade)

Pricing


Lotus announced the launch specification and pricing at the Geneva Motorshow in March 2009 [1]

  United Kingdom
 - Price inc. tax & transport
 Germany
- Price inc. tax & transport		 Eurozone
- Excluding local tax & transport
 Evora 2+0                 
 £ 47,500 € 59.990 € 50.412
 Evora 2+2
 £ 49,875 € 63.500
 € 53.361
    
 Tech Pack
 £  2,495
 €  3.490
 €  2.933
 Sport Pack    
 £     950
 €  1.490
 €  1.252
 Premium Pack
 £  2,495
 €  2.990
 €  2.513

All prices include first service and manufacturers warranty
All prices exclude on the road costs; on the road costs typically refer to registration, fuel, license plates, road
tax, local dealer charges


Future Models

The following release schedule for future models has been given by Lotus, though this is very much subject to the success of the Evora and changes in the market.

Expected Model
Spring 2009 Initial Model
+1 year (2010) Automatic (US version?)
+2 years (2011)     Lighter, high power version (320 bhp/NA[2])
+3 years (2012) Convertible
Unknown (2012+)     Supercharged engine[2] (400bhp, 0-60 under 4 sec)
Unknown (2012+) Hybrid engine[2]

Images & Video

Studio renders of the Evora.
 
  
  
  
  

Videos:
 
Computer Generated video (Gran Turismo 5 Prolog - PS3):


Project Eagle

Initially started as Project Eagle in 2006 by Mike Kimberley, the Evora is based on an entirely new chassis which is an evolution of the technology used to manufacture the highly successful Lotus Elise. Mr. Kimberley had returned to Lotus as CEO earlier that year and put in place a five year plan to reinvigorate the company. The Evora is the first fruit of that plan and will be followed by a high end 'supercar' to replace the Esprit and a redesigned Elise Series Three.

Shrouded in secrecy, Project Eagle took cues from the failed M250 concept and used Lotus' new VVA (Verstatile Vehicle Architecture) chassis technology to produce a car that would accomodate four passengers whilst providing performance and handling typical of the marque. The project's chief designer was Russell Carr whilst the car itself was designed by Steve Crijns (exterior) and Anthony Bushell (interior). The Evora's chassis was designed by Richard Rackham, chief engineer for Lotus and the man behind the Elise chassis[3].

Heavily disguised testing was carried out early in 2008 at the Mira and Millbrook test circuits in the UK, at the Nürburgring in Germany, Bosch's test facilities in the Arctic, America and the Stelvio Pass. The disguise completely hid the shape of the underlying car and despite a series of spy-shots appearing in motoring magazines and online, the design of the Evora remained secret until it was launched at the British Motorshow.

Publicity

The motoring press took great interest in Project Eagle, but the launch itself was preceeded by a viral campaign which led viewers to the Faceless People website. The campaign saw people turning up at a number of high profile events wearing masks that made it appear they had no faces. The website itself stated that 'True Character Will Emerge in..' and had a countdown to 11:30am on July 23rd 2008. The connection with Lotus cars was given away by a link at the bottom of the page. The significance of the date was the launch at the British Motorshow, which was webcast live through the website.
Faceless People at Wimbledon

GranTurismo 5 Prolog

Lotus teamed up with Polyphony to model the Evora in Gran Turismo 5 Prolog. The simulation was shown at the London Motor Show and was released as an update for the PS3 game on October 2nd[4]. Lotus have said the virtual reality Evora feels extremely similar to the real thing in terms of handling and performance. In the game, the Evora can be purchased for 100,000 credits. Images of the Evora in-game can be seen here.


The Name

The Evora was referred to as Project Eagle up until the official launch, following the Lotus tradition of vehicle names beginning with 'E'. Lotus continued the pretence that no name had been chosen up until the unveiling. They claimed that there was a shortlist of four names - Eagle, Ethos, Exira and Evora, one of which would be chosen shortly before the car was launched. However, Evo magazine had advance warning of the name so that their September issue could feature the car on the cover. The issue in question was due to hit newsstands the week before the British Motorshow, but was held back at Lotus' request. A few copies of the magazine were sent through the post in time to arrive the day before the launch, so that the name was leaked onto a number of web sites. However, it was not clear from the magazine whether the name was definitive, so some speculation remained up until the official announcement.

Since the launch it has emerged that Eagle and Ethos were unlikely to have been options for the car's name as they would have presented Lotus with difficulties in registering the trademarks.

 

Links

Lotus Cars - The Group Lotus web site
Lotus Evora - The Official Evora web site
Evora Forum - Unofficial forum discussing the Evora

References

  1. Group Lotus Launch Pricing, Model Year 2010
    http://www.grouplotus.com/mediacentre_pressreleases/image/435.pdf
  2. AutoBlog news
    http://www.autoblog.com/...
  3. Car Magazine
    http://www.carmagazine.co.uk
  4. PlayStation Blog
    http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/10/02/gran-turismo-5-prologue-update-available-now-and-includes-new-cars/

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