WE’RE at it again! Not only did we scoop the new baby Rolls-Royce, we’ve also captured the new Lotus Evora.
Here are shots of Lotus’ vital new Evora, undergoing final on-road trials prior to its 2009 launch.
Sticking gaffer tape over the badge wasn’t fooling us – even if the passers-by in Peterborough services did fail to spot the super-significant new Porsche Cayman rival.
This, it is said, is Lotus’ most advanced and luxurious car ever. Its most car-like – which means, one closest to achieving the mighty blend of talents that Porsche masters.
Lotus have always handled well. But they’ve never been that practical, or refined, or useable. The Evora is different. It’s the Lotus you can use everyday.
What did we make of it? Well, after confusing it fleetingly for an Elise, we struggled a little to fall for it. The generic Lotus cues are probably a factor here; just like every new Porsche ‘sports car’ looks like a Porsche, Lotus would be mad to redesign its philosophy.
So, in place is a compact bodyshell (but not actually that small – check out the BMW Z3 next to it). The wheels are at each corner, The rear end bulges, hinting at the power offered by a mid-mounted V6. The nose is stubby, low, sharp, shouting out the incredible steering feel it may well offer beneath.
It grew on us, the Evora, as we stared. We’re less sure of the heavy-look rear, but will reserve judgement until final production. What really wowed us were the bits we could see of the interior.
The test engineer had kept it well hidden, but all the quality and design style we saw in the show car at London’s ExCeL have made it through to production.
No, the more we stare at the images, the more we want one. Be sure that we’ll be the first to get behind the wheel when we’re allowed, later in the year, to report back if this excitement is justified…
Exclusive by Richard Aucock
