What's all this about?
It's a new Lotus Evora, called the 400.
I'd forgotten they even made the Evora, to be honest.
Rude. You should be interested in this one, though, as it is claimed to be the 'fastest road-going Lotus ever produced'.
How so?
Capable of 186mph and 0-62mph in just 4.2 seconds, the Evora 400 can lap the Lotus test track at Hethel a full six seconds quicker than its predecessor can. Two-thirds of the car is new, including a lot of the hardware for that mid-mounted 3.5-litre V6 engine. It has a new supercharger, engine management and water-to-air charge-cooling system to add 55hp to the figures of the old Evora S.
What power does the 400 make?
A fabulous 406hp (400bhp, hence the Evora 400 name) at 7,000rpm and 410Nm of torque from 3,500- to 6,500rpm. The Evora 400 is also 22kg lighter than before at 1,415kg, which helps with performance.
Lotus isn't about go, though, is it? What's the handling like?
Revised spring and damper settings, a limited slip differential and 32kg of downforce generated at 150mph means the Evora should be pretty sharp. There are new engine mounts, the manual gearbox has been tweaked for improved shift quality, the exhaust has been modified post-cat to make it sound fruitier and there are some powerful cross-drilled, ventilated brakes on offer. Oh, and lightweight cast and forged wheel options.
What's changed visually?
Not much; the front end has a fresh bumper design, while at the rear the bumper, diffuser and three-element wing are all new. The door mirrors have been changed too. Lotus has trimmed the sills by 43mm and made them 56mm lower than the previous Evora, allowing for more graceful entry and exit into and from the car, while the front seats are each 3kg lighter than before; even the rear seats are bigger and lighter, as well. Three new trim levels and improved switchgear haptics and ergonomics should further add to the quality feel.
So the big question - how much is it?
Prices for the Lotus Evora 400 will be announced closer to the on-sale date this summer, with deliveries commencing in August.
Matt Robinson - 18 Feb 2015