What's all this about?

The Lotus Driving Academy has a completely new fleet that now includes the Evora 400. Other vehicles available to drive on the Hethel Test Track at Lotus HQ include five Elise 220 Cups, two Exige S and one Exige S Club Racer.

How much does it cost?

Pricing for the Evora Experience is £349, which includes a vehicle dynamics briefing, factory tour and two 20-minute track driving sessions. The first session is scheduled for 30th October with six places available; participants will be among the first members of the public to drive the Evora 400 on the company test track. Exige experiences are priced at £299; an Elise experience is also available for £169.

Participants in any of the experience packages will get to explore the performance and handling of Lotus cars in the relative safety of the test track. Each drive is supervised by one of the company's 'world-class' instructors who will offer advice on how to get the best out of each vehicle.

What's the official word?

Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc, said: "We are pleased to offer potential customers and track driving enthusiasts the opportunity to drive the new Lotus Evora 400 and our other high-performance models at our Hethel test track. Lotus prides itself on offering benchmark handling and pure driving experience and the Evora 400, developed at Hethel, is the latest proof of this concept. To drive the Evora 400 at the very track used throughout the model development process is a truly unique and privileged opportunity and we are delighted to be able to offer this experience to the public."