What is it? The Lotus Evora is a new 2+2 sports coupe from Great Britain's Lotus. The small production run is expected to produce no more than 2,000 copies, and there's no word yet on how many are headed for the US. The Evora has a 276-hp, 3.5-liter mid-mounted six-cylinder engine made by Toyota and a six-speed manual transmission. It rolls on 18-inch alloy rims in the front and 19-inch wheels at the rear. The car's light weight, 1 (a mere 2,976 pounds), and high power should make it very quick. Lotus clocks the 0-60 mph sprint at less than 5 seconds. Front seating consists of two Recaro leather racing seats shaped to hold passengers in place for a space-craft-like ride. The Evora is a little larger than the Lotus Elise and is said to be more user-friendly (getting in and out of the Elise requires great effort and contortions). The Evora will have a 7-inch touch-screen navigation system and the ability to use Bluetooth-enabled accessories. The trunk, behind the engine, is said to be large enough for a set of golf clubs. Pricing has not yet been released, but a $60,000 base price seems a reasonable estimate.
What is new or notable: Aluminum is used extensively to save weight, including what's labeled a modular bonded aluminum chassis (pieces glued together) and cast aluminum wishbone suspension parts.
CR's take: The Evora is a snazzy-looking specialty car whose ride might conceivably be less punishing than the Elise's. But the Evora has its work cut out for it since there are many sports cars out there (the Mazda Miata and Porsche Boxster for example) that are also fun to drive, reasonably comfortable, and competitively priced.
