"Speedmonkey" (Speedmonkey)
12/13/2013 at 11:32 • Filed to: Lotus, Lotus Evora
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"Speedmonkey" (Speedmonkey)
12/13/2013 at 11:32 • Filed to: Lotus, Lotus Evora | 1
| 10 |
I'm running a Lotus Evora S for the next four days. This one is in Aspen White with Design Wheels and costs £62,450.
The photos are pretty poor purely due to the appallingly misty weather - and the fact I didn't have a decent chance to take many before darkness arrived. I'll be sure to get some good photos this weekend.
The Evora S is Lotus' top spec car. It could almost be described as a GT, but not quite. It's too hardcore for that.
The cockpit is rather snug, and trimmed in gorgeous Alcantara and leather, with aluminium bits and pieces. If you want exposed metal buy an Exige. If you want at least the appearance of comfort buy an Evora.
You get gizmos in the Evora that you wouldn't expect in a Lotus. Parking sensors, touchscreen with bluetooth iPhone synchronisation, parking sensors, heated seats, cruise control.
The sculpted sports seats don't look like they should be comfortable, but they are. The rear seats are tiny and are best used for throwing bags on rather than housing humans.
The pedals are narrow and close together, the manual, 6-speed gearbox feels firm and positive, the steering is lighter than in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Exige doesn't have power steering but the Evora does.
So far I've described a car that's pretty luxurious - a grand tourer. But it isn't really. It's a sports car with some posh bits and pieces. The interior is small and the car is low. You have to lean down and thread yourself in and over the wide sill (the stiffest, aluminium chassis in the business is pretty chunky) to get in the car. If you're over 6 foot and put on a few lbs over Christmas you might struggle to get in it on Boxing Day.
The driving experience is sublime. The supercharged 3.5 V6 sounds fruitily awesome. Press the Sport button and it gets even better.
Throttle control is more responsive in Sport too. The clutch is heavy (although The Man From Lotus said it had been thrashed quite a lot and might need a new clutch soonish).
The ride and handling are beyond sublime. No other manufacturer offers such a delicate balance of comfort, ride quality, handling and steering feedback.
I'll put some miles on the Lotus Evora S and report back after the weekend.
Stats
3.5 litre V6 supercharged engine, 6-speed manual gearbox, 345bhp, 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds, 1437kg, top speed 178 mph, £62,450
DeltawingGothamDeserves
> Speedmonkey
12/13/2013 at 11:35 |
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Its so damn beautiful. Anything from Lotus would be welcomed in my garage. You are one lucky person. Especially the Evora.
m2m, apex detective
> Speedmonkey
12/13/2013 at 11:37 |
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Wee question: isn't 1437 kilos a little on the heavy side once you compare this to, say, a 991 Turbo?
Awe_thentiX
> m2m, apex detective
12/13/2013 at 11:54 |
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I've always thought the Evora was the fat cow of their line up. It's uncharacteristically heavy for a Lotus.
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m2m, apex detective
> Awe_thentiX
12/13/2013 at 12:27 |
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That probably makes it a bit better on harsh roads. I just felt that it got awkwardly close to the 1.5t mark.
BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> Speedmonkey
12/13/2013 at 12:34 |
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Is it the 2+2 that you're testing or the 2-seater?
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Speedmonkey
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/13/2013 at 12:35 |
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2+2. Or rather 2+0.2
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> m2m, apex detective
12/13/2013 at 12:41 |
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It's the 2+2 that he's testing that might explain some of the weight. Without the rear seats it might be closer to the 1300s.
Compared to the 997 Carrera S it's decently lightweight. Nearly 100kg lighter in 2-seater format. Compared to the lighter 991 Carrera it doesn't look quite so impressive, but that's a generation on development-wise.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> m2m, apex detective
12/13/2013 at 12:44 |
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Just got the weight stats for a 2-seater Evora. 1383kg is a bit better :)
Also, the 997 Turbo is a whopping 1570kg. Still impressively light for such a powerful car, but still a good deal heavier than the Evora.
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m2m, apex detective
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/13/2013 at 13:08 |
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I agree that it's a heavy car ... keep in mind that the Turbo isn't built to be light, though, and that it has the AWD weight penalty.
But yeah, sub-1400 kilos makes it a bit more attractive already. :)
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m2m, apex detective
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/13/2013 at 13:16 |
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I just ran off to check the C2S' price for the purpose of further comparing the two ... came back disappointed when I saw there's about 25-30k GBP between them.
Eh, just one more reason for Porsche to eventually give the Cayman proper power.