What is it?
This is the car that Lotus reckons will take it into genuine practicality territory for the first time, well, ever really. It made its proper debut at the
British Motor Show (accompanied by the 'faceless' people - some of us still have nightmares about them), but this is another chance to see just how '+2' the Evora actually is.
Why is it here?
The Evora is big news for Lotus, and it's shouting loud about the car's credentials, bandying phrases like 'easy access' and 'passenger space' about like it was launching an MPV. But it isn't: the car still looks tiny in the metal, and there's a '+0' two-seat model available from launch. Lotus confirmed prices and spec at
the Geneva show and the equipment list reads like a German executive saloon with ISOfix for child seats; full leather; satnav; cruise control and parking sensors all available. The 276bhp V6-engined Lotus will be fast, for sure, but it also looks like it'll be actually comfortable too.
Prices start from £47,500 for a +0 or £49,875 with the rear seats thrown in: German executive saloon money, then - and some. And on top you can specify one of three 'packs' for a couple of extra grand: tech, sport or premium - each lavishing the car with the kind of kit you'd expect based on the name, be it more leather and wood, an upgraded stereo or the full gamut of performance-focused upgrades. And, to top it all off, you can have your Evora coated with a dab of 'lifestyle paint'. Don't ask.
Show stopper or floor filler?
On another day it's a show stopper; it's the first properly new Lotus for over a decade and it's a genuinely exciting one at that. Mind, that it will cost the thick end of £60k once you've ticked a few boxes will stop a few people in their tracks: it puts the Evora squarely in the firing line of some very spacious and rampantly fast metal. We hope it works.
Mark Nichol - 6 Mar 2009